Water Shoes vs. Waterproof Shoes

[NancyT]

I am faced with a dilemma. On our last canoe trip, I bought some cheap $7 water shoes and although very comfortable, they didn’t hold up on the trail. So, I’m looking for a shoe that does both, canoeing and hiking. Having to change shoes to portage is mildly inconvenient. My question to you is… do I get a water shoe that has a better sole or a waterproof shoe? I have my waterproof hiking boots, but they’ve proven to be not so much so and take days to dry after getting wet, so I’m a bit leery.

[johnhens]

I have used 3 different types of foot wear for portages.
Most of the portages I have done I have used Chaco sandles. The fit well are comfortable to hike in and dry out quickly.

I have used Keen shoes, which are open designed for in/ out use in water. I like the chacos because the take up less room.

I have also used neoprene booties with either a hard or semi-hard sole. If the portage is short, those are fine.

[Wilderness Junkie]

On our recent kayak / canoe trip this spring, I wore Crocs while in the boat and swapped over to my hiking boots for the portages. I can't imagine doing the portage from Whittlesey to Wood carrying a boat and gear in anything without ankle support and solid traction, but I'm a wimp.

[Ingo]

I'm in the same camp as Junkie (for the same reasons), except that I usually just wear my boots paddling and unlace them at the top--or take them off on a long stretch. Whatever your preference (and tolerance), I can't imagine that a low waterproof shoe that doesn't drain would be very good. It's too easy to step in a couple of inches of water and have it over the top. If you want waterproof, go high. If you assume your feet will get wet, then something that is designed to be wet inside and out.

[NancyT]

Thanks for all the input. It's much appreciated!!

[Spartan]

I actually just bought a pair of the Sperry SON-R Buckle water shoes. They are supposedly designed for wear in the boat and on land. Haven’t tried them on the water yet but they feel pretty good walking around my house.

Two years ago my wife and I did a kayak trip through the island with a lot of portaging. I wore a pair of Ahnu sandals, which have a pretty substantial sole and were good enough for walking/portaging but my biggest complaint was that they would collect rocks very easily, which were nearly impossible to shake out while trying to balance a boat on your shoulders. The Sperrys (Sperries?) have a mesh upper that supposedly keeps rocks out. (They also make a sandal style.)

My wife wore a pair of Chaco sandals and got blisters on the soles of her feet.

We are taking another kayak trip to Isle Royale next month so I am going to give these shoes a few good test runs over the next few weeks.

[NancyT]

Thanks Spartan! I'm not much of a sandal person in soft grass let alone the unforgiving trails of Isle Royale!
I am naturally a clutz. I need toe protection and ankle support.
I opted against waterPROOF as I've not had luck with anything that claims to be waterproof.
I loved my cheap water shoes but they didn't hold up on the trail at all.
I believe I've found a water shoe that will give me the toe protection, the ankle support and a decent sole. We shall see.
I appreciate everyone's input.

[eddy_line]

Any results to share from all these "test" ideas? Sounded like a lot of good possibilities, so I was hoping to see some of you folks sharing your results and conclusions.

Three of us paddled/portaged across IR in 2011. One wore sandals for both paddling and portaging, one wore sandals for paddling with boots for portaging, and I wore mukluks for paddling and lightweight Keen boots for portaging. Final result was that we were each satisfied with the results. We did have excellent weather at the end of July, so we didn't have to deal with heavy rain or cold air. We did prove that wearing sandals at the putins/takeouts, and while fishing the shore can certainly attract leaches, however.

[Spartan]

Any results to share from all these "test" ideas? Sounded like a lot of good possibilities, so I was hoping to see some of you folks sharing your results and conclusions.

Ok, results. After wearing the Sperry SON-R shoes for a 5-day kayaking trip this summer, I have to give them a big thumbs DOWN, for several reasons:

1. They take FOREVER to dry, which is ironically exactly what they are not supposed to do. These are designed to be worn in and out of the water. Howerver, hours upon hours after getting them wet, they are still wet. The next morning, still wet. It got to the point when I was wearing these that I went out of my way to keep them dry, taking them off before stepping out of my boat, lest I be forced to walk/paddle around with wet clammy feet for the rest of the day. I might as well have been wearing full-blown hiking shoes.

2. The drain ports don't really work that well (contributing to the above problem). What direction do your feet point when sitting in your kayak? Up. Well guess what, these are missing drain ports in the heel area, so water just pools there after climbing into your boat. There are "cutouts" molded into the heel section (similar to the drain ports near the forefoot area) of the sole, but for some reason they aren't actual holes. I am thinking of just drilling some holes all the way through these cutouts at the heel.

3. Blisters. Holy crap, do these cause blisters. Yeah, I get the point of breaking in your footwear before a trip, and the several times I wore these prior to the trip, they seemed fine. But when they are wet and clammy (and they stay that way), after a few days my feet looked like they had been hit with buckshot. It was almost laughable. I plowed through our supply of band-aids.

When dry, these shoes are comfortable and fine for walking/portaging. But they perform so poorly when wet, i.e. WHAT THEY WERE DESIGNED FOR, it makes me wonder if they were field-tested at all.

So my quest for the pefect kayaking shoes continues. My wife had bought some similar waterproof shoes from Colombia and they seemed to work much better, so I might have to give those a try.

[Gimp]

I bought a pair of Chaco Tedinho Pro water boots this spring. They look like a cross between an Army jungle boot and the high top gym shoes I wore as a kid. They are a very comfortable canvas with drain holes and a heavy rubber toe and heal. The boots drain well and the canvas dries out very quickly. The sole has a light tread that provides a good grip on slippery surfaces, better than either my hiking boots or hiking shoes that have a more aggressive tread. The lighter tread is also more appropriate to the foot pegs in my canoe as the sole doesn't get caught up like the lugs of my boots. I was initially wearing these with my heavy duty wool backpacking socks. When my feet got wet the boots dried quickly but my heavy socks stayed soaking wet. I just changed to a medium weight moisture wicking sock and it made a world of improvement. I was also concerned about water collecting at the heal as that would be the low point when using foot pegs, but I haven't noticed a problem so far. I'll be giving them a week long evaluation at the end of this month and will update my opinion after that.

[Spartan]

My latest attempt at finding the perfect water shoe has been the Astral Brewer. I've had them for a few weeks now and have been wearing them around without major issues. I've gotten them wet a handful of times and they seem to dry out fairly quickly (a hell of a lot faster than the Sperry SON-R I previously reviewed). They have very functional drain ports, include a larger slot at the lower back of the heel where water easily drains out when my feet are in an upright position in the kayak.

I will be wearing these for a week-long kayak trip to the Island in August, so I will post back my experience once I put them through a proper test! But so far they are promising.