What’s the purpose of camp shoes?

When camping I am happy with plastic bags over my sleep socks and inside my trail runners, or I just stay in wet socks and shoes until sleep time. For staying in huts I have Goosefeet overshoes to use over socks or down booties, but I haven't actually use this combo yet.

Sometimes I see someone in boots with trail runners strapped to the outside of their pack and smile and sometimes it is the other way around. Just to save E Chan typing away on his little Iphone this of course makes me feel good because I am on BPL and feel superior to all other backpackers:)

Shoes with really good drainage for hiking up streams don't do so well for bushwacking and other rough stuff. Not durable enough and they end up with more debris in them. In that situation, I would go with some good, tough shoes and then some watershoes. I actually plan on doing that this weekend with my leather vivobarefoots and some watershoes for hiking up rivers.

You guys are killing me when you are talking about bringing two pairs of shoes. How many do you need on a weekend or multiweek hike honestly.

One pair of shoes is all you need, if you want something extra go over to the Cabelas website and post there about how much you like your backup water shoes.

To each his own but unless your extra pair of shoes are seriously light and dont take up much space in a pack then I dont want to hear it. This is BPL remember.

My hiking partner, Imelda Marcos, and I now carry at least ten pair of hiking shoes, for like a seven day like trip. They're like way totally ultralight, and anyone who doesn't appreciate the need for style in the outback just doesn't get it and has no place on BPL. What kind of a kook wears the same shoes with every outfit??

Rookies.

That said I'd like to add that I am in the market for some light light lightweight flip flops with fabric between the toes not rubber.

Teva flip flops have fabric.

I use either slides or flip flops for camp shoes because of how I use them.

I use them during breaks to air out my feet. I want maximum air flow, but in some places I don't want to walk barefoot.

I use them for showering in trail towns.

My flip flops also double as extra cushy insoles.

"Why do people pack in camp shoes."

Cuz they want to.

Why does someone carry a pee bottle???

Why does anyone take any particular piece of gear? I don't always but when I do I bring Sprint Aquatics at 1.9 oz. For me, peeing in a bottle is a winter activity. And it's using a 1.75 oz 32 oz Gatorade bottle. For .15 oz difference, I'd rather enjoy a little 3 AM star gazing time.

When I don't bring them I bring newspaper plastic bags, and if my shoes get wet, I change into new socks, put the bags on, and put my trail runners on for in camp. For early morning star gazing I'll slip on my trail runners if I don't have them but the Aquatics are faster and easier. Especially if my trail runners are wet.

BUT, I was reading a post from Doug on another thread about the Vivobarefoot Ultra Pures and found a pair locally yesterday. I'm taking them on my next trip and intend to use them as wading shoes for fishing and camp shoes if needed. 7.9 oz for the pair but if they work out for wading, they'll be well worth the extra weight. But I still won't use them to cross streams. I'll keep walking in the trail runners and use them in camp.

I told the woman at the store I was getting them at that I read you could remove the tongues to save weight. She said that was crazy. I said, oh, you can't even imagine crazy. :)

re: michael W

apparently most of the AT hikers I saw while coinciding with the Long trail were wrong then… but after 1600mi what do they know. (many of them fairly light packs and trail runners)

the OP asked why people brought them. many have posted their reasons for them and others choose not to. I know that while doing 18 days in a row of 15-20mi per day my feet like to dry out and not be confined in shoes. Rocky, rooty trail beats up your feet quite a bit. I generally got to camp by 5-5:30 and wasn't in my sleeping bag until 8-9pm.

I found a pair of flip flops i used for most of it. I am trying to find some knock off crocs since i really don't like the thong style flip flops. i use a small carabiner to hang my food bag and multitask it to hold flip flops to my pack.

what was your last hike over 2 weeks in a row?

I will sometimes bring a pair of slippers because they are very comfortable!! But that is rare and I havnt done it for a few years.

I am fine barefoot or I walk around liberally in just socks. I don't carry a pee bottle either. I just cross streams in my ventilators, or barefoot if it is mellow.

