Water shoes

[bodywhomper]

I need new water shoes. My crappy body glove shoes are about to explode (thank dog!)

Need:
-toe protection
-zero/near zero drop
-good traction on snotty river rocks
-durable
-(optional plus): won’t fill with sand through drain holes
-(optional plus): don’t look stupid and become an embarrassing conversation piece everywhere

Considering astral loyak ($$. Do these fill with sand through drain holes?) and O’Neill reef shoe (meh but cheaper).

I’ve had two pairs of Vibram 5fingers. They seems to get trashed pretty quick.

Cheers

[mud]

-(optional plus): I don’t look stupid and become an embarrassing conversation piece everywhere

Good luck with that.

[Tippster]

If you only wear them on the river nobody will give a shit. If you're the kind of douche that wears them everywhere then you deserve all the scorn you get. That's what flip-flops are for.

[Skistack]

You don’t switch back to Crocs when you come off the river?


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[reckless toboggan]

In the river, on the shore, out for beers, shopping with the family, in a business meeting, or at a black tie event...



...your welcome.

[Tippster]

Whose welcome?

[Meadow Skipper]

...your welcome.

Whose welcome?

Yours.

[Tippster]

I see.

[XXX-er]

never tried them 5 finger things but IME you just can't beat crocs in the sea kayak,

I did a trip int tweedsmuir park in cold october weather and my feet were cold wearing surf socks & neoprene booties inside the boat but when I took them off I was ok with bare feet in a sea kayak which suprised me

for a real shoe with support & protection for WW kayaking with a dry suit that has gortex socks I still got some Nike tok-tees which are awesume and I just got some NRS shoes which are pretty similar to the Tok-tees

they are actualy pretty comfy lots of support & protection but I don't wear crocs unless I am around water

[plugboots]

You want Hawaii tabbies, I like the ones with the big toe separate. JFC, take them off out of the water, douchebag.

[irul&ublo]

I thought you were gonna say Praxis RX

[Name Redacted]

Astral Brewer shoes. Best eva

[MakersTeleMark]

I wore Chacos for 2 decades and they absolutely destroyed my heels in a bloody cracked mess. Switched over to keens and not only are they lighter, but only water gets in and out.

[John_B]

Astrals grab rocks like a spider monkey and don't look entirely douchey. However they are worse than roller blades in mud and wet grass hills.

[PB]

Just let your nails grow and curl over into talons - win win.

[hutash]

You could just wear what Colorado rivers guides have worn for a few decades...Chacos.

[MakersTeleMark]

You could just wear what Colorado rivers guides have worn for a few decades...Chacos.

See above. Easily 100 days on the river each year. Again, see above.

[bodywhomper]

Ripped off a part of a big toe nail wearing some chacos last summer. Also, lots of ankle twists over the years.

[digitaldeath]

Just use the shitty sneakers you are wearing now

[riff]

Adidas trail cross protect. They are built for mountain biking, but have been the best whitewater kayaking shoes I’ve ever had. They check most of those boxes, and totally kick the crap out of astrals if you need a real shoe. They just bought 5.10, so they have the amazing grippy rubber. I’ve used them since February, still look brand new!


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[mud]

^^^5.10 rubber is the gold standard for grippy ass traction.

Half of my climbing shoes and all of my trail running shoes have 5.10 rubber. Good performance but plan to resole or replace within a year or two if used a lot.

[old goat]

What are you using the shoes for?
I've used the 5.10 canyoneering shoes* in the Virgin Narrows and they met all your criteria, but they don't seem to be in the catalog anymore. The Access mesh looks like it might check all your boxes--it has the stealth rubber sole.
I've use Keens for kayaking--the closed toe, strappy kind--and the gravel gets in and doesn't get out. I now use the open toe Chacos which let the gravel out but obviously don't have the protection. All the guides I saw on the Colorado had Chaco flip flops.

*Rentals. The second day when we woke up there was a terrible smell coming from our gear. I was sure the poop bag had leaked all over my back, but it turned out to be the shoes that stank.

[Conundrum]

Five Ten Water Tennies

[The Tortoise]

Tevas with the ankle strap work well if you don't mind smashing your toes from time to time.

[bodywhomper]

Some good recommendations here. Thanks! I hope others find this thread useful.

For me, i like a good fit. I have wide flat forefeet and Mortens toe. I've also developed a disdain for heel/toe drop. I can put up with it, but really can't stand it. I am aware that it doesn't bother most people. A half mile walk in crocs and i want to accidentally lose them at the beach.

5.10's don't fit me.

I was pretty set to buy some fugly aqua socks, probably the O'Neill ones because reviews indicated that they would out last the cheaper shoes, until i saw some astrals at a local shop. I had not heard of astrals until then. I started thread to see what others i have not stumbled across.

Rivers, lakes, and creeks have become a big chunk of time in summers and fall for the past decade. Here's my footwear experience during that time:
-chacos (multiple pairs): ankle twister, tore toenail, poor traction (non stealth), ramp angle drives me crazy, heel gets funky, z2 hurts knuckle joint. Always die by sole/midsole delam. great for footbag. Will replace with cheaper xeroshoe sandals.
-Barefoot: tear up feet on granite crystals (still do this often)
-cheap flip flops: don't enjoy holding on with toes when wading. Poor traction. Fell apart at a bad time/place.
-vibram 5finger (2 pair): always a conversation piece. Quickly fell fell apart at seal between sole and upper letting allowing sand to enter between the two. Pretty impressed with the other stuff (e.g. traction) and segued me towards zero drop shoes and boots (drank the koolaid).
-old running shoes resoled with stealth rubber. 2 pair. These never fit great (forefoot not wide enough) and annoying ramp angle. Logged many miles in them including many full days of swimming and stemming amongst succulent Navajo sandstone; always tore up toes because of fit issues. Wore them last summer after hurting toenail in sandals. Midsole exploded. My connection for resoling shoes with stealth rubber seems to have disappeared.
-body glove (dynamo). Bought last summer because needed something asap and were on sale. Poor wet traction. Annoying ramp angle. Design allows sand between inner "sock" and midsole under foot. Starting to delam at midsole. Take days to dry in warmth and low humidity.
-older vivobarefoot running shoes: destroyed uppers on rivers in the river. Poor traction.
-cheaper water socks: several pair. Always seem to fall apart in a matter of hours of use.

Current other shoe quiver:
-Vivobarefoot running shoes
-bellevue minimil boots (daily drivers, usually unlaced). Amazingly, not a conversation piece. I've swam in these several times on long backcountry walks that involve water. Love these things. Take a bit of time to dry. Seem like too much for constant for consistent river/lake days.
-vivobarefoot biz casual shoes
-wellies
-snow boots
-ski boots

Enough about me

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