Lightest Camp shoes

[Tom Osborne]

I’m looking for the lightest camp shoes available.I have the cheap light flip flops coming in at 6.1 Oz and have used these for years but thinking there must be a better option.All suggestions would be more than appreciated.

Ozzie

[John Vance]

When I take camp shoes I roll with Dawgs ultralights…think running shoes made of croc material with a Velcro closure. 8.1 oz for my size large.  I measure 11.5 for reference.

[Elliott Wolin]

Shower/swimming shoes of various sorts can work and can be very light.

Gore-tex socks over liners inside of wet shoes also work, the liners weigh very little.

The lightest option:  some just grin-and-bear-it with wet shoes and socks, but I don’t.

[H W]

Check out Luna Sandals out of Seattle.

[Russ W]

I bought some Mizuno racing flats a few years ago…about 7 ounces for the pair and could conceivably use them to hike your way out if your hiking shoes blow out. That said, I mostly gut it out like Elliott above.

[Robert Richey]

An alternative to wet shoes that I like is plastic bags used over your socks. You can either use gallon size ziplocs or the outer wrappers of bread loaves. Hard to get lighter than that. If you happen to have a brief blizzard this will keep your feet toasty while you’re trudging through snow drifts in trail runners.

[R]

Putting your shoe inserts inside your (spare) socks is probably the lightest non-myog option.  A popular myog design is to use shoe laces and shoe inserts or cut up sleeping pad foam to make flip-flops.

More info here.

[David Thomas]

Maybe a bit too delicate as camp shoes, but ideal for wearing inside a hostel along the Camino are the flip flops sold for one-time use in spas.  $0.33 per pair and (I estimate) well under an ounce.

https://www.wish.com/product/5ce609e6564de148da86de14?hide_login_modal=true&from_ad=goog_shopping&_display_country_code=US&_force_currency_code=USD&pid=googleadwords_int&c=%7BcampaignId%7D&ad_cid=5ce609e6564de148da86de14&ad_cc=US&ad_curr=USD&ad_price=3.98&campaign_id=7203534630&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInIy5oo3w5wIVE8pkCh2orgbeEAQYBSABEgJW5PD_BwE

[David Thomas]

But note that you can MYOG the same design out of a sturdier material, such as 1/8″ CCF or an old Ensolite pad.  Then it can exactly fit the length of your feet (I suspect those spa shoes are an average women’s size).

To bound the strap to the sole, I’d make “washers” for each side, cut from some HDPE or PP juice or yogurt container, punch a few holes in the washers and thread a heavy thread, light shoelace, 2mm guy line, or my preferred 130-pound-test braided Dacron fishing line through the holes.

And you can putter around the house and garden in them for weeks in advance to test them, fine-tune the sizing and assess their durability.

[Dave Heiss]

David,

For the spa flip-flops, an easy solution for the thin soles is to buy 2 pairs, and cut up the second pair so you’re left with just the soles, which you then glue onto the first pair to yield a double-soled pair of flip flops. It works pretty well.

[David Thomas]

Or cover the bottom and straps with Gorilla tape for a composite, foam&membrane construction.

[jscott]

years ago I wore a pair of mesh top pool shoes that weighed 3 oz., I think, for the pair. Durable over many seasons. I can’t remember the brand.

I would also use them for some river crossings. The only drawback was that Ponderosa pine prickles could penetrate the soles. Other than that, great stuff!

[ed hyatt]

Maybe Sprint Aquatics?

I’ve still got a couple of pairs and use them for Scottish river crossings – 52g

[Erica R]

I take the Superfeet insoles out of my hiking shoes when I am around camp. Gives the shoes a whole different feel.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

The lightest solution is not to bring them. Just loosen the laces and even remove the insoles from your trail runners and they will feel like slippers. The only reason to bring camp shoes is not to cross creeks in them, but to wear them at the end of the day if your regular shoes are still wet from crossing creeks and your feet are all pruney.

[Ross Bleakney]

Yeah, Sprint Aquatics nylon mesh shoes work fairly well, and weigh around 2 ounces for the pair. They aren’t that easy to find, but if you hunt around, you should be able to find a few pair (they tend to be very cheap).

[jscott]

“Maybe Sprint Aquatics?”

Yes. thanks!

