First time buyer - Chaco Zcloud X2 Sandals - Women's - Medium

I read more reviews than I can remember to decide if Chaco was right for me. I had purchased a pair for my 10 year old daughter years ago because she wanted some like her friend. I bought them at a discount shoe store and didn’t think much of it at the time, I didn’t know anything about them. A few years ago I found out that my heel was hurting due to a bone spur. I wanted good sport sandals for the summertime. I don’t like the look of the Teva brand, I did consider Skechers. I wanted something that would hold my foot secure to the base like my ASICS do. I went to a shoe store to find some Chaco’s I could try on to find the right size for me. A lot of reviews said go smaller but the Chaco website said 9 according to the brand of tennis shoe size I wear. I recommend checking on there before deciding based on others reviews. I was soo sure I would want the Zx2 but only the Z1, Z2 and Zcloud X2 were available. I didn’t like how thick the strap felt on Z1 & Z2 and where it sat and it was a bit heavier. They felt a little more constricting than the double strap. Reviews for the Zcloud X2 said they would start to smell, so I was hesitant. I tried them on and I like the way they feel. I wear a 9 in every brand of shoe and the 9 fit perfect. Your heel needs to sit right up to the very back in the “cradle” and I feel that there shouldn’t be more than an inch from the big toe. Also, I think if you have too much strap then you may not have the right fit, pulled back towards my heel they fall right at the bottom of the “anchored“ part of the heel strap. I don’t have thick/fat feet or wear a wide if that helps anyone. If you are a wide in everything else you would need a wide in this one. If you want the buckle to sit below/behind your ankle you should probably request a longer strap. I like where mine sits right in the top front of it. It hasn’t bothered me. In my opinion your foot shouldn’t completely lift of the bottom when walking. I’m sure the strap will loosen just a bit over time as all materials do, I don’t see that being a problem. The only thing I don’t care for is the line grooves your foot sits on, It feels a touch different than the other ones with the pebble looking top. I compromised because everything else is perfect. I hope this helps as I tried to add things I wanted to know that I didn’t find in reviews.