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Water Shoe Review

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Hello fellow canoeists. I just got back from a short canoe trip out into the scenic waters of Georgian Bay. It was the kind of trip where we were always in and out of the boat, getting our feet wet, so I got to try out a new pair of water shoes made by a Chinese company called CLORTS. Overall, I was very impressed with these moderately priced shoes. Please check out the video review I put together.


Cheers
-Wayne
 
That was a very professional and nicely photographed review, Wayne.

Personally, I don't care for that type of water shoe -- of which there are many -- because sand, pebbles and mud easily get in those big side holes. And, unlike true flat sandals, you can't just slosh the sand and mud out. (Not that I like sandals particularly for canoeing.) I also don't like cord locks and extra strings on water shoes. I like simple laces or no laces at all.

Finally, an essential requirement for me as a kneeler on low seats is that the top of the shoe must be flexible enough for it to lie pressed flat on the bottom of the hull. Most running shoe styles and thick-soled sandals can't do that. You didn't comment on that in the review, but if you're a sitter, that feature isn't necessary.

You're evaluation of the traction was important.
 
Those sandals might work for me ! If only someone would send me a pair to test ! Size 11 wide.
Thanks !

Great review Wayne ! I had the same traction problem with Crocks on a wet surface. I just don't like spending big money on shoes.

Jim
 
Wayne, very well done review. At least some of the drain holes are mesh covered (some not). The remaining open drain holes on the side would be the biggest disadvantage for my water shoe uses.

Personally, I don't care for that type of water shoe -- of which there are many -- because sand, pebbles and mud easily get in those big side holes. And, unlike true flat sandals, you can't just slosh the sand and mud out. (Not that I like sandals particularly for canoeing.) I also don't like cord locks and extra strings on water shoes. I like simple laces or no laces at all.

If I am not wearing a calf or knee high Mukluks or boots I have the same issue with open-vent water shoes, or sandals, Crocs or etc. They all suck in pebbles and debris. Streams with shallow wade-the-boat pebble bottoms are the worst, I’d rather just go barefoot than have a pebble trapped between my foot and the shoe. Stopping to shake out a stone every step doesn’t cut it.

And I don’t care for open drainage holes in stick-ee situations like beaver dams; alliteratively a stick stuck situated sticking out sucky situation.

The open drain hole concept on some water shoes makes no sense to me. I think it is more stylistic than functional, kinda like how many cheap folding pocket knives now sport “decorative” holes and teardrop slots in the handles. Why would I want that?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-Mini-Paraframe-Fine-Knife/15125895#read-more

With water shoes, even with open drain holes, my foot is still inside a wet neoprene & rubber shoe, how much less damp is it going to get?

My footwear solution for pebbly streams in summer temps is a pair of low-rise NRS Kickers, with no drainage holes to allow pebbles and good but still pliable traction soles. The original Kickers have a single Velcro strap across the top, and a cordlock and bungee tightener above the heel to seal the ankle opening against pebbly intrusion. My only complaint with those Kickers is that the tread pattern is a mud-magnet.

They are now (back as) the Kicker Remix, without the top Velcro strap. And they are available up to size 14, which is another issue for us bigfoots, or if paired with watersocks.

https://www.nrs.com/product/30022.03/nrs-mens-kicker-remix-wetshoe

I think the original Kickers disappeared for a year or two before popular demand brought them back as the Remix. I had never read the NRS reviews before. No reviews under 3 stars, and of those are simply folks missing the Velco strap on the original Kickers, so I’m thinking it isn’t just conformational bias on my part.

They seem pretty durable; I’ve had the original Kickers for 5 or 6 (8?) years now and they are my go-to summer water shoe. If they wear out or got lost I’d buy another pair immediately.

I had the same traction problem with Crocks on a wet surface. I just don't like spending big money on shoes.

I like Crocs, but for something originally developed as a “boating shoe” the soles quickly become slick as snot on a doorknob on wet surfaces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocs

I still wear Crocs at times, including my beloved fuzzy-lined winter pair that go so well with my overalls, but I have learned not to so much as walk out onto the dewy lawn and then back inside on the concrete or tile floors. The last time I biffed it with Crocs I had a single leg inside the shop door and suddenly found myself trapped in a heap between a storage cabinet and some wall shelving, with one leg bent awkwardly beneath me.

It was dang near a “Help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” before I figured out how to extract myself.
 
Crocs are suicide. Nice review though they are not for me. I wore my Merrill Mailpos again for eight days straight. They give great traction also on leather leaf lichen. ( the boreal equivalent of a Darwin Award sifter)
And then I liked those Maipos so well I wore them around town Not cheap but after three seasons still quite undamaged
I have issue or non with cord locks. I can tolerate them on laces for some reason but never on the heel

Water shoes are the most personal of canoeing preferences
 
The open drain hole concept on some water shoes makes no sense to me. I think it is more stylistic than functional, kinda like how many cheap folding pocket knives now sport “decorative” holes and teardrop slots in the handles. Why would I want that?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gerber-Mini-Paraframe-Fine-Knife/15125895#read-more

Mike, you may not like the looks of the knife, but skeletonizing the handle is a common and functional way to make a knife lighter, including many very high end knives. Many fixed blade knives that are full tang actually have skeletonized metal under the handle scales.
 
Mike, you may not like the looks of the knife, but skeletonizing the handle is a common and functional way to make a knife lighter, including many very high end knives. Many fixed blade knives that are full tang actually have skeletonized metal under the handle scales.

I briefly had a similar Gerber, maybe that one. I didn’t mind the looks, but the sizable cut-outs in the open air design were problematic. One of the openings was large enough that when I stuck my hand in my pocket I could feel the edge of the blade with my fingertip through a skeletal hole. That same opening was large enough to collect loose coinage, dimes especially, so I could get out my knife and make change at the same time.

That open-air design also seems more likely to gather pocket lint and debris inside the case. I don’t get the function of that style fully open skeleton handle, especially on a knife that small and light to begin with. I’m not sure I buy the “weight saving” rational.

That 2 ¼ inch Gerber mini weighs just “over an ounce”. I have a 2 1/2 inch lock-blade blade Case XX from my Ducks Unlimited days, so at least 15 years old. Still works like new. This (but not in camo)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002V3JI...t=&hvlocphy=9007871&hvtargid=pla-348859456206

The little Case lockblade weighs 0.8, if that is actually a concern, and with the synthetic handle it is barely 5/16 inch thick. The only complaint I have with it is that it’s so thin and lightweight that it is hard to tell if it’s in my pocket or not. At least when I reach in to feel for it I don’t risk running my pinkietip along a sharp edge.

We have wandered far afield of watershoes. Mea culpa.

Getting back on topic: For my purposes, foot size and splay toed shape; in warm weather those NRS Kickers, or the Remix version when I need to replace them. For cool/cold weather, as a sitter who rarely kneels, a pair of Chota Nunavut Mukluks, or their replacement, Chota Marsh Boots.
 
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