# New Water shoes?



## almortal (Jun 22, 2014)

I rocked the NRS crush until they recently wore out. The tread is great for walking around and the footed cushioning is really comfortable. I really like wearing them with my drysuit. But they wear out really quick, and are NOT quick drying. They are essentially canvas street shoes, like Chuck taylors with nice tread for river environments. They are great street shoes.
My other problem with them is the fact that laces tend to loosen when they get wet and I found myself constantly tightening them (a problem with all nylon lace up shoes. From now on my water shoes will have a drawstring or buckle closure methods.
If you are looking for shoes that will stay mostly dry I would totally advocate those, but if they'll be wet a lot I wouldn't.
Five Ten just came out with a new river sneaker, curious on thoughts.


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## WWRE Joe (Aug 1, 2015)

My buddy bought those NRS water shoes (can't remember if it was the Crush or Vibe) but he said they are pretty pathetic in that for being "water shoes" they don't actually drain all the water out from the shoe. I guess they just have those little grommet holes on the sides for drainage, but he said they are so far up the side of the shoe that they always leave a little bit of water inside so every step has that gross squishy sock feeling. 

Maybe try the NRS Desperado? Yeah it's just a neoprene booty, but it's got a pretty beefy sole.


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## k2andcannoli (Feb 28, 2012)

Why a semi dry has socks is beyond me, seems it'll be a real pain if you swim. I go cheap when it comes to river shoes,they'll just wear out or smell like death in a year or twoa anyway...not worth dropping a Franklin on.


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## QuietHunter (Jun 8, 2010)

I wear a pair of Croc's over my drysuit bootie. More protective than a sandal. Decent comfort, do not hold any water, lightweight and if they do come off, they float. Can be found for 20 bucks a pair.


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## Treswright3 (May 20, 2013)

I found that the offerings of water shoes were pretty pathetic. I wasnt at all impressed by any of the rafting brands shoes. But I found these adidas water shoes that are awesome. They drain through the entire sole and they dry almost instantly. I bought them on sale for under $50. Here is the model I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/adidas-Outdo...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CPJXB7TECRH5ANWCR0F0


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## David L (Feb 13, 2004)

Catgirl - I've been very satisfied with my Chaco water shoes for my wide feet. I don't remember which model. I get them from Cascade.


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## dirtbagkayaker (Oct 29, 2008)

I have gone through Loyak, Vibe, Crush, and brewer. The Brewer is my fav. Loyak where comfy but died in 1/2 a season. Vibe is OK, Crush just turned into work shoes. I been sporting the Brewer on and off for 3 years now. Great hiking shoe and fits in big boats. I wish they all dried faster.


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## gratefuldeth (Apr 15, 2013)

Five Ten | Water Tennie Water Shoe


I have the Five Ten Water Tennie's and couldn't be happier with a river shoe. Super grippy on hikes, really comfortable on the water, and have held up well over the last year. But kind of a big shoe, if size matters...Found them on sale for under $100 on the web.


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## cataraftgirl (Jun 5, 2009)

dirtbagkayaker said:


> I have gone through Loyak, Vibe, Crush, and brewer. The Brewer is my fav. Loyak where comfy but died in 1/2 a season. Vibe is OK, Crush just turned into work shoes. I been sporting the Brewer on and off for 3 years now. Great hiking shoe and fits in big boats. I wish they all dried faster.


Are the footbeds in a Astral Brewer comfy for you? I see the Astral Aquanaut on sale at Cascade Outfitters. They look like a Brewer with a beefier sole. Astral seems to get high praise from a lot of people. I tried some on about 3-4 years ago and didn't like the zero drop heel. They describe their footbed as a Neutral balance now. Not sure if it's any different????


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## jamesthomas (Sep 12, 2010)

A few years back I got some merrrils and like them alot. Excellent traction, dry quickly, comfortable, sturdy and they have held up really well. Get them a size big though as they shrink.


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## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

I'm a big fan of my Astrals. However, they did fall apart after a season. Mind you, that season was 13 commercial Middlefork trips, plus a bunch of private boating, plus a bunch of commercial day trips on the Royal gorge. All in all, I think they stood up pretty well to some very hard use. Some guides on the MFS were even working in heavy leather work boots in camp. They're sticky, dry out fast, are comfortable (for me), and they hike well too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2010)

cataraftgirl said:


> Are the footbeds in a Astral Brewer comfy for you? I see the Astral Aquanaut on sale at Cascade Outfitters. They look like a Brewer with a beefier sole. Astral seems to get high praise from a lot of people. I tried some on about 3-4 years ago and didn't like the zero drop heel. They describe their footbed as a Neutral balance now. Not sure if it's any different????


I have the Astral Porter Water Shoe. I must admit it took me about an hour of wearing them around the house to get use to the feel of them. Now I'm very happy with them. Comfortable with or without socks, wet or dry (dries fast).


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## Electric-Mayhem (Jan 19, 2004)

I wore my Astral Brewers a ton last year both on and off the river and really like them. Plus, the company is awesome and stands behind their stuff (see a couple paragraphs down). I found them to be as comfortable to wear as any of my other shoes. My "normal" shoes that I wear almost every day are a pair of Puma Ligas if that is any reference.

I found them comfortable with or without socks. Having worn them all year, I'm not a big fan of how they split the upper and lower. It is supposed to allow debri to come out and for it to drain faster, but I found that it let more in then it let out and it makes the shoe much less durable. I got about a season out of them before the upper started tearing out of the sole. Granted, that was with two Lodore trips, a Yampa trip, two Deso trips, Delores Slickrock to Bedrock, and a Grand Canyon trip. I pretty much wore them for 90% of each trip and they did both river stuff and hiking duty too.

I actually contacted Astral after my Brewers failed, and they graciously offered to send me a new pair. I mentioned that I thought I would prefer the Rassler (the High top version of the Aquanaut) and would have bought those originally if I could have found a pair locally, and was more then happy to pay the $20 dollar difference between but they said no problem and just sent me a pair. This was a couple of weeks ago and I haven't gotten to try them yet but they look great. It looks like a burlier shoe, but its still light weight. No drain slits but still have small drain holes through the sole, and less mesh so they may not breath as well, but I think they'll let less debris and sand in.

I think the Aquanaut is a similar shoe to the Brewer, but with beefier uppers and no draining slits. They still have the drain holes that let water out though. They probably don't dry as fast, but I can't say since I haven't tried them.


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