Chaco sandals and boots.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Cool colorado stuff

In the late 1980s, Mark Paigan left his custom shoe and boot cobbler business in northern California to guide fly-fishing and whitewater-rafting trips in southwestern Colorado. Thanks to his footwear background, he quickly realized that the mass-market rafting sandals that dominated the market were not up to task. So Paigan made his own sandals, and his guide buddies, green with envy, asked him to make them pairs, too. The endeavor snowballed until Paigan officially launched Chaco the company in 1989. Like its "Made in Paonia, Colo." label, a Chaco sandal's distinguishing features remain the same today as they were 14 years ago, said National Sales Manager Rich Weight. Heavy-duty rubber soles and a polyurethane foot-bed "support the bone structure of the...