Women Travelers - Travel Sneakers - recommendations

So, I have decided that I want to work out while I am travelling. By working out I mean a walk outside or on a treadmill depending on where I am. BUT I refuse to drag along a heavy pair of sneakers. Does anyone know of any lightweight packable travel sneakers? I appreciate the help! Love this forum.

The Nike Free Run+ are lightweight but still have cushioning for walking/running. And some colors are on sale at Nordstrom for their Anniversary sale.

I have the Reebok Travel Trainers, which ideally are only for indoor use. They take as much room in my bag as a pair of hotel slippers. I wouldn't recommend running outside in them though. There were a few other similar shoes that were made by Nike and other companies, but I just searched and now am only finding a few new pairs on eBay. It seems Reebok sued Nike over stealing the design and now I can't find them anywhere by any one.

Here's hoping they return as I'll be crushed if I can't replace mine when they wear out.

I bought a pair of the "travel" sneakers a few years ago -- I don't like them. They don't take up that much less room than the real thing, they are nowhere near as comfortable as the real thing but are okay for indoor type workouts. Shop carefully

I just decided that working out while on travel was a high enough priority that my sneakers go first and any other shoes are extraneous. So yes I am going to business meetings in sneakers. I am lucky though I'm in a profession where people tend to dress down. During summer I put a generic pair of black sandals in my carryon (they are thin and do not take up that much space) and when I want to "dress up" I put on the sandals otherwise I wear the sneakers. Or you can get some black exercise shoes/comfort shoes and just wear them as your regular shoes. They can work OK if you are wearing pants as I do when I travel. My typical winter travel wear are black pants, black socks and black shoes, a colorful sweater and a blazer. Or if I am dressing down the blazer gets replaced by a fleece zip up. SAS, ECCO both have good choices for comfortable black walking shoes that also can be used for walking treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, but not for running.

If you are wearing business attire with skirts then I suggest to wear the sneakers on the plane and pack the dress shoes in the bag as they likely will take up less space than the sneakers. There is also the trick of stuffing your shoes with underwear and socks to save space and keep the shoes from getting crushed.

Anyway I prefer to wear sneakers when schlepping my rollerboard around airports. They are more practical shoes for dragging luggage around and lifting it up into overhead bins etc.

If I have space another thing I do on long flights is to take a pair of driving moccasins with me on board and slip out of the sneakers once on the plane. I pad around in the moccasins on the plane and then put the sneakers back on 30 minutes before landing. Plus the moccasins are nice to pad around the hotel in as well.

I'm a guy who faced the same issue. I didn't want to lug around a pair of sneakers that would only get used only for working out or walks, and I didn't want to use any of my better casual shoes for those activities.

I went to one of those mall sneaker stores that have a million styles and picked a fairly cheap pair that didn't scream out "sneakers"-mine are all black, with smooth sides an almost invisible insignia. When I wear them with pants, you have to look hard to see that they're sneakers. The edge is I can use them as sneakers for active times, and as decent enough casual shoes at other times.

As someone noted, they aren't great shoes for either active or casual wear, but they work fine for either on trips.

I also bought the Reebok Travel Trainers, but unfortunately I don't like them at all. They are not usable outdoors and have zero support/balancing, so running in them (even on the treadmill) is a fairly risky and unpleasant exercise. Also, they are super narrow--at least the pair I have are--and the elastic "laces" are so tight that they hurt my feet.

I bring my regular sneakers to run in when I travel. They aren't heavy, but they do take up a lot of room. I just stuff them with socks and underwear to try and utilize the space as well as possible. I have managed to keep myself to one 20-inch rollaboard for almost every trip even with the sneakers in the bag. (I absolutely refuse to wear them for the plane trip, which would probably be the intelligent thing to do from a packing standpoint--but I cringe when I see people do it!)

I also have and love the Reebok Travel Trainers, thanks to a long-ago post by l'etoile, and I've also discovered that they no longer exist - I've even badgered Reebok reps.

The closest replacement seems to be sprint or bouldering shoes.

I also bought the Reebok Travel Trainers, but unfortunately I don't like them at all. They are not usable outdoors and have zero support/balancing, so running in them (even on the treadmill) is a fairly risky and unpleasant exercise.