[Robert Richey]

I’ve used Sprint Aquatics and found them problematic in two ways. First, pine needles tend to penetrate the uppers and poke your feet. Also the soles are so thin that it’s almost like walking barefoot which doesn’t work for me in most areas where I camp.

[jscott]

Fair enough Robert. For me, at 2 ounces for the pair, I was willing to make compromises. I won’t carry camp shoes if they weigh much more than that; instead,I just loosen the laces on my boots as Diane says.

My experience with Sprints was perhaps better than yours. I found they protected against stones well enough. but yeah, the soles are thin.

[bradmacmt]

The lightest solution is not to bring them.

Well that was helpful… not sure any of us could have figured that out :)

Here in Montana I find some sort of shoe to cross creeks and rivers a necessity, especially when the weather is marginal (snow/sleet). Tromping around in wet, cold boots isn’t fun in potentially hypothermic conditions. If you get a rubber shoe of some sort they dry out VERY quickly. Since 2006 I’ve used the same pair of Crocs, an early no-holes version. They weigh 10.5 oz’s. The current version of this particular model is a fair bit heavier.

However, this thread sent me on an amazon quest for something lighter than my Crocs. I found these:

We’ll see…

 

 

 

 

[Sam Farrington]

Threads like this come up every so often.  One of the above posters provided a link to a classic one.

Unfortunately, there is a catch 22, or 23.  If they are mesh, and drain well for water crossings, your feet will often get soaked by dew using them as camp shoes.  If they are great camp shoes, they may not stay firmly on your feet and provide traction walking in stream beds.  And if you need an emergency hiking shoe, they are too flimsy for that.  It happens. Once posted about a pair of Asolo boots I noticed sitting neatly on a ledge.  Was puzzled why anyone would leave them there until I lifted them up.  They lifted right out of the soles, which were no longer attached to them.

Modified some DAWGS, but don’t think I’ll ever pack them.  Take up too much space.

Guess the answer is to wear hiking shoes or mids that are durable and well made, and replace them before they wear out.  Then you’ll never get caught shoeless.  (Unless a trail troll sneaks up and steals your shoes in the night.)

 

[Dave Heiss]

I used to use Sprint Aquatics as camp and river crossing shoes and they’re fine if your feet are not too big (I’m about US 11 and the large size Sprint Aquatics were maxed out). But a few years ago someone turned me on to Aleader water shoes (the slip-on version) and at 9oz for the pair they fit well and were quite comfortable. Well draining and fast drying too. I found them on Amazon.

Also, for me, the Aleader shoes seem to be true to size. Among the product photos on Amazon there is (for many of Aleader’s shoes) a chart that tells you to purchase a size larger, but that did not turn out to be necessary.

[S Long]

My solution is to go barefoot everywhere. Start slow in town on sidewalks and streets. Slowly build up your foot strength and callouses. Last year I hiked into the Uintahs 12 miles barefoot to camp, swim, and fish. I find it quite pleasant to connect with nature and never have to worry about splashing through mud and water. A nice lake or stream at the end of the day to wash off, air dry, and sleep socks at night to keep your feet warm and your sleeping system clean. I often take some light trail runners just in case, but I have rarely needed them (except on a hike in the desert where I kept getting cactus spines stuck in my feet). Not for everyone, but it works well for me. It probably helps that I’ve loved being barefoot since I was a kid, so now I have 30+ years of experience walking on all sorts of surfaces barefoot. Toughen up, I say!

[JCH]

These are my favorites…when I pack camp shoes. In size 13 US they are 10.3 oz per pair. (one of the negatives of having big feet).  There are literally 10s of different “brands” of these shoes all over Amazon, all of them nearly identical.  I’ve purchased and returned around a half dozen of them. I kept these because they fit well and lace up.

Sam’s catch 22/23 is spot on in my opinion.  Camp shoes are rarely worth the effort, but for some trips/weather they can be damned nice to have.

[dirtbag]

I use a pair of RAB vapor barrier socks over a dry clean pair of wool camp socks and just skip my foot into my trail runner with laces loose.. Or my boots (in winter). Keeps my feet clean and dry and I don’t have to carry extra shoes with weight or bulk. When my laces on my salomon trail runners are loose.. It like a slipper.

[Author]

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