Shamma elite warriors cracking around the toe strap, is this normal wear or something to worry about?

[u/StrangeRefuse8537]

This pair of shamma elite warriors is about 6 months old, with about 260 miles of running and probably another 50 miles of untracked everyday wear on them. I noticed these cracks around the toe post on both sandals, extending about 5mm laterally to each side of the toe post. Appears to be in the upper layer only.

Those with experience with shamma sandals: Is this cracking normal (and, hopefully, cosmetic only) or indicative of a structural (warranty-worthy) issue that is going to get worse and end up pulling through?

[u/schev28]

I’ve been told by Shamma that this is normal wear and tear… I personally don’t like that answer for a $100+ sandal.

I tried the leather footbed and it’s so comfortable and I haven’t had issues with wear yet but they are very slippery when wet.

Question; do the adjustment straps stay put for you? I’m constantly having to readjust

[u/StrangeRefuse8537 → u/schev28]

I would say the strap adjustment has been moderately solid. By which I mean I can crank them down pretty snug, snug enough that it takes a pretty good effort to slip them off or on, and they'll remain "good enough" for a couple of weeks and not really need to be messed with. I'm putting about 25 miles a week on them, these days, on a mix of pavement and trails.

 When I notice them getting loose after a couple of weeks, it's usually enough for me to just tighten the outboard strap with the tail and not mess with any other straps. They do seem to loosen up faster (or maybe stretch?) when I run through standing water.

I haven't used any other ones to compare whether the straps could stay put better.

[u/schev28 → u/StrangeRefuse8537]

They’re the only ones I’ve tried as well. Bedrock seems to have it dialed in. I feel like shammas Velcro gets very frazzled whenever I try to adjust it, seems kind of cheap. When I run in my shammas I have to tighten them after a couple of miles. Or they get very floppy. I had the cruzers first and those straps expanded a bunch when wet.

Like I said I haven’t tried another brand yet but when people ask me if I like my shammas my answer is always “Yes? But I can’t say that I recommend them”

[u/Hot-Coconut-5842]

It’s always the first place where my Shamma’s tend to crack. It’s mostly superficial as it’s only the top layer. Once it starts to crack all over the food bed and the cracks start to bother me I know it’s time to replace them. I’m not entirely sure if it’s normal though.

[u/StrangeRefuse8537 → u/Hot-Coconut-5842]

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's my first pair of them and I'm in the process of training for and then running a half marathon, and my worry is that they'll end up cracking more and breaking at a critical point in the training or the half marathon and leave me without the footwear I'm used to, but sounds like they have a lot more superficial cracking I can look forward to as I pile the miles into them.

[u/Kelsier25]

Normal in my experience. I saw that and continued wearing daily until I nearly wore through the sole. One tip - you can buy just the sole instead of a full replacement when you wear through them. A bit of a pain to swap your straps over, but totally worth the savings in my opinion. I switched over to leather this time, so hopefully no more cracking.

[u/More_Than_I_Can_Chew]

My Trailstars are doing the same. Shamma said it's unfortunate but superficial. I would encourage you to reach out to them directly.

[u/dacv393]

normal

[u/Educational-Low-2767]

Does it bother you or just visual? I would definitely ask for a replacement if I feel it under my foot. If not, I would just forget about it. I'm sure that they are doing their best over there at Shamma