Kind of an OT but Crocs?

I don't think Crocs are OT for this forum. Or any other general hiking gear forum.

But they certainly don't qualify as UL …. AFAIAC. In fact I own *acceptable* hiking shoes that are lighter than my Crocs. Not that i'd want to hike in Crocs anyway. Well, maybe on a nicely manicured trail. [chuckle]

BTW, I wear Crocs all the time (note; hyperbole). Love 'em but not for camp shoes. To heavy. Too bulky.

Peace,

Richard.

I own a pair of those, and took them as camp shoes on a week long hike once. I agree that they are too heavy and too bulky. So bulky that they had to be strapped on the outside of my pack (ugly). I also had an ember from a campfire fly right through the hole in the top and burn my foot – ouch.

They're fine for car camping or around the house. Kinda ugly IMHO though.

That thru-hiker guy w/ the big dog (forgot his name ) has hiked 1000's of miles in Waldies , a Croc from a different company. And they are SUL category. A pair weigh about 12 ozs. Show me a trail runner that weighs 12 ozs. for the pair.

Some people hike thousands of miles w/o footwear of any kind. And some climb Everest w/o oxygen. Ergo: What is your point?

SUL; depends on how one defines it. In the Members Only forum I defined some LTW categories, w/o challenge. In the interest of better communication on both our parts here are some definitions ….

"UL: Choosing the lightest gear which meets the requirements.
SUL: Choosing the lightest gear which meets the requirements while sacrificing reliability, durability, comfort and convenience.
I'll add XUL: Choosing the lightest gear. Period."

Please note "requirements" to me means being able to perform the task. So one could define Crocs as SUL for trailrunning if it weren't for the fact (one fact, there are others) "lightest" gear means Crocs will be placed in a different category if there are lighter shoes.

FYI: Crocs/Waldies are not trailrunners. Is there another point cleverly hidden here?

My Nike 100K weigh 8 ounces for the pair. And are (arguably) much better suited to trailrunning than Crocs.

My campshoes weigh 2 ounces for the pair. And there are other shoes(?) which are lighter but would probably best be placed in the XUL category.

Of course we'll now have to define still another category. I'll call it NULL.

My NULL trailrunners and my NULL campshoes are weightless. They weigh nothing at all. Imagine That!

I declare myself the winner. Now i'm taking my ball and going home.

NULL definition: That's when you leave it at home and make do the best you can. [lol]

Peace,

Richard.

you're probably thinking of justin lichter, and no, he carries waldies as camp shoes and occasional water shoes, but generally he hikes in Garmonts, he is in fact sponsored by them according to his website.

just sayin

Eh Richard, do you realize in almost every one of your posts the last few days you have a very confrontational attitude? Just thought I'd point that out to you in case you were oblivious. Oh, and peace to you too.

Yes Axel, that's who I meant. Either on Justin's website or Waldies, it implied he also hiked in them too. If not, my bad.

Nope. Not confrontational at all. Seems like you don't care for my writing style. Although perhaps you're oblivious to the nature of the Internet which makes tone, etc, difficult to determine. So I usually take what folks say literally and expect the same from those who've been around the block more than once or twice. From time to time reminding them that unless I say otherwise they should assume I speak on the Net as I do in real life …. W/a calm, even kindly, tone and patient manner.

Of course when one indulges in thinly veiled insults instead of addressing the issues it's hard to imagine that insult was not your intent (in your case in particular, I made it clear that I was speaking in a jesting manner; perhaps you were oblivious to the [lol] and the obvious jokes I made).

So how about replying to my points w/cogent argument. Strongly worded argument is ok w/me if that's what you prefer.

Thx for wishing me peace Mark.

Peace be unto you also.

Richard.

you might be thinking of http://web.archive.org/web/20061029004200/www.granitegear.com/trauma/sponsors/index.html

though it hardly suggests thousands of miles so you might be thinking of some other page

.

