How many pairs of shoes should you pack for a one-bag trip?
Two, for one or two weeks of mostly city walking: wear your walking shoes and pack a flat, light sandal. Add a second closed pair only for something the walking shoes can't handle, like a dress-code wedding, a proper hike or daily runs. On a 7 kg cabin allowance, choose the sandal by weight: the lightest one below is 306 g a pair, the heaviest about 845 g.
The default second pair: a flat sandal
A poster in r/onebag weighing a second pair for 7 to 14 day city trips described the problem exactly: "One comfortable pair can cover most days, but then there is usually one situation that makes me hesitate." Their list was a nicer dinner, rain, a beach day, a light trail, and giving the main pair time to dry.
A flat sandal handles the beach, the drying problem, hostel showers and evenings off your feet. It won't help on a trail or at a formal dinner, and on a cold, wet day it's a poor stand-in if your only closed pair is soaked. In the same thread, one commenter made the case for cheap flip-flops as the backup because they "will get you to the closest shoe store in an emergency".
For rain, another commenter argued that "it is important to shift your attention from waterproof to quick dry shoes", since water that gets in over the top of a waterproof shoe stays there. A mesh walking shoe plus a sandal for the evening copes with a wet week in a city better than a spare pair of leather shoes.
A nicer dinner rarely needs its own shoes. One reply set the bar well above a nice restaurant, saying a nicer dinner doesn't come close: "I am thinking more along the lines of weddings, opera premieres, formal receptions". Another commenter's core pair is trainers "smart enough to wear to most restaurants" (Connell95). If a booking makes you doubt it, read the restaurant's dress code before you pack for it.
Worked example: two pairs against a 7 kg cabin bag
Singapore Airlines gives Economy passengers one cabin bag of up to 7 kg (Singapore Airlines cabin baggage). Put that allowance against the Osprey Farpoint 40 from our carry-on one-bag guide, listed at 1.48 kg (Osprey), and 5.52 kg is left for everything inside. A second pair comes out of that 5.52 kg, at the makers' published weights where they give one:
| Second pair | Listed weight | Weight of the pair | Share of 5.52 kg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altra Lone Peak 9+ trail runner, $160 | 327.4 g (Altra); per shoe, going by Treeline Review | about 655 g | 11.9% |
| Xero Shoes Z-Trail EV sandal, $79.99 | 5.4 oz each in a men's 9 (Xero Shoes) | 306 g | 5.5% |
| Chaco Z/1 Classic sandal, $95 | Chaco doesn't publish a weight; GearJunkie lists 1 lb 13.8 oz a pair | about 845 g | 15.3% |
| Birkenstock Arizona EVA, £50 | Birkenstock doesn't publish a weight, only "ultra lightweight" (Birkenstock) | weigh your own | n/a |
Wear Lone Peaks through the airport and pack Xeros, and the bag carries 306 g of shoes. Reverse them and it carries 655 g, so 349 g of clothes has to come out to stay under 7 kg. Altra's shoe is in the table because the company sells it in a wide fit with what it calls its "roomiest toe box", and a wide-footed commenter in r/backpacking named it as their pick.
Chacos are a poor second pair for a 7 kg bag: GearJunkie scores them 3 out of 10 for packability, and at about 845 g a pair they weigh more than the trail runners do. On easyJet, with its 15 kg cap per cabin bag (easyJet cabin bags), the difference hardly matters. Sizes vary too: Xero's figure is for a men's 9 and Altra's page doesn't state a size, so put your own pair on a kitchen scale before you decide.
Cases for a second closed pair
A dress code is the clearest case. A poster in r/onebag has a formal wedding in Southeast Asia followed by about three weeks of island hopping and surfing in the Philippines, and plans to rent the suit. One reply suggested renting the shoes with it: "I would rent shoes with the suit if that's an option." Another pointed to "loafers that are formal enough but also lightweight and packable." We'd rent if the shop has your size, since that keeps the bag unchanged. If it doesn't, slim loafers go in as a third pair alongside the sandal, and the trail shoes go on your feet for every flight.
Running and harder hiking are the activity cases, both named in the reply that dismissed nice dinners: running shoes for long runs, because a trail shoe soaked in sweat is "an iffy proposition" for the next day's walking, and proper hiking shoes when the mountain trails get harder than the everyday shoe was built for.
Some feet don't tolerate one pair. BostonPam, who has flat feet and plantar fasciitis, packs one pair for trips under five days and switches to two when a trip runs past a week with "a lot of walking (20k+ steps)" each day. MindingMine took one pair to Paris last December, got a blister at the nail matrix of a big toe, and was still growing the damaged nail out when they posted. If a day of heavy walking at home leaves your feet sore, take two closed pairs and swap them daily.
One pair: short trips and small fares
TDIMike, who wears a US 15, spent two weeks in Europe with family and "only brought a pair of hoka trail runners", with no formal dinners on the plan. They were candid about the cost in a later reply: wearing one pair "all day for 4-5 days straight is less than ideal."
One pair suits a short, casual trip, and it's close to forced on a fare that only covers an under-seat bag, where a packed pair of shoes competes with a day's clothes for space. How to pack with only a personal item covers that version.
Long trips: budget for a replacement
A poster in r/backpacking leaving Guatemala in early November for a year or more wants to get by on one pair of dark sneakers for city walking and easy trails. One reply estimated that a shoe comfortable in both places "will last 300-500 miles tops" before the tread wears through (piray003). That's one person's figure, but on a trip measured in months, plan to buy shoes on the road and keep money aside for them.
Very large or very wide feet are the exception, because shops abroad may not stock your size. In the wedding thread, one reply was blunt: "if XXL (12mens+), best to bring your own shoes." For those feet, a spare pair from home is the safer plan on a long trip.
FAQ
Where do the packed shoes go in the bag?
Flat at the front of the main compartment, soles out, in a thin shoe bag or a shower cap so dirt stays off the clothes; the back panel is the laptop's. Socks or a charger can go inside the shoes. One r/onebag commenter folds thin flip-flops into compact loafers and stuffs the loafers too (owlshoesjh).