FAQ

We love making custom sandals and at the same time it is a time-consuming process that requires focus and precision. We recommend ordering them early Spring or late Autumn if you want to be sure the ‘custom made’ option is available. In the months of June, July and August things can get busy and we sometimes choose to make them unavailable for a period of time.

Ah, where to start? People ran for thousands of years without shoes, or with minimal soles, and only in the past few decades have we started running with arch supports, medial posts, and the high, cushioned soles of modern shoes. These have caused us to adopt a running style where we strike the ground with our heel first, causing jarring impact on the body. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if this gave us a huge performance boost, but even after all these years there is simply no proof that heel striking does us any good. Running barefoot, or in minimal footwear, forces you to strike the ground with the ball or middle of your foot, forcing you to make full use of your natural biomechanical apparatus for reducing the impact on the body. But we are not barefoot evangelists and we recommend anyone to do their own research and form their own conclusions. Some reading material we can recommend are the inspirational modern classic 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall and the down-to-earth, potentially habit changing 'Barefoot' by Katy Bowman. And we highly recommend getting some real-life coaching when you're ready to start running 'barefoot'. Chi-running teaches a very compatible running technique, or see if you can sign up for a Natural Running clinic somewhere close by.

That depends on what kind of footwear you're running in at the moment and your style of running. If you're already used to running in minimal shoes like Vibram Fivefingers or Vivobarefoot shoes then transitioning will be easy. If you're used to running on thick-soled shoes at the moment then you should take your time transitioning to minimal footwear like sandals. Start by walking on them often, which will actually feel chunky compared to running because walking involves more of a heel-strike. Then start running small stretches with a lot of walking in between. Running heel first can be a hard habit to break, and running barefoot heel first, you are much more likely to injure yourself. So take it easy and expect to take up to a year to get from your first careful kilometer to any sort of ultrarun distance. A well-worth investment because your running technique will enable you to tackle distances you never thought possible.

The strap is quite wide and made of a very smooth material. It folds and forms to fit nicely between your big toe and second toe. So you get a large and non-rigid contact area, which is actually very comfortable, even more so than a rigid rubber thong on your flip-flops.

They are made in the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands (aka Holland), by our loving hands, using materials sourced throughout Europe - like Vibram rubber from Italy and webbing from Germany. That is why we proudly label our sandal ‘made in EU’.

We’re sorry to say that at the moment we don't ship to the US. We are focusing on Europe right now but we might expand to other territories in the near future. Keep an eye on our instagram for updates.

Not yet, but we’ve created a nice ‘at-home-shopping-and-fitting-experience’ for you. We’ve made outlines for each size that you can download and print from pantasandals.com to see how our sandals will fit (use the 100% or ‘actual size’ print-setting). Our sandals can be adjusted in a lot of ways, so if you find the right size, and the hole between your toes aligns nicely, then we are confident that they will fit comfortably too.⠀⠀

We also sell sample packets for the price of one postage stamp (which we refund when you place your order). These small bits of sole material give you a tiny sensory glimpse of the sole and footbed of our five different sandals. We make them from our sandal-making scraps, so every bit of material has a purpose. And last but not least - we are here to help out if you have questions or doubts about the right fit, just send a couple of photos to support@pantasanals.com or to our Whatsapp number +31 6 83826375.

Our Lykaios sandals are often used for long hikes (the Parnosas is the Vegan alternative). We would actually recommend bringing an extra pair for wet conditions/heavy rain. And we would recommend choosing one pair a bit thicker, so that you can also choose to wear the thicker pair on a day when you feet are tired. So for example the Lykaios and the Zaros Plus are a good choice.

No, this might look like a problem when you look at your sandals flat from the box. But when you put them on the soles wrap around your feet, and the straps end up off the ground. It wouldn't matter if they did get a lot of ground contact though. The tubular webbing is very durable and easily outlasts the rest of the sandal.

Use the following washing instructions if you ever feel the need to thoroughly clean your sandals. Handwash with a mild detergent at 30 degrees, rinse with clean water, press water out of the strap by pulling it through your pinched fingers, and press a dry cloth onto the footbed to remove as much water as you can, leave to dry overnight, not in direct sunlight.

For the Lykaios we recommend a regular rub with leather cream or grease. This will extend the life of your sandals leather footbed. We use Rapide cream because of the super quality and we love the smell.

If they were just ordinary sandals we would agree, but they are not. They are made to train for, and run multiple ultraruns a season. They need to be very durable and very comfortable at the same time. We use high-quality materials for the sole, footbed and strap, and the glue that account for the largest part of the costs. The gluing process is largely done by hand, the sewing of the strap is handwork and so is the final assembly and lacing. This sewing isn't done in some sweatshop overseas; we employ local professionals and pay them well. And we need to add taxes and shipping costs and reserve some margin for growing our business and our product line-up. Also know that you are buying the sandals directly from us. You are not paying provisions for distributors or retailers. We hope you see that at the end of the day you are actually getting good value for money.

*Please note that due to the current circumstances, shipping can take longer than usual* We usually produce your sandal after you placed an order. Expect us to ship your sandals in 2 to 3 days, or 3 to 5 days if you ordered a custom sandal. All orders within the EU normally arrive within a week and you will be provided with a track & trace number. 

Our return policy is that you get a full refund if you're not happy. We do ask that you return them in sellable condition and that you pay for the return shipping. Good thing is that our sandals ship in an envelope, it keeps shipping costs low. To help you get the right size we've made size templates. They're exact outlines of our sandals for you to print (select 100% or 'actual size' on your printer settings). They'll give you a good idea of the fit.

Please send your order back to:

Panta Sandals
Recifelaan 34
2051 LN Overveen
The Netherlands

Please include the order number in the package or on the package, or just include the packing slip. If you need to fill in customs information, please mark the package as a 'returned goods'.