This has been a dilemma for me for a long time.  I’m most comfortable with sandals or barefoot, but my arthritic knees are so bad that I need walkers if I’m trying to get anywhere on foot.  On the bike I use SPD shoes and CLICK’r pedals that are easy to slip in and out of and are. flat on one side.  I’ve never biked fully clipped in, and at this point would probably fall over if I tried.  

So three pair of shoes wanted, but I can’t justify that much space so the sandals have always stayed home.  We’re leaving for Europe in a few weeks again though, and this time I think the SPD’s will stay home instead.  I’m waiting for another dry day so I can try climbing up to Skyline Ridge in my sandals to see how much power I’m losing - not that there’s all that much left to lose any more anyway.   Sounds like freedom, Janis would say.

Scott,

Here is a hiking perspective, Jacinto does serious uphill hiking, including 14er's, in Keen sandals. IDK how. At the least, I would get pebbles, and sand under my feet. Plus, I think they would cause blisters from not being as close fitting as a shoe. But regular Keen hiking sandals is all he uses. He did try Keen cycling sandals, and found them too narrow. Which seems odd.  I'm writing to give you one vote of confidence on the hiking in sandals. With socks. For the extra cool factor!

Thanks for the thought, but sandals really don’t work for me - even on the flats.  They’re the right kind too - not Keens, but similar.  Their walkers are the most essential of the three choices unfortunately. 

Just a thought, but if you’re going to forgo the SPD shoes, you might want to change to a grippier flat pedal with a good sized platform. I ride a majority of the time with SPDs, but sometimes on flats with my Keen hikers. 

You could then ride either in your walkers or sandals, depending on conditions.

Thanks for the thought, Bob.  I think I’ll just hold it in mind for now.  I can always swap pedals overseas if I decide it will work better, and I do well enough finding the flat side of the ones I’ve got.

I'm really partial to Crankbrothers Eggbeater pedals. Very similar to SPD but I guess I'm used to these and I'm sticking with what works. The cleats are recessed into the shoes and I can walk around with the cleated shoes, so I got that going for me.

I've tried touring with flat pedals and I found my feet were more tired at the end of the day. I figured that was due to the shoe compressing with each pedal stroke. I bought some "5-10" mountain bike shoes and that helped a bit because the sole was stiffer but figured if I'm going that route I might as well stick to the cleated shoes. Plus, I really like the feel of being connected with the pedals and the bike.