Camp shoes?

[Jesse Glover]

I knew a guy that hiked from georgia to maine in chacos. He actually went barefoot most of the time. He seemed to have less foot problems than the boot weraring thru-hikers.

[Matt Brodhead]

While I applaud people like that, I can never figure out how they do it. Is he some sort of super-human?

[David Passey]

I'm not superhuman (nor are my feet), but I prefer to hike in sandals (old style Teva guide or the excellent Chaco) over boots or hiking shoes. I generally wear shoes only when I expect to be hiking through skree or loose rocks. Since I'm mostly a trail hiker, sandals are perfect for most trips.

I find that while my feet get dusty/dirty from the trail, the dirt is superficial and easy to clean. By contrast, hiking in shoes leads to sweaty, damp feet, which leads to stinky feet and blisters. I try to avoid both effects.

Sandals are especially good when I expect my feet to be wet, either because of weather or water hiking-river crossing or, in Southern Utah, hiking in the water. With sandals, feet dry out quickly; whereas with shoes or boots it can take a couple of hours (or more) before my feet are dry. And wet feet leads to foot trouble.

Granted, sandal straps can rub, but so can any new shoe. I find that wearing my sandals around the house on weekends is enough to keep them (or my feet) ready for hiking in sandals.

[Andrew :-)]

I guess I already do 'hike' in tevas as I have often worn them on approach walks through bush to get to rockclimbing crags – had no problems. I suppose a few full-day hikes will sort out how my feet go.

BTW sorry for hijacking the topic.

Back to campshoe ideas..!

[Simon Harding]

I often wear my boots if they are dry – let my feet air out when I am loafing.

Crocs are bulky and a bit heavy, and as I have big feet, I have a tough time finding ones that fit without giving me blisters on the tops of my toes. I love my Tevas, and have even had a pair or two re-soled. But they are wickedly heavy. I have however done some one and two day trips in them.

But both the Tevas and Crocs lead to filthy camp feet, and I can not abide that. I like a clean tent and bag, and so I like to stay clean. So I tend toward wearing my socks and boots or shoes in camp when I am not airing my feet out while loafing, or wading.

My inclination by way of "camp shoes" is to go low end: dollar store flip flops. Super light, super cheap, reasonably durable (and can be repaired with cord and duct tape), and ultimately, disposable.

After all, it need not be spendy and trendy to be light. I;ve never weighed the cheapo flip flops, but I reckon they come in at around a couple ounces. And they would get the job done for me.

Simon

[Damien Tougas]

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com

I wear these everywhere (except to work) and I have started wearing these for day hikes and I like them a lot. Of course they are almost the equivalent of going barefoot so if you need tons of support, they definitely are not for you. The nice thing about them is that they stick well to rock and dry quickly. They are definitely heavier than flip-flops, so they can't compete on weight, but they have a lot more going for them. My goal is to build up my foot muscles so that I can backpack in them.

Another suggestion would be to make (or buy) yourself a pair of huaraches. For details on that, check this out http://www.barefootted.com

[Roleigh Martin]

Very interesting, I see these are near 5 ounces a shoe, half the weight of Salmon Water Trekking Karma shoes which I have now for my combo water trekking shoes/camp sandals. Do these 5 fingers stay on well walking through a stream (when there are not rocks to walk over the stream)? Did you go with the spring model (it seems to hug the foot better) or the "original"? How fast do they dry out after crossing a stream when you have to wear them under water?

[Damien Tougas]

When I bought them, the only model they had at the time was the Classic. They have served me well, however I think I would probably go with the Sprints for my next pair. Sometimes when things get really wet/muddy I can get a foot that slips out. Because the Sprints have that strap across the top, that problem would be prevented.

I have not really paid much attention to drying time so I can't accurately answer that question for you. It really depends on the weather, how cool or sunny it is, etc. They are not uncomfortable when worn wet, and they also seem to have no problems drying out as I am wearing them on the trail either. They seem to dry quick enough for my purposes.

[Heather Pisani-Kristl]

I have big problems with wet trail runners when the humidity is high (as it usually is during New England summers). They take well over 12 hours to dry, and when the temperature drops into the 40s or 50s at night, I wind up with disturbingly cold, peeling feet while cooking/setting up camp. The "newspaper bag" approach has worked pretty well while hiking, but ultimately I've decided to take a 5 oz. pair of knockoff Crocs (Crockoffs?) on my next journey. It's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.

[John S.]

I wanted to know the foot strategeries from the arctic1000, but they only showed up in the print magazine. Since I have a disdain for more paper in my house, I never prescribed to it.

[Roleigh Martin]

What is the brand name of your 5 oz knockoff crocs? Ordinary crocs are about 10 oz so what you found sounds great!

[Heather Pisani-Kristl]

Roleigh, I re-weighed them and they are actually 5.5 oz. That aside, I am a women's size 6, so, assuming you do not want to remove any of your toes, I will weigh my husband's size 8 Airwalks (Payless Shoes) for you… They are 9.12 oz. There are weight differences between knockoff Crocs; the 5.5 oz. ones are from Wal-Mart, and they are an ounce lighter than the ones I got from Ocean State Job Lot. You could provide a bit of entertainment to discount shoe store employees by bringing a scale with you.

[Steven Evans]

Heather wrote: That aside, I am a women's size 6, so, assuming you do not want to remove any of your toes…

Just like my girlfriend (size 5)..at 5 feet tall, it ain't hard to be ultralight. Me @ 6'3", my undies weigh more then my girlfriends bivy ;)

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

There are a few times when it is an advantage to be a lady in the backcountry…clothes and gear being smaller and lighter is a big one. My shoes weigh half of my husbands. All of my my major gear weighs less. Then again he is a foot taller than me! (5'4" VS. 6'4")

[Michael Davis]

My wife 5'2", Me 6'2"
One of my Crocs weighs the same as her pair of Crocs.

[Roleigh Martin]

A Big 5 you can get these Komodo Aquarius Sandals. A friend of mine in LA just sent me a size 9, men's. I weighed them at 5 oz apiece. See the picture. These look superb for crossing streams (getting them underwater) as well camp sandals. What's nice is they are half the weight of Solomon Karma water trekking shoes ( which I used this year and when wet, they absorb water and take awhile to dry, holding water weight for the interim) – while these do not.
These sandals are "croc"-knock-offs of a similar but lighter weight waterproof material.

http://www.shoplocal.com/aid-3603939_-komodo.fp
KOMODO 'AQUARIUS' SANDAL
5 oz apiece (size 9, Men's)

Google: komodo aquarius sandal

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