In this product guide:
- 1. Walking shoe with Velcro: Skechers GoWalk 5 Wistful
- 2. Walking leather shoe with Velcro: Nunn Bush Cam
- 3. Walking shoe with Velcro: Brooks Addiction Walker Strap V2
- 4. Walking shoe with Velcro: New Balance 577 Hook and Loop
- 5. Walking shoe with Velcro: New Balance 928V3 Hook and Loop
- 6. Retro sneaker with Velcro: Nike Air Jordan 1 Easy on
- 7. Eco-friendly sneaker with Velcro: Veja Recife
- 8. Comfortable sneaker with Velcro: Vans Old Skool V
- 9. Made in USA walking shoe with Velcro: SAS High Street V
- How we selected
The GoWalk 5 Wistful is the quintessential Skechers shoe. It’s affordable, lightweight, and comfortable enough for most low-impact activities. That includes walking too – as if the name ‘GoWalk’ wasn’t suggestive enough.
The single-density EVA foam midsole and drop-in footbed offer everyday ride comfort.
Two wide hook-and-loop straps keep the foot locked in without laces. The mesh and synthetic leather upper is pretty basic but fits well and gets the job done. Among the color choices are all-black and all-white versions.
Can you run in them? The Wistful’s midsole doesn’t look all that different from older Skechers GoRun midsoles. As long as the runs are of a low-impact kind, go for it.
Nunn Bush is owned by Florsheim – another company which makes comfortable shoes. While very basic in design, the Florsheim influence on the Nunn Bush Cam Velcro is unmistakable.
The upper uses soft tumbled leather with a moccasin-style apron; the heel and tongue are foam-padded for comfort. The Velcro integration is excellent – instead of using two straps, the hook and loop closure relies on a single leather strap.
The wide strap makes it easier to grab and adjust the fit.
The memory foam insole and EVA midsole add step-in softness and everyday comfort for walks.
Brooks sells the Addiction Walker in two flavors; we’ve covered the laced edition in one of our other guides.
The featured variant has an upper with dual fastening straps for ease of entry and egress. The rest of the shoe is the same as the laced version – the V Strap’s upper is made of leather that adds comfort and durability.
The interior comfort is provided by the soft-touch lining materials and foam-quilted heel and tongue.
The high-volume midsole has a wide geometry for cushioned support. The V Walker 2 comes standard with a slip-resistant outsole that is certified to SATRA TM144:2011 standards.
This is an excellent lace-free walking shoe below the $100 price segment. The comfortable all-leather upper can be fastened through the two straps and is also available in four widths, three colors, and a women’s version.
A full-length Polyurethane midsole delivers firm, resilient cushioning, and all-day support. The full-contact outsole geometry is specifically designed for walking.
Certain variants of the 577 are assembled in the United States.
Available in both Men’s and Women’s versions, the strapped version of the 928 is a robust – yet heavy and extra firm – walking shoe. Both the 577 and 928 are stiff walking shoes, so it would help to temper your expectations. These will not be as soft as, say, a Skechers walking shoe.
The 928 is also available in unprecedented five widths, ranging from a narrow to extra-extra-large.
Two Velcro straps pass through a wide receptacle for a quick yet secure cinching.
The 928’s outsole rubber is non-marking, meaning it leaves no streaks/marks on smooth floors.
This is an interesting take on the iconic Air Jordan One; this model’s upper completely relies on a hook-and-loop closure.
Don’t let the ‘decoy laces’ fool you. Those are fixed, and the actual fastening system is a wide Velcro strap that goes over the midfoot.
There’s a second Velcro strap that goes around the ankle – or instep – depending on whether you have the Hi or Lo model. We like this design, as it combines a ‘faux lace’ aesthetic with a functional hook-and-loop closure.
The rest of the sneaker is a straight lift from the regular model. A rubber cupsole hides a full-length Nike Air bag for comfort, and the leather upper panels give the sneaker its distinct color-blocked design.
Veja is one of those rare sneaker brands that go beyond mere greenwashing. It uses eco-friendly materials like Chrome-free leather that is tanned without Chromium salts and acids.
The insole uses a sugar cane-based foam together with materials like recycled EVA and organic cotton. The outsole is a blend of Amazonian rubber and other materials. The lining is 100% recycled polyester.
As a sneaker, the Veja Recife is based on a classic cupsole silhouette. The upper is fastened through three rows of hook-and-loop straps. Except for the suede Veja logo, most of the upper is smooth leather.
The foam insole and rubber cupsole (the midsole and outsole are one) add everyday comfort. At a retail price of $185, the made-in-Brazil Recife is one of the more expensive shoes on this list.
The Vans Old Skool V could be that one shoe to do it all. This is a skateboarding product, so it’s got performance shoe levels of build quality and comfort. Depending on the color, the upper is available in multiple material combinations.
This variant has an all-suede upper in all-black, so it has excellent pairing versatility. The triple strap closure is a nod to Old Skool’s performance skate roots. Three straps do an excellent job of securing the foot while spreading the cinching pressure evenly.
The cushioning comfort is delivered by the insole and multiple layers of foam. The Old Skool has a full-length gum rubber outsole for great traction.
None of the other shoes on this guide are made Stateside, so the SAS High Street V has a unique selling proposition.
The SAS High Street isn’t what anyone would call Avant-Garde fashion, but it uses quality upper materials to build a durable walking shoe.
The exterior is made entirely of premium leather, and that includes the two Velcro straps. Once the leather upper breaks in after a few days, the SAS High Street V turns into a comfortable shoe for everyday walks.
The insides are padded with mesh lining and foam fill for a secure and comfortable fit. The High Street V doesn’t use a foam midsole, and instead uses a Polyurethane foam cupsole for cushioning.
HOW WE SELECTED
Running and walking shoes with laces work perfectly well, so why go to the trouble of finding Velcro-fitted footwear?
People with disabilities may lack the dexterity or hand-eye coordination to tie laces. Even temporary hand injuries limit the use of fingers.
Age-related arthritis also makes tying laces difficult.
Lacing shoes with gloved hands is also hard. This happens during winters, and also in industrial environments where work-gloves need to be worn. It is no surprise that the aerospace industry was one of the first customers of Velcro; it helped astronauts manage their bulky suits.
Slip-on shoes usually lack the required levels of fit security, so a hook-and-loop closure is the next best thing.
So let’s go find some running and walking shoes with straps. How hard can that be?
As it turns out, there aren’t many options.
Generally speaking, strap-based closure systems add bulk to shoe uppers – both from a visual and weight point of view.
The wide straps break the continuity of the upper design and make the shoe look bulky – no brand wants that. Velcro straps are usually affixed over a synthetic or leather base, and that adds weight.
There’s a functional impact too. Athletic footwear – especially the running kind – needs flexible uppers that work dynamically with the foot. Putting a couple of hook-and-loop straps on the shoe affects the range of movement.
Also, clocking serious miles on a running shoe will stretch and loosen the straps over time. Throw in some dirt from the outdoor workouts, and the efficacy of the fastening system becomes compromised.
That is why running shoe brands prefer a BOA dial-lacing system rather than a strap-based fastening.
Nike released its ‘Flyease’ assortment a few years ago, and they’ve tried to work around the limitations of a traditional hook-and-loop system with clever design thinking. The Flyease has been re-labelled as ‘Easy On’, and we see fewer Nike shoes with Velcro than just a year ago.
On the other hand, there are abundant choices within the athleisure/sneaker assortment. From the dual-Velcro Nike Air Jordans 1 to the US-made SAS High Street, there are many casual shoes with a hook-and-loop system.