Camp Shoes

[stickat04]

What do you use for camp shoes?

[IdahoDavid]

What do you use for camp shoes?
[COLOR=Black]

When I feel like carrying the extra weight I throw in a pair of beach shoes. You can buy them for next to nothing -- $6-$7 -- and they take up little space in your pack.

[2Ply]

Sandels for warm weather and thick fleece booties with leather sides and rubber soles for winter.Helps keep my feet warm and dry. :)

[Pabst]

I like Waldies for camp shoes. Light, waterproof, inexpesive, and especially comfortable on those aching feet.


http://www.backpackingdeals.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=W&Category_Code=WS&OVRAW=waldies&OVKEY=waldies&OVMTC=standard

[Kerosene]

I purchased a pair of ComfortClogs (11 oz. for a men's size 10; http://www.allheart.com/fpac.html) that proved very comfy and surprisingly sturdy.

[Doctari]

Go ahead, laugh, , , I would :D

I use (Men's) Ballet slippers. All leather with a extra leather sole. Weight for the pair: 2 Oz. small enough that I keep them in a sandwich size zip lock (two shoes, one zip lock). So far they have worked like a charm. Cost about $7.00 4 years ago. Have been on 3 section hikes, and been in 5 "shows" at a local renaissance fest (trust me, the fact that they even survived THAT speaks volumes) the “sole” is a rough leather that seems to grip wet rocks very well, yet is flexible enough to give a good feel of hidden rocks & such.

I have tried: Sandals (Teva knock offs, way too heavy & Tevas were heavier), Moccasins (like them, wore them out, ballet shoes lighter) Leather "dress" sandals (Broke after about the 3rd stream crossing.) Bath sandals (very light, stuck to wet rocks & came right off my feet, then floated away, leaving me barefoot mid stream)

The Ballet slippers will probably not do very good in PA, but I'll let you know in a few years
:p

Doctari.

[Blue Jay]

Go ahead, laugh, , , I would :D

I use (Men's) Ballet slippers. All leather with a extra leather sole. Weight for the pair: 2 Oz. small enough that I keep them in a sandwich size zip lock (two shoes, one zip lock). So far they have worked like a charm. Doctari.

That is a brilliant idea. You could come up with a new name, like when male hikers call a trail skirt, a kilt, even when it is not plaid or wool or have that weird pouch thing.

[tribes]

I use waldies. They are light and actually feel good on your feet at any time of the day, let alone after a day of pounding trail. I met hikers this past August in Massachusetts that were hiking the flooded sections of trail (which were super plentiful) this summer because the waldies were kinder on their feet than their boots.

[mdjeeper]

I use a cheapy pair of wall world sandals, think they cost me about 11 bones 3 or 4 yrs ago, weigh about 14 ozs. on those colder days/nights, i have a pair of polartec sandalsocks that keep the feet nice and toasty and let me keep those sandals on basically yr round.

[Grampie]

Definately take some kind of camp shoes.
I took a old pair of Tevas i had.
Would wear them in camp. In towns and when crossing rivers.
Grampie-N->2001

[Colter]

I hike in light trail shoes, and in the evenings I'd just wear them. Sometimes I'd put on a pair of dry socks.

The best weight reduction is a 100% weight reduction!

[Streamweaver]

Ive been thinking of trying some slipper socks for camp shoes, I saw some recently that were light wool socks with leather on the bottom. Couldnt have weighed much. Just put some bees wax on the leather part to help keep moister off and stay out of high weeds! Streamweaver

[Streamweaver]

P.S. Balet slippers look to be pretty much the same thing as those shoes/slippers they wear for rock climbing. So either prolly would be good for camp shoes. Streamweaver

[Footslogger]

I second the nomination for Waldies. I started off with a cheap pair of K-Mart specials (slip-on shower shoes). Wouldn't stay on my feet and offered no protection for my toes and sides of my feet. Started noticing a lot of hikers wearing the Waldies and when I hit Gatlinburg I saw them for sale at the Happy Hiker outfitter. Bought a pair and used them all the way to Katahdin. Great around camp, in towns. Surprisingly, they even stayed on during river fordings. They survived my hike and I now wear them around the house and yard. Not the most comfortable things on your without socks ...but then neither were the shower shoes.

