Canoe tripping footwear

[yellowcanoe]

Just a word of warning.. Don't try to get Bean boots this year. They are a new fashion rage among college kids. And Beans has hired 100 more people to make em but they are months behind.
Fortunately or not( I don't like them at all) I have a lifetime supply cause when I worked there I could get returns for three bucks or so a pair. ( for me they are incredibly cold eventually cause my feet sweat a lot. Dry booting wont ever happen for me!)

Im surprised that Mem finds vibram slippery. I insist on Vibram for not slippery..
I have to go find my vibram hiking boots now.. Off to Mt Washington tomorrow in NH where it is rime ice time! Its a bit late this year. There should have been ice and snow a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Alan Gage]

Im surprised that Mem finds vibram slippery. I insist on Vibram for not slippery..

​My camp shoes had Vibram soles and were noticeably slicker on wet rocks than my Abyss boots. I'd never noticed them being slippery before but this was the first time I had something different to compare them to in the same conditions.

Alan

 

[tump_lion]

Bean does seem to be backlogged, they had -1- pair of 11W 16" maine guides -- so i bought them -- when they told me that it would take 4 months to get my old (12W) ones re-stitched...

 

[Canotrouge]

My experience with Vibram is the same as Mem and Alan, and I had my share of Vibram soled boots, logging boots hiking boots hunting boots, they are great in the mud and dry rocks, but quite slippery on wet stuff!!

My feet sweat a lot, and one thing that have been working for my in non breathable boots, is to wear Bama socks!! http://www.ganka.ca/EN/104JOB/CAT/SocksSokketsBama
These thing work magic, I wore them again today in my bean boots, and after 8 hours with the boots in my feet walking in the bush, my sock and feet were bone dry!!

 

[Canotrouge]

Just a word of warning.. And Beans has hired 100 more people to make em but they are months behind.

I wonder if the quality will suffer from that!!

 

[ezDuzit]

Has anyone tried either the Simms guide boots or Kokatat Nomads? Perhaps the guide boots are too stiff.
http://www.simmsfishing.com/g3-guide-boot.html
http://kokatat.com/products/footwear/nomad-1.html

 

[Canotrouge]

I never tried any of these, but I know that the nomad is a really popular boot with sea kayaker, Chota have been making something like that for years.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I wonder if the quality will suffer from that!!

Beans has a really thorough training program and there are many people that are former shoemakers here in Maine. It used to be major shoemaking area. Brunswick is about an hour from my place.

http://fortune.com/2015/09/29/ll-bean-boots-backorder/

 

[lowangle al]

vibram soles are not all the same, I had a pair of insulated leather Danners (not for paddling) that were a hazard on ice or hard packed snow. They were not a practical winter boot because of it, they were the most slippery shoes I owned. My current Red Wings have a similar vibram sole and they are not a problem. I think it must be the hardness of the rubber.

 

[Iskweo]

This has been an ongoing issue for me forever. In summer I use runners from the second hand store and just toss them when they are done. Or I use my old ones and buy a new pair for normal use.
Since I see canoeing as a wet pastime I never worry about wet feet. In the fall however I have been known to use hip waders. I have a set of the stocking foot ones from Cabelas...Herters brand I think...that are light weight and work pretty good to stay dry and warm. I know I know. What if you end up in the water? Good question. My biggest concern with these is that the stocking foot is too bulky to fit in any boots that I like so I have to wear sandals.
Mehh.

I have tried combat boots...sturdy but too heavy. I have tried kodaks..same thing. I was considering jungle boots. Runners work for me for the most part. Sandals in camp to dry the feet out, or whatever, hikers maybe if its colder. I have tried the cheapy water shoes from ...Canadian Tire.... like karin used and they were ok too. But nothing has really stood out.

One issue I have is leeches. God dang they are everywhere here and I get really tired of that. I try to wear socks to keep the off me but then I have wet socks all day and that leads to ...trench foot....not a good thing. Most of the time it is runners, no socks. But if I do wear socks then it gets rather un comfy. At least with no socks I can kick the shoes off in the boat and dry my feet between ports.

I have tried a couple of pairs of Danners, like the new issue boots the guys are wearing. They are very light and would be pretty awesome I think but at $350 a pair somebody is going to have to leave me a pair in their will before I will be using any of those.

 

[tump_lion]

gold-bond medicated foot powder...one of my luxury items -- a little foot powder before bed -- bliss -- dry feet are warm feet...

 

[tear_knee]

I wear shearling-lined leather boots from Roots with only a bit of waterproofing spray. They get wet, and don't drain well unless you bend your toes and squish it all out, but the wool keeps my feet warm and they dry out quickly by a fire. My camp shoes are leather-soled moccasins.. They get damp but once again, dry quickly. So comfortable. I'd rather have wet feet and good traction from hikers than slip and slide on rocks in rubbers or river booties.

 

[Iskweo]

Hmmmm...wool. That may be the answer. Wool socks, real ones, in leather or some kind of boot, for shoulder seasons. Runners for camp. Moccasins would work.

