C-Forum

I have a pair of porters. I don't wear them for boating, but think i probably could. I personally like shoes without a substantial sole for canoeing.

The porters are the lightest, most comfortable summer shoes I've owned. I wear them all the time, and am going on my second summer. Holding up great.

Atucky wrote:I have a pair of porters. I don't wear them for boating, but think i probably could. I personally like shoes without a substantial sole for canoeing.

The porters are the lightest, most comfortable summer shoes I've owned. I wear them all the time, and am going on my second summer. Holding up great.

I feel I need a substantial shoe for safety in case of swift water rescue.

I use the NRS desperado. Definitely substantial enough for rescue. But flexible for cboat foot contortions.

if you really wanted the chuck taylor idea, get a 5.10 sole replacement kit and make them ultimate river bootie. On another note, i've had my brewers since the first generation model and have done a decent amount of cboating and they've not worn out.

Surprisingly, I wore out the front toe stitches on both my Rasslers after as single weekend of OC1ing. The soles were also coming undone. Fortunately I will be returning them and trying out the 2015 version. Will be freesoling a toe box before my 1st outing though. They are comfy but as stated earlier, do let wite a bit of sand in them, I'm worried that might eventually cause a punture hole in my Gore-tex dry sock.

I've got three trips in my Loyaks now and i'm still pleased. No immediate failures or wear.

Pros - not much sole; toes are sand free; stylish (wife and daughter commented:-)

Cons - not much sole (but that didn't stop me from leaving them on and taking on some yard work)

I love my Rasslers. I was really worried about the heel when I got them since the pocket was deep which made them uncomfortable on my achilles but they broke in quick and they stick to rocks like glue. Like glue!

Verdict on the Loyaks - nope. The toes wore quickly, by trip 10 they were almost all the way through. My local shop said bring them back, we'll give you new ones and send these back to Astral. I couldn't bring myself to wear the new ones in a boat considering they'd do the same thing all over again so I swapped them for gear. Now I hear that Astral didn't want to warranty them saying they weren't designed for that use. <sigh> I compared a pair of Hiyaks and Loyaks side by side and the material on the toes of the Hiyak is heavier. Maybe Hiyaks would do better but I am not going to try them.

I'm back to a pair of Keens and sometimes a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors.

I had my Brewers' stitching fail around the toes within a season. Gonna try some 5.10's next.

I use very thin Akona booties due to my required high-flexibility for C1. I put a layer of Sportsman or Marine Goop on the high-wear areas. Renew as necessary...