[MedicineMan]

http://www.nikys-sports.com/shopmanager/store/userper.html

I have used the Userper for 2 years now and have of course compared/weighed them against the Waldies...Userpers win, lighter, better looking BUT I have never crossed a stream with them.

[Doctari]

P.S. Balet slippers look to be pretty much the same thing as those shoes/slippers they wear for rock climbing. So either prolly would be good for camp shoes. Streamweaver

True, they LOOK alike, way different, plus my rock climbing shoes cost $150.00 3 years ago, the Ballet slippers cost a few bucks less :p and are MUCH lighter.

Doctari.

[Kerosene]

Note that Waldies are the same thing as ComfortClogs. Also, their built-in foam padding will be much more comfy than the Usurper (although I might have opted for the lighter weight if I had known).

[Just Plain Pete]

I use a pair of slip on's that I got at Wally World. Vinyl sole with cloth sides and fuzzy linings. Can wander around when its wet, weigh next to nothing, squosh flat in my bag, cost $3.00 bucks and have lasted 2 years so far.

[golfricker]

Just to jump in on camp shoes... They are nice, and necessary.. Tried Tevas, which are sturdy, but heavy.. I've seen lots of running shoes, but even heavier. I actually began carring my houseslippers ( acorns), which are comfy, but don't handle wet at all.. I have seen a new ultra light sandle, but can't recall the name Crock I think. They are not real pretty, but do look sturdy, comfortable & as mentioned, very light.. If I could only recall the name, I'd try them out.. About $20. Funny thing, I have not seen this new wondersandle in any magazine, and no one in WhiteBlaze is mentioning them either, so maybe I didn't really see them? The search continues.

Golfricker

[barefoothiker]

:jump
Depending the time of year I either wear birks or tevas. Colder weather I usually where an old pair of running shoes with thick socks. Of course I prefer not to wear anything on my feet but that depends on trail/campsite conditions in the warmer months!

Dan G.

[deeddawg]

I apologize if this is common knowledge, but hadn't seen anything about these things.

It appears that there's a new style of Waldie's out called "Crocs" -- just like Waldie's but with the addition of a strap. Cool thing is the strap can swing out of the way in the front, so you can choose to wear them just like regular waldies or with the strap around your ankle.

More info at http://www.crocs.com/index.asp

NOC and Walasi-Yi both have them, not sure about other sources.

[jlb2012]

Rockfish Gap Outfitters also have (had?) them - I bought a pair there - wear them all the time in the house but I'm still unsure whether they will be worth their weight to take them packing - I usually just use my trail runners around camp - the same shoes I hike in.

[Sniker]

Does anyone know how much CROCS actually weigh? I am currently using a pair of Teva Protons (water shoes) which do double duty as a camp slipper/river crosser. The Protons in size 11 weigh about 1 pound (ouch!), but are great when fording swollen streams or playing in rock pools and are comfy around camp.

I would love to find a lightweight alternative to the Teva Protons, and the CROCS seem to fit the bill. However, I am concerned about their WEIGHT, COMPRESSABILITY, and STREAM-CROSSING ABILITY (especially when compared to the Protons).

Does anyone have experience using CROCS who could shed some light on them for me?

[jlb2012]

weight - what I have is size XL weighed on an old kitchen scale comes to 12 ounces (use middle sized grain of salt)

compressability - ??? not sure how to state this or what is being asked but ... - less compressable than flipflops and more compressable than trail runners

stream crossing ability - I don't know but I am of the opinion that they would be OK - with the strap there is next to zero chance that they will come off midstream - the only question is how good a grip the bottoms would have on wet rocks - here I just don't know but based on similar soles I think they would be "ok" but not great