Trying to find the perfect ones :-) for the next season. NRS Shark Attack are good, with one velcro strap instead of "shoelaces", light, flexible, but rigid enough on sharp rocks, protect ankle bones (from scratches, not from breaking :-). But - they dry slow at room temperatures, due to high cut and double neoprene layer around ankles. No dryer in a kayak, you know... And they are not easy to pull on and off, due to high-cut profile (not hard, but both hands are needed). For easy trips in summer (no surf landings, none or very few barhacle beds etc) I'd rather had short-cut and faster-drying version (neoprenes are not). NRS don't have anything like that. Salomon Tech Amphibian look attractive, except for "shoelaces". Not really shoelaces, - looks like cinch lines, but I don't like this part. Another choice is Teva Proton II and Teva Neutron II, - I don't see any difference except for Velcro-straps on Teva Neutron (which I like - can adjust): http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=40 000000226&storeId=226&categoryId=69719&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=69710 No Salomon Tech Amphibs in local shops. Teva Proton (kids size) I've found, looked at it - guys, this is a sock, not a shoe. Sole is very thin. Has anybody seen or used Teva Neutron, how is its sole and the rest? (I've heard Teva Proton are running small - size 10 is like 9.5). Or any experience with those Salomon Tech? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I've had good success going to Target/Sports Authority/wherever and buying cheap, no-name, low-cut "watershoes" for $6/pair. They don't last that well, don't dry that well, but neither have the things I have spent substantially more for. The provide good protection and are reasonably comfortable. I buy a couple pair at a time and each pair lasts me as season or two. Nick Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Nick Schade said: I've had good success going to Target/Sports Authority/wherever and buying cheap, no-name, low-cut "watershoes" for $6/pair. They don't last that well, don't dry that well, but neither have the things I have spent substantially more for. I do the same, also checking in at drug and food supermarkets in the "discount" bins as well as outlet stores. I've had very good luck with some of the shoes lasting three years of daily use in the summer. For good paddling shoes and almost everything else paddling related, I shop eBay, searching "kayak" as a starter. Sierra Trading Post often has good deals as well. My left foot is a size seven and my right a size nine, so shoe shopping is a bit of a hobby of mine. Jim Tibensky *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I've had good success going to Target/Sports Authority/wherever and > buying cheap, no-name, low-cut "watershoes" for $6/pair. They don't > last that well, don't dry that well, but neither have the things I have > spent substantially more for. The provide good protection and are > reasonably comfortable. I buy a couple pair at a time and each pair > lasts me as season or two. :-))... After I looked at $20-30 Teva Protons, me very next thought was about those mesh-top "watershoes" from Walmart etc; huge difference in price and little - in performance. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Check out Crocs. You can find them at www.crocs.com. I wore them all last summer. They're closed cell foam, very comfortable, drain quickly, don't retain water. I think they're the perfect warm weather paddling shoe even though that isn't what they're designed for. No affiliation, just a happy consumer. Marcia Tauber Simply Macintosh 837 H St. Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 825-7100 (707) 825-7200 Fax *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Saloman Tech Amphibians and they are terrific. As a folding kayaker I > need something that works well both in-water and out. On a two week > paddling trip in France this summer, my feet stayed comfortable through > all the paddling, as well as two solid days of walking around Paris. > This is the real strength of these shoes: they have a real sole. This > is great on land, and on rocky beaches, but could be a liability > getting in and out of a kayak or using them in tight underdeck spaces > (not an issue with my folders). The TAs drain well, so my feet stay > quite comfortable all the time. Ideal water shoe probably depends on conditions of use. I've put Salomon TA on my list, especially after my recent experience with NRS Shark Attack in two different regions: rocky BC shores and sandy Baja California. NRS Shark can be found on their website and is similar to Nemo Five-Ten high shoes. Same neoprene cuff to protect ankle bones - and this was a problem with coarse and sharp sand particles of Baja. It gets between the ankle and cuff along the upper edge of this cuff, and rubs against skin when I walk back and forth, loading a kayak or doing anything else. After 15-20 minutes my skin was sore. Since I didn't have another watershoes in this trip, I had to constantly check for this trapped sand and push it from the tight neoprene cuff deeper inside, where it wouldn't rub the skin. I would have never taken a pair of not tested shoes in any trip, but these Sharks were tested earlier - in BC, in combination with Sealskinz socks. Such combination worked until mid-October, with fleece socks added under Sealskinz. Sand didn't get in (with socks) and there sands are finer here, and much less encountered than in Baja anyway. If I careful enough when getting in and out of a kayak, water doesn't come over the top of Sealskinz, and my feet stay both warm and dry, no need for sweating in neoprene MEC Swellies or Chotas. Even if some water gets in, such a combo keeps it warm. Walking and non-slippery qualities of these Sharks are excellent, and drying fast too. Though, Sealskinz socks wear out too soon for that price. Looks like NRS Sharks are for whitewater rather than for sea or river kayaking - high, good protection, non-slippery on boulders, real tough sole for sharp rocks, impossible to lose - and hardly possible to take them off :-), which is annoying when you are tired in the evening. I think they are snug enough to fit into most of low-volume kayaks. But they didn't work for me on coarse sands. >After two weeks of consistent use, > though, they developed quite a stink. It took a lot of work to get rid > of the stink, but I seem to have been mostly successful now (soaking in > shampoo, drying on the balcony, using dish detergent, etc.) On the photo TA look like with a lot of mesh, and if it is so, stink is strange. But, may be, after two weeks of non-stop use, paddling and walking, who knows... My Sealskinz socks stink after one or two days of paddling, but they are waterproof. All waterproof shoes and socks stink. One thing worries me - backs and ankle bones look unprotected in Salomon TA - back looks soft, like in bedroom "sleepers", and can probably be folded in, same as in bedroom sleepers (which is not bad :-). Ankle bones are probably open in Salomon TA - same as in running shoes. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:39 PDT