Pardon me …. do you have anything worthwhile to add to this topic. You could simply PM the insults. [chuckle]

As for others like you: As I predicted …. the troops are rallying to defend Ryan Jordan. And all you accomplish is more embarrassment for the poor guy (whom i happen to admire). Not to mention embarrassing yourself by posting your personal attack on this particular thread. [lol]

Now this is the last time I respond to this kind of crud so save it for Chaff or PMs, etc.

Peace,

Richard.

.

I took a look at Trauma's website. Very cool. Thx for leading me to it. I've bookmarked it and will spend some time there. Whether or not I find that he hiked thousands of miles in Waldies is, of course, irrelevant for reasons already stated.

Clarification: I do not doubt that someone, somewhere, could hike a long way in Crocs/Waldies. As I wrote some have climbed Everest w/o oxygen …. even in the winter (R Messner).

But I doubt anyone w/common sense would recommend climbing Everest in the winter w/o oxygen.

So, we're back at square one …. Crocs are poorly suited to hiking on any but the best maintained trails.

Peace,

Richard.

Brian,

My thoughts:

1. I've encountered one hiker wearing them on the PCT — he had been on the trail for weeks by then and he swore to their support and comfort. I have no direct experience but this shows that Crocs can indeed be great footwear for some.

2. I wear them for river crossings — and I can tell you they have pretty good traction.

3. I wear them at home every day — they are the only 'slippers' that don't wear out — are good for both indoor and out — and comfy too.

4. They are ugly as heck — I wouldn't wear them around town.

5. If you buy, get a pair of knockoff's instead — like Airwalk. I have both Crocs and Airwalks — and they're pretty much the same.

Below is a pic of me crossing a raging glacial melt — with Airwalks and Titanium Goat poles doing their duty:

Is this deja vu? I know I've seen that photo before. After a quick check, yes, yes I have. It's on the TiGoat page:
http://www.titaniumgoat.com/images/attachmentaad4fde7.jpg
"Ben rocking his poles in an Oregon river".
OK. You're 15 minutes are up now!

lol…Ben knows thats just the creek in his backyard he is practicing in..glacial melt…HA!! (picking Ben)

Shhhh! But the pic does illustrate the gripping power of them Airwalks (aka Croc knockoffs). :)

I am hard pressed to find campshoes that offer as much support and comfort for the weight as crocs (airwalks,whatever). Additionally, their ability to protect in a stream crossing is great. The only addition I would include is a modification to securley fashion them to your feet, ie: bungee cord or the tensioning heal pads they make (so as not to lose them should the current grab them).

But the over-arching question is, how long do you spend in camp. If you plan to be around for 5 or 6 hours with fishing and cavorting…then you need shoes capable of doing this. If you are camping long enough to gulp a few calories and snooze, then you probably do not need the extra 13 ounces.

Great minds think alike! [chuckle]

I just bought a pair of Airwalks from Payless.

They may replace my Crocs.

Bias confession: I dislike sandals for most hiking.

Peace,

Richard.

These are inexpensive shoes that weigh about 6 oz apiece and very firm.

http://www.amazon.com/Speedo-Mens-Buoy-Water-Shoe/dp/B0010OH8W8/ref=pd_sbs_a_img_1

(if wrapped around: http://preview.tinyurl.com/3ctsgn )

Speedo Men's Buoy Water Shoe

They hold the feed better than Crocs are are about 40 percent lighter.

I thought crocs were only 5-6 oz apiece.

Of course weight varies somewhat. IM0, 11oz per pair is a good standard for comparison.

I think Roleigh was simply pointing us to another option and confused total weight w/single shoe weight. Ie; 6oz vs 10oz.

They look much like my Airwalks. Which as Roleigh pointed out offer much more support.

Peace,

Richard.

I need to double check my weights but I had a postal scale that I used on the crocs for sale at REI and for my size (9 Men's), they weight 40 percent more than the Speedo sandals. It will be a day or two before I can update this posting.

Not exactly like Speedos but close enough for comparison purposes:
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Peace,

Richard.