Yes, I'm a cyclist and say they are far better suited to riding the bikes and using rowing machines in the gyms. Not really great for running since they really have no support, although I have ran in them on the treadmill some. For me though, since my regular workout shoes would be the first thing to be removed from my bag when low on space since they are so bulky, they are wonderful. I am so crushed to know they're gone.

I have a pair of lightweight Nike trainers that I use for working out. A bonus for me is the colour, they're purple and make me feel snazzy while wearing workout clothes :-)
They look very much like these
http://www.rebelsport.com.au/ecom/Rebel/product_detail.aspx?id=32360&cat=404

Another possible lightweight training/casual shoe: Merrell Arabesque (http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3006765)

I also have a pair of Reebok travel trainers that I take on trips. They nearly fold flat and are very lightweight. I have really liked them, I am sorry they are not available anymore.

I recommend Privo's by Clark. They are not your typical 'sneaker' (I hate that word lol). they have a little style and a lot of comfort. Great cushion and decent style. Various colors and styles as well.

I don't travel for work so don't have carry-on constraints but I find Fitflops great for walking. My walk to work takes approx 50 mins and they're great, very comfortable. I've 2 pairs, one is the Silver Electra which are a little dressy so you'd be killing 2 birds with the one stone. There is a great selection of styles now and I believe the FF Supertone are excellent for walking.

I pack real running shoes, but I found a pair that is stylish enough to serve as my walking around/travel day shoes. They're charcoal grey Nikes with purple accents and sleek enough that they don't look like boats.

They sound nice - do you have a link to Zappos or another source?

Look for a pair of all black trainers. I have a pair of all black Skechers that are great "sight seeing shoes" and are adequate for the hotel gym. Since the all black blends it doesn't scream "American tourist"

Vibram five fingers? They are all the rage for running these days.

I swear by plain old canvas sneakers for travel. If I see a decent pair at Target or something, I'll pick them up, but you can always buy Keds Champions at Keds.com. The black/black looks the least sneaker-ish, and can pass for shoes with a pantsuit in a pinch.
They don't have enough cushioning for a hard-core runner, but they're plenty good enough for walking on a treadmill - or city streets. In fact, with a pair of socks, I find them more comfortable on long walks than shoes sold as "walking shoes".

If I'm planning on heavy walking running, I have a pair of black Cole-Haan/Nike Air sneakers in a Mary Jane style that are also cute enough for walking around outside the US.

If I'm planning on light walking or elliptical, I often bring my black or grey Converse All-Stars.

They sound nice - do you have a link to Zappos or another source?

Sorry for not responding earlier. Here is a link (and, even better, they're now on sale):

http://www.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikewomen/en_US/commerce?p=PDP&pid=300881&pgid=320790&cid=101101#?ll=en_US&ct=US

If the link doesn't work go to nike.com and search "Lunar glide" & Obsidian.

And if you click through Marriott's shopping portal to the nike.com website, you can 5 points per $ spent on top of the points you get for using a miles/hotel points credit card.

(No Marriott points for Zappos, I'm afraid, so I've had to find alternate suppliers.)

For street "walking," I agree with the poster who mentioned Privo by Clark, as they are really cushioned, like sneakers, but much more stylish, like a "Euro-style" sneaker. You can get away with them for a lighter workout.

For really running, and serious working out, I do my best to fit in the "real" sneakers. Of course, to complicate matters, I traveled twice this summer to two locations that required some hiking (Cinque Terre, Italy and Maine, USA), and I actually wore my "trail running" shoes on the plane. I am not really an avid hiker, but I was very happy I brought those hiking boots.

I have some Cole Haans that I love for city walking, and also can be worn for athletic wear. They're similar to these. (http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productId=383904&productGroup=356936&pwpHash=6)

I pack and run in my Nike Free (http://www.zappos.com/nike-free-run-wineberry-white-sangria?zlfid=111) shoes. I absolutely love them and they smoosh down a lot.

Clarks Wave sneakers (also in slip on style). They've got them in black and they feel like a dream. My feet are terrible, and walking for an hour just about does them in...but these shoes got me through London and long days of walking. Cost about $100, or slightly less. LOVE them!