 

[tump_lion]

my very first real canoe trip, 1983 or so, i learned the magic of wool socks...usually nothing fancy, work-grade wool-blend and lots of them...wool socks is always my very first recommendation for anyone in the woods...i generally don't unless i'm backcountry skiing, but a thin, snug-fitting pair of silk or nylon or poly-pro liners against the skin inside the wool really make 'em great -- gives you a dry wicking layer and moves the friction-point away from the skin and to the liner/wool interface...

 

[ezDuzit]

I was thinking to try some waterproof socks. Anyone tried them?
http://hiconsumption.com/2014/09/best-waterproof-socks/

 

[tump_lion]

used milk-bags on my feet, between the nylon and wool layers for cold/wet weather cycle commuting -- made a huge difference, wind-chill is a foot-factor on a bike -- i wonder sometimes about something more high-tech for my backcountry skiing -- never felt the need for something more elaborate/expensive for paddling where i tend to favour robust simplicity over high-tech...

 

[Guest]

Camp shoes

I think I have been through about every variation of paddling and camping boots and shoes imaginable, from cheap 1-size-too-large Velcro closures sneakers and neoprene booties to Beans, Mukluks, Tevas, Crocs, etc.

On the wet side I am a fan of Mukluks in cold weather/water, specifically the old Nunavut or Marsh Boot style with a solid heel and tread. More especially a pair of Muk’s at least a half size too large, with thin wool socks under Sealskinz. Three layer warm, dry and breathable (well, the Muks are sometimes foot sweat moist inside, but my feet are dry under the wool and Sealskinz)

In warm weather I use a pair of NRS water shoes that can be tightened around the opening so that I don’t end up with a shoe full of pebbles when wading.

On the in camp dry side I will bring a pair of insulated high top hiking boots if it is below freezing, but mostly I have settled on a pair of light weight Goretex-lined trail running shoes (and wool socks). In fact, I’m wearing them now, for the same reason I wear them in camp; the Goretex part means that water doesn’t stream off my rain pants and soak my shoes. Same goes for just walking around in wet grass or mud, which I have plenty of here after a week of rain.

dry feet are warm feet...

Drying feet, between water shoes and camp wear, are happy feet too. I like to air out my tootsies and I’ll confess to an inner Imelda Marcos. I usually bring a third pair of “dry my feet out” slip ons. Depending on the time, place and space a pair of Crocs or sandals or moccasins, something that I can slip on between the wet water shoes and the dry camp footwear.

Those are also handy when I awake up at 3am and need to old man pee or go see what the heck that noise is. Crept WTF out of the tent just before dawn and the forest exploded. A large flock or turkeys had me surrounded, tearing up the pine duff all around the tent.

 

[tear_knee]

Wool is my answer, for sure! The shearling lining in my boots is great, and I ALWAYS wear wool socks. In the summer I wear 200-weight Woolpower ones.. they're so lightweight that my feet don't overheat, and I can wear them inside my moccasins, too.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I have a heck of a time with my feet. They're 5E wide, it's almost impossible to find footwear anywhere except in the Shire from the same guy Bilbo Baggins buys from. I have a pair of Merrells which actually sort of fit and dry amazingly quickly, but they have that dang vibram on the sole, so they are as slippery as a greased pig on anything wet. I'm convinced that I will never find good footwear. I broke down last week and ordered a pair of wolverine work boots, rated at extra wide....couldn't even get my foot in them.

In the fall, it's pretty much the universal green rubber boot with the felt liner. Anyone know why those boots always pull your socks off? In the summer I'm usually wearing a new balance sneaker, because NB is one of the only companies that realizes that some people have girthy feet.

E? What do you do for shoes in Geraldton? Zappos? Yeeks. I am shorter than you and I wear an 8 mens E. Thats a 10 womens. There are no purty shoes for size 10 womens. Good thing I don't dress up
Somehow God messed up on assigning body parts.

Wow do we have a hot topic.

hee hee. I knit wool socks. Maybe I have another career coming. But a pair of handknit socks would be over $50. It takes a bit of time. When you are knitting for one its one thing.. an enjoyable pursuit in front of the boob tube.

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Footwear is always a problem. When we first started paddling in Woodland Caribou and down to Lake Winnipeg we were amazed at how slippery some of the rock was. Some of the grey granite(?) is incredibly slippery close to the water's edge. We tell each other to watch out for the black rock. I usually slide into the water at least once each trip whilst loading the canoe and have found no footwear I have tried can get get a grip on the stuff. At the same time the rock can be incredibly abrasive. If you spend much time wading it trashes your shoes. Anywhere there is exposed stitching takes a beating. I wore out a pair of Keens in two trips. One solution to this would be to re-force stitching with PU glue or Epoxy from new.

These last couple of seasons I have been wearing a pair of minimalist trail runners from New Balance, bought cheap from Sportsman's Guide. I have 4E wide feet so over the years I have become an NB fan. They are standing up well so far and paired with knee high (to keep the leeches off) wool blend socks are fairly warm. The shoes don't drain as fast as full-on water shoes but they are warmer as a consequence. The grip is pretty good except for the black rock. The only thing I can think of that would stick there is a felt soled wading shoe but that would be useless on a muddy trail.

In camp I wear Bean Mocs. I like that they keep my feet dry and warm and I could use them for paddling if I damage or lose another shoe to the river or wildlife.