Speedo Surfwalkers

HI,

I see this unanswered post from long time ago and I have decided to revive it. I would like to expand on the question though. My question is how do you cross rivers shoe wise? Do you change into water shoes like the ones described by Ryan or do you just walk in with your hiking shoes? I guess the added bonus with water shoes is that you can use them around the camp and when walking into any water (not only when crossing) or maybe even very muddy areas.
Thank you for your feedback.
Alina

two schools of thought. For many camp/river shoes are a luxury item that is "indispensable." For others, like myself, the hassle of changing shoes and the extra weight of camp shoes isn't worth it. I wear nearly all mesh trail runners that drain and dry out quickly. When others spend time and effort looking for stepping stones or switching into wading shoes I just walk straight across (dependent on flow rates and depth of course) and keep moving along my hike.

There are a few cases where camp shoes would be nice but I often make do with a couple of trashbags tied around my feet.

If you learn to accept wet feet and some initial discomfort…it frees you up a lot on any hike.

I should add that I even have a strong aversion to getting wet if unnecessary but don't even think twice anymore about stepping into a stream. It's become such a non-issue once I just started "dealing" with it. There really is nothing to "deal" with if your shoes drain fast.

Hi Dustin,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I guess, as you had mentioned, a lot depends on what shoes someone is wearing.
Do things getting slimy inside the wet shoes while walking in them? Do you have such problem or everything dries nicely as you have never stepped into water? I am a little neat freak (LOL).
What do you do if it is on a colder side and the thought of getting your feet in water is not very enticing?
Trashbags tied around feet are a good idea for around the camp.
I am surprised that I have not received more responses. Maybe people look at the thread title and do not check the titles in subsequent posts. I will try to post my question again as a new thread and I will see what happens.

I don't like getting my feet wet either, to be honest. With a shoe that dries quickly, just getting the wet part over with is not so bad and it doesn't take long to dry out. On trips where I can expect to be wet the whole time, I will deliberately jump in a puddle as soon as I can to just get it over with. It is too much trouble tiptoeing around every bit of water in a futile attempt to prevent the inevitable. With wool socks my feet stay warm even if my shoes are wet the whole time.