Carry 2 bread bags that weigh next to nothing. So if you get to camp with wet shoes you don’t need camp shoes for comfort. You take off your wet shoes and socks, let your feet air out a bit, put your dry camp socks on, put a bread bag over each foot and the insert your feet back in your trail runners for getting around camp. This truly works.
Agree with everything you’ve said Bungzy, but I’ll just add that there are always exceptions. E.g. I have a 3 day hike coming up that will involve 15 water crossings in the first 8km, followed by 2 days of cold but dry alpine conditions. I plan on using some really lightweight shoes for the river section then switching to some goretex synthetic boots that will be much warmer and more comfortable on the mountains. In this case it’s worth the little bit of extra weight for me. Every individual hike deserves it’s own considerations per the conditions and personal preferences. Anyway, love your channel Bungzy it’s a goldmine of good information!
My problem is getting sand in trail runners while crossing. Taking care of your feet dry and chaffing free. Especially in a thru hike. In the summer Appalachian trail the humidity will keep those trail runners moist.
My camp shoes are also my water shoes, so double duty here. They are just lightweight sandals. And it never takes me 10 minutes to do water crossing. I store sandals in a bag in one of the side pockets, so that they are easy to retrieve without removing my pack. Same bag is used for my regular shoes and socks that I simply clip to the backpack during the crossing. The change over takes at most 5 minutes, most of it balancing on one leg putting sock onto another. If there will be just one or two crossings, then I don't bother with sandals. At the end of the day when I am in camp, I prefer my feet to have a chance to breeze and relax, so for me having light camp shoes is essential.
Trail runners are great, we get it. But what able those with a bad ankle?? Or possibly two bad ankles??? Is there anything out there that is NOT waterproof and provide any ankle support even when wearing an ankle brace??? I have not found anything so it's packing my Crocs and wasting my time with water crossings for now.
@@Bungzy Thanks for replying. What you say makes sense. I have order the Lone Peak 4 mid mesh but they won't be available until mid November. So we'll see. But Im still gonna pack my old Crocs though.
The Eagle Rock Loop is a perfect example. I’ve hiked it several times and I never take water shoes and I always just use the sealskinz at the end of the day instead of camp shoes.
Of course I enjoy the convenience of crossing with shoes on... But oftentimes I'm nearing my blister threshold and having damp shoes could set me over the edge. As a result, I have to take off my shoes and cross barefoot
You presume you are not wearing waterproof boots that will of course not dry Wet feet and blisters a real issue for some And an other presumption that you are not carrying camp shoes
I agree- you don't need dedicated water shoes. But there are better options now than trail runners. If one shops around, they can have their cake and eat it too. I have been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of Merrell Choprock shoes (they were a new model in 2019) as my only shoes worn for two trips where river hiking was the name of the game - Gila river & canyons of the Escalante where you're crossing rivers as often as a dozen times in one mile. They are 'true' hiking shoes built specifically around water hiking; not those ineffective water shoes you see on amazon for cheap that make too many sacrifices for doing actual miles. I have found they dry completely in less than 1 to 2 hours, but have the support, fit and grip of a trail runner. Going forward, for water intensive hikes I am leaving the Altra's and the Topo Athletic's at home.
@@bonnevillebagger9147 I sized up 1.5 larger than my normal shoe size and the toe box has not been an issue for me. But yes it is narrower than the couple trail runner brands popular with ULers right now.
Carry 2 bread bags that weigh next to nothing. So if you get to camp with wet shoes you don’t need camp shoes for comfort. You take off your wet shoes and socks, let your feet air out a bit, put your dry camp socks on, put a bread bag over each foot and the insert your feet back in your trail runners for getting around camp. This truly works.
Agree with everything you’ve said Bungzy, but I’ll just add that there are always exceptions. E.g. I have a 3 day hike coming up that will involve 15 water crossings in the first 8km, followed by 2 days of cold but dry alpine conditions. I plan on using some really lightweight shoes for the river section then switching to some goretex synthetic boots that will be much warmer and more comfortable on the mountains. In this case it’s worth the little bit of extra weight for me. Every individual hike deserves it’s own considerations per the conditions and personal preferences. Anyway, love your channel Bungzy it’s a goldmine of good information!
My problem is getting sand in trail runners while crossing. Taking care of your feet dry and chaffing free. Especially in a thru hike. In the summer Appalachian trail the humidity will keep those trail runners moist.
My camp shoes are also my water shoes, so double duty here. They are just lightweight sandals. And it never takes me 10 minutes to do water crossing. I store sandals in a bag in one of the side pockets, so that they are easy to retrieve without removing my pack. Same bag is used for my regular shoes and socks that I simply clip to the backpack during the crossing. The change over takes at most 5 minutes, most of it balancing on one leg putting sock onto another. If there will be just one or two crossings, then I don't bother with sandals.
At the end of the day when I am in camp, I prefer my feet to have a chance to breeze and relax, so for me having light camp shoes is essential.
An interesting perspective. One can't get time back!
I'd worry more about protecting my feet (toes mainly) from rocks.
On the TA there were so many water crossings eventually folks walk on through.
Agree. I think you also get better traction in river wearing trail runners.
Great advice Bungzy.
I use a pair of FitKicks for water shoes/camp shoes. Light, very compact.
Watched all of it
Compelling perspective on dedicated water shoes. 😎
I like zero sandals but almost identical I think the zeros are a tiny bit lighter
Nice advice 😊
Trail runners are great, we get it. But what able those with a bad ankle?? Or possibly two bad ankles??? Is there anything out there that is NOT waterproof and provide any ankle support even when wearing an ankle brace??? I have not found anything so it's packing my Crocs and wasting my time with water crossings for now.
@@Bungzy Thanks for replying. What you say makes sense. I have order the Lone Peak 4 mid mesh but they won't be available until mid November. So we'll see. But Im still gonna pack my old Crocs though.
The Eagle Rock Loop is a perfect example. I’ve hiked it several times and I never take water shoes and I always just use the sealskinz at the end of the day instead of camp shoes.
Nice but sandals were just a little pricy.
Yeah boyyyyyyy
Of course I enjoy the convenience of crossing with shoes on... But oftentimes I'm nearing my blister threshold and having damp shoes could set me over the edge. As a result, I have to take off my shoes and cross barefoot
You presume you are not wearing waterproof boots that will of course not dry
Wet feet and blisters
a real issue for some
And an other presumption that you are not carrying camp shoes
er....not an issue....thank you...
Yeah, boi
I agree- you don't need dedicated water shoes. But there are better options now than trail runners. If one shops around, they can have their cake and eat it too. I have been pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of Merrell Choprock shoes (they were a new model in 2019) as my only shoes worn for two trips where river hiking was the name of the game - Gila river & canyons of the Escalante where you're crossing rivers as often as a dozen times in one mile. They are 'true' hiking shoes built specifically around water hiking; not those ineffective water shoes you see on amazon for cheap that make too many sacrifices for doing actual miles. I have found they dry completely in less than 1 to 2 hours, but have the support, fit and grip of a trail runner. Going forward, for water intensive hikes I am leaving the Altra's and the Topo Athletic's at home.
WildWestHikes that’s a pretty narrow toe box. Cool concept though.
@@bonnevillebagger9147 I sized up 1.5 larger than my normal shoe size and the toe box has not been an issue for me. But yes it is narrower than the couple trail runner brands popular with ULers right now.
On the TA there were so many water crossings eventually folks walk on through.