Aggreed barefoot is good when you want a change, thats what ive been doing. Theres also nothing wrong with going barefoot inside of a loose shoe.

Douglas, agreed it's better to sometimes fill in the blanks, or pretend they are there to be filled, which is probably an even better strategy. This certainly seems to be one such time, I agree. Not always necessary, notice how Joseph stated what he prefers, using, conveniently, the first person? Nice and clear there.

But just out of curiosity, so, when you go out, your main goal is not to be out in nature and to have a good experience? Really? Or are we just getting a bit carried away by the full moon and forum chitchat? But if so, what is your primary goal, I'm interested, I thought that was so broad and generic it would cover most possible activities one could engage in out there in nature while having a good experience, up to and including every style of backpacking people engage in. Or is this one of those times I should fill in the blanks? And good experience seemed to cover anything from reaching your mileage goals for the day to achieving some type of enlightenment while meditating under a tree or by a stream. I'm hard pressed to come up with a more generic way to put it. Unless we're just talking to talk, but that's boring, no? Now, I guess it is possible that primary goal actually could be to use ultralight gear as an end in itself, I suppose, I mean, I guess some people do that, but even then, they are out in nature, and having a good experience, even though it has to be mediated through some gear, no? Aldous Huxley did suggest that possible future in Brave New World, where people could only interact with nature if it was mediated by consumer products, so I guess that can be another thing. Oh, wait, no, I just thought of a case, sorry, you're right, some people might actually want a bad experience, and find going to nature is the best way to get that. That's possible, you're right, there are other options, just didn't seem very likely, but there are other ones. I stand corrected.

Too confusing for me, time to plan a new trip I think, where such issues don't tend to really come up, thankfully. Hmm, to bring camp shoes and incur the wrath of some, or to not? So difficult, lol. Time to shave a few more grams off stuff, I'll decide later.

I almost always carry “camp shoes”. Mainly they are for crossing rivers and creeks so my main hiking footwear does not get wet. When I know I will be in the water a lot I just plan on well draining shoes, but usually I have the Five Fingers or Tech Amphibians along. They are a lot more comfortable to wear after a long day hiking in my primary shoes even if I don’t need them for crossing.

“To each his own but unless your extra pair of shoes are seriously light and dont take up much space in a pack then I dont want to hear it. This is BPL remember.”

Yeah you are right. It is Backpacking Light. Not Backpacking UL or Backpacking SUL or Backpacking Online…

So funny to read posts like this, ripping being comfortable and then seeing the same people talk about their JetBoils, or Scotch, or big cameras. Not that I am saying anything is wrong with those at all. HYOH and enjoy it. Who gives a dang what other people think? I am a true Light Backpacker. My brother-in-law is a UL guy. I have friends that are old school (read “heavy”). We all enjoy backpacking and don’t look down on the others for what they are comfortable with.

For the OP. You rip carrying an extra shoe but you carry a pee bottle for 3-season use in a hammock? Wow, that boggles my mind. It is easier to lean over and go than to struggle with a bottle (something I know well from winter hiking) yet you feel the need to rip folks for shoes? That’s OK ‘cause you can hike your own leg, I mean hike… ;-)

I am slowly building my mileage back up right now. (Just did 14 mi and 3000 ft of gain in a day this month). But when I was doing the big days it was very nice to get out of the same coffin my feet had been stuck in for 11 or 12 hours. And socks don’t dry out in high humidity in a few hours.

From your posts you seem to be new to backpacking. Maybe a less aggressive tack to asking and learning would do you well. But welcome to my favorite pastime. I am heading out Saturday myself, and I will be bringing the camp shoes.

Anyway camp shoes are for sissy boys.
I am the exception and so is everyone else here that does use them.

Heck I am pretty sure I am a sissy boy Franco. I still carry toilet paper…

I'm down to one ply but I double that up when nobody is watching.

Jake had the answer. It is a luxury, like a lot of the things people often carry (camera, inflatable sleeping pad, etc.). I use Sprint Aquatics Slippers, which weigh an ounce a piece.

