After 6 years of travelling, I’m always looking for a travel shoe that ticks all the boxes.
I’m looking for something that’s practical, comfortable, stylish, and lightweight. And honestly? I’ve not actually found a shoe that meets all those requirements.
I’ve loved different shoes for different reasons, but they’ve always lacked something.
That’s why I was genuinely excited when the guys at Off The Beaten Track reached out to me about their new “travel shoe”.
They said their shoe was comfortable, practical, stylish and lightweight….I thought surely not all 4!
Well, they were right…so let’s delve in a little deeper.
Off The Beaten Track (OTBT) are a super cool shoe brand offering a wide range of shoes for all different occasions, but what I am most excited about is their shoes designed for frequent travelers, such as myself.
They offer a shoe called “The Alstead” and it’s a fantastic shoe for when you’re on the road.
I’ve been using the shoe for the last couple of months in Canada, and I have to say, I’m very impressed!
I’m going to take you through all the pros and cons of the Alstead, and how you can get yourself a pair too.
Off The Beaten Track, or OTBT are an awesome company created to produce a wide range of shoes perfect for everyday life, and travel.
They’ve launched their “Travel Lite” Range, and it’s the travel shoe you’ve been searching for....
Travel Lite is an lightweight and innovative, collection of comfortable sandals, walking shoes, and casual sneakers for women.
They feature ultra lightweight technology, comfort, style and functionality.
This means, they’re perfect for travelling....keep reading to find out why.
You can buy Off The Beaten Track Shoes direct on their website right here.
Also, you can get 15% OFF your shoes with my code: 02dreambigtravelfar
There are many qualities of the Alstead shoe by Off The Beaten Track that I love and I’m going to take you through them below.
The number 1 requirement I have for a travel shoe is that it is comfortable after long periods of walking.
We tend to do a LOT of walking when we’re visiting a city, or even when we’re just heading out on light walks around lakes, in the countryside, and more.
So, I need a shoe that looks after my feet and won’t give me blisters.
Well, the good news is, the Alstead delivers in the comfort department.
The Alstead is fully unlined and hand-made with SOFT vegan Suede.
There is no rubbing, no pain, no discomfort at all.
It literally fits like a glove, and each step feels soft. I truly love it. It also feels like I’ve got a little bounce in my step whilst walking too, which I love even more!
The reason behind this comfort is due to the combination of Step Lite foam and FlexCork, which is bendable, so adapts to you.
You’ll feel the cushion reform after you walk, and it’s super comfortable.
I've tested the shoe on a variety of walking lengths, from 30 minutes, to 2.5 hours, and my feet always felt comfortable and stayed blister free.
I’ve often found that travel shoes that are practical, are never really pretty too.
I often find that most travel shoes are actually tailored and targeted for a male market, but the Alstead is designed with women in mind, and it’s super stylish.
I finally have a shoe that’s not only comfortable, but looks good too.
Since I have limited space, I also want a shoe that can be used to wear with jeans, shorts, and dresses.
It needs to be versatile, and I feel the Alstead is.
I wear the Dove Grey version, but they also come in a variety of other styles and colours such as Zebra Print & Black.
Another super important thing to look for when it comes to travel shoes is the fact that a product needs to fit in your luggage (sometimes only hand luggage), without taking up loads of space, and without being too heavy.
The Alstead travel shoe is super lightweight, and you can easily slot them together with an elastic band to secure to easily fit in your baggage.
Back in 2020, the team at Off The Beaten Track started making small changes in their Travel Lite collection in an effort to reduce waste and use materials with a lower impact on the earth. This is brilliant self-awareness and we love products that are trying to do better for the environment (as you may have noticed on the website!).
We also love the use of Vegan Suede.
The Eco Cotton Lining is made with 67% eco cotton yarn, woven from excess scraps from the textile industry.
This is used in the most sustainable shoes by Off The Beaten Track.
The Step Lite Foam is the feature which gives you that “bounce” in your step when you’re walking in a pair of Alstead shoes.
It uses a unique molecular structure that creates a lightweight cushion and flexible bounce which is scientifically shown to power your movements with spring back technology.
It keeps its shape and reforms after every step you take, and I’m not exaggerating when I say you can truly feel it, and it’s super comfortable!
Overall, I genuinely think this is a great shoe, and I plan on putting it to the test for the foreseeable future.
I find them super comfortable, and they fit my feet perfectly.
This is also really important to me as a type 1 diabetic. I need to make sure I’m wearing decent shoes, that aren’t doing any damage to my feet, and thankfully I can feel confident my feet are comfortable in the Alstead travel shoe.
As I mentioned before, I also think they’re super stylish and I love that they can pretty much go with any outfit I have with me on my travels.
I’ve worn them with dresses, jeans, and shorts, and that’s pretty much everything I wear anyway ;)
The only thing I can really fault about the shoes is the fact that the laces come on done really easily (either they’re shorter than I’m used to, or maybe I’m terrible at doing laces!).
They do advertise as the shoes being easy to slip on and off (good for airport security), so perhaps that’s why the laces are so small.
And, they also get dirty quite easily. I think that’s more to do with the colour I’ve got, but I have been able to clean them easy enough, so it’s not a massive issue, just something to be aware of.
Off the beaten track offer a wide range of other shoes too, from cold weather boots, sandals, and even ankle boots. After browsing their website further and lusting after all the other shoes, I thought I’d share a couple more of my favorites:
If you’re doing some winter travel, or you live somewhere with a colder climate, then I think these boots are awesome! They look fantastic, and really practical.
My favourites are the khaki sneaker boots! I don't think I've seen more stylish winter boots.
Some highlights of these shoes include:
Don't forget you can get 15% off with my code 02dreambigtravelfar
Want to be beach summer ready, in stylish flat sandals? Then I also think these look awesome!
I've never actually been a big sandal person, but if these sandals are as comfortable as my current Alstead Sneakers, then I'm thinking they'd be pretty awesome for the beach.
Check out the full sandal collection here.
There are a whole bunch of awesome shoes available in the Travel Lite collection, so whether you need something for the beach, walking, or travel, you’ll feel the comfort of this collection with every step.
So there you have it, my review of the Alstead shoes by OTBT!
Overall, I think it’s a great travel shoe.
It’s versatile, it’s lightweight, stylish and you really can fit them in small spaces.
So it basically delivers on everything it promotes, which is great.
There is a range of colours and styles available, so I’m confident you’ll be able to find a pair of Alstead Shoes to suit your style.
Don't forget to use my code (02dreambigtravelfar) to get 15% off when you purchase here.
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