Well I tried some on yesterday and the "good" news is I'm an 8 in Chaco (as compared to my 11W in Nike!), and the toe loop on the Z2 would definitely cause me problems. So no regrets in not scarfing up this pair.

The bad news is the Z1's straps across the top of the foot. They really seem like they would irritate my incipient tailor's bunion, falling as they do directly over the 5th MTP joint. Typically, any overlay in running shoes that touches my foot there, will cause me big problems.

So once again I wasted a good long time for a shoe salesman. (I also unsuccessfully tried on some Merrells and a couple of other things.) But I left open the possibility that I might go for the Z1 if I get some reassurance. Opinions about the tailor's bunion? I'd be interested in hearing about how a big toe bunion does with Chacos as well, since the strap also hits right over that joint...