Figured I would tap this thread rather than start a new one. I’ve been through like five different approaches on boots and just arrived at one I’m really happy with.
My criteria for boots on a pedal kayak were as follows:
1) ideally high top that would tuck under my pants so I didn’t have to put sunscreen on my ankles all day
2) breathable, mild insulation, drain well. I don’t mind if I get water in the shoes so long as they’re dry in an hour or so.
3) support. Picking over a cliff side with a kayak and landing in the rocks is pretty gnarly. I’ve also found if I don’t have decent arch support, peddling all day my feet start getting really sore.
4) waders don’t apply here.
I’ve tried going barefoot with sunscreen and I don’t understand how people do it.
I started out just using a cheap pair of slip on water shoes... not enough support. Barely better than barefoot. Neo sport makes a cheap neoprene high top dive boot, and those have definitely gotten the job done over the last 2 years... I hoped I could do better and tried NRS water boots.
The big problem with both of those is they have just fair support and they basically hold water. I would come home and my feet would just be pruned up and destroyed, and I would especially start to feel it with a fresh load of water as I’m hauling my kayak up the stairs and realizing The flip-flops in my truck would be a better alternative.
Just recently I bought a pair of Merrell mesh water shoes at REI with a .5mil neoprene sock, and they’re amazing. Super supportive. Really grippy bottoms. The neoprene doesn’t rub at all, and I have 100% UV protection. The mesh seems to keep out anything that would qualify as a hitchhiker in the surf zone, and the neoprene sock seems to keep my feet dry enough.
Links:
https://www.rei.com/product/114954/n...n-05-wet-socks
https://www.rei.com/product/164484/m...ter-shoes-mens
Shoes a bit pricier than I’d like, but hard to beat a good rei sale when those rei dividends are burning hole in yr pocket