I also use them as “summit shoes” for day hiking. I like to relax on the top of a peak, take my shoes off and slip these on. I can walk around bare footed, but it is nice to keep my feet (relatively) clean and warm.

They could be part of a sleep system, if I put some work into it. I’ve read (in the DIY section, if memory serves) about folks who made shoes out of closed cell foam. The rest of the foam serves as part of the pillow or sleeping pad. That way, you can just pop the slippers into the pad when sleeping, and pop them out when you want to walk around camp.

This thread cracks me up. I know some of you did post tongue-in-cheek with that intent, and some didn't, but I appreciated all the posts nonetheless. And I do think that distance/season/terrain will play into whether you carry camp shoes or not. I really liked the Wal-Mart foam mat sandals- that is a bomber idea and I might just have to make a set of those.

I did the whole JMT without camp shoes, using Inov-8 Roclite 295's.

First off, my shoes were never a problem… Never too hot, didn't get a single blister, and my feet never ached, so I was never DYING to get out of them.

But when I got to camp I'd let my feet air out for a bit while taking a seat. Then I'd switch my socks to my more cushy camp socks, and wear those with my shoes while walking around. I hiked with my shoes VERY loose, as per Ray Jardine's advice, and to my surprise it was very functional and comfortable… so my shoes were essentially slip ons.

For those reasons, I didn't miss camp shoes at all. However, there were days where I got my feet soaked towards the end of the day, and despite them mostly drying out, they'd stay damp. In those instances, having something dry would have been nice. But the thickness of my camp socks kept my feet dry and warm, and the socks would dry from that slight dampness as I slept (if they retained any water at all).

Resurecting an old thread – i did some hikes this summer with a lot of creek crossings or rain. I hike in sportiva trail runners and use them to cross streams and creeks it saves a lot of time.

I was always getting to camp with wet and cold shoes. They dont dry out quickly if wet at the end of the day. Then theres the smell they reek after hiking through mud and water for days. After washing up and setting up i'd touch them and the smell would be all over my hands. They stay wet all night. I clean my feet every night and put on clean sleep socks. Having dry shoes to walk around in are great to have, so I've come over to the dark side and bring camp shoes now.

If you hike in california and have no rain or crossings and your shoes stay dry i can see why you wouldnt need them. Or if your goal is hike 14 hours a day do camp chores and retire to your tent I suppose they aren't necessary either. I hike solo but wind up hiking with someone on part of the trail and then socialize a bit at the end of the day this sucks with wet shoes. Having said that i wish i had a pair of thevivobarefoot ultras right now to try they seem to be a great lightweight camp shoe.

I see camp shoes as being extremely useful for two types of trips:
1 – Creekwalking/canyon trips.
2 – Hiking in rainy weather.

Both leave you with wet feet and no way to dry your shoes at the end of the day.
Being able to change into something dry at the end of the day gives you a huge moral boost. On some trips I found myself drying my shoes by a fire (tedious and time consuming) because I really, really wanted something dry.
Yes, it's a luxury and if you hike all day and immediately crawl into your sleeping bag you won't ever use them. If you stop and make camp a few hours before dark then you would want them.
You can do the bread bags in your shoes thing but it's still miserable and cold if you leave them on for more than a few minutes. Still a good option for almost no weight.

I tried the bag thing too I had to put them over my dry socks but condensation started forming to make them wet. I suppose I could do bags and no socks but then my feet would just be cold now im on the hunt for a sub five ounce pair of shoes.

Simply because some people like them and don't mind carrying the extra weight.

I don't use them. Some do.

Not too much more complicated than that. :)

The last couple of trips I brought an extra pair of socks and wore them around camp. I can see how that would not work with sticky seeds or wet weather; they worked pretty well in the terrain I was in.

"Simply because some people like them and don't mind carrying the extra weight. I don't use them. Some do. Not too much more complicated than that. :)"

+1. Though we'll do our best to make it more complicated…..