Jack Martin raises a good point about possible entrapment with any sandal. I know there are instructors and trip leaders who ban people if they are in sandals. Over tne last 10 years, there have been a handful of incidents involving such entrapment and so some instructors and leaders get antsy about it. I remember Tammy Venn of Atlantic Coastal Kayaker writing about it in her magazine or earlier in the club newsletter she used to edit. I have not personally experienced such entrapment. But If I know I am going to be around someone who is skittish about such potential danger, then I will not wear the sandals out of respect especially in a hardshell. For rolling sessions, for example, I will wear neoprene booties instead. For the most part I paddle folding kayaks and most do not have pedals and therefore little danger of entrapment. The one manufacturer that does have pedals, Feathercraft, has them constructed in a way that it would be impossible to catch a strap on them. The Feathercraft pedal instead of being a flat piece of material is in the form of a wedge. Most hardshell pedals are fairly flat and about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick, so it is possible that the pedal's edge could slip in under your foot or a strap. The Feathercraft is very much a wide wedge that can't really slip in between your foot and the footbed or underneath a strap. In addition, many Feathercraft owners (not me) use sea socks which also avoid the possibility of entrapment on a pedal because of the sock being between them and the pedals. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
ralph diaz wrote: > Jack Martin raises a good point about possible entrapment with any > sandal. I know there are instructors and trip leaders who ban people if > they are in sandals. An alternative to open sandals is the almost-a-running-shoe water sandal. There are several on the market - I use Hi-Tec Piranhas (not super, but ok. They grip almost as well as the siped-soled shoes like Teva Wet Climbers). These are lots of mesh and a reasonably protective sole. They drain fast and are cooler than neoprene booties. Since they are closed, there are fewer edges and bits to snag. I've trimmed the laces down to minimum (they use a cord-lock instead of knot to secure the laces) so they don't catch either. Down side is that they let in sand and fine gravel and then don't clear that stuff as well as open sandals do. I've coupled these with Seal Skinz calf high socks in cooler weather for dry feet. Not a bad combination. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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