I am getting ready for my second 50 mile trip in BWCA and I need new shoes. I was wondering if the paddle shoes in the link below are a good investment. Our route has plenty of portages, and I'm worried they won't have enough support for this kind of trip. Thanks!

Water shoes

I agree with your assessment. They don't seem to be built for portaging heavy packs over rough trails.

I wear them for kayaking and like the round heal for the position my feet are in relative to the foot braces. They are not very supportive when walking though and I would not use them for portages of any significant length even with very light loads.

When canoeing (and almost all of my BW trips are with a canoe because I don't like unloading and loading gear through the kayaks hatches at every portage) I try to go light and single portage. For the last 4 seasons I have been using Teva Churns and they have worked for me. I like them well enough that I have purchased a couple of extra pairs in case they are discontinued.

Footwear is a real personal choice, so I can only say what works for me. Your experience might be totally different, but I do not think you'd be happy with the NRS shoes you mentioned on portages, even if you go very light.

Has anyone tried these?

I have a pair of Keens that I love for around the camp. They're light, they breathe well, and dry out quickly. Unfortunately, they're a bit slippery on wet rocks, which can be scary portaging, so I only wear them portaging on dry days. When we're portaging in wet conditions, I wear rain/mud boots. I can't remember the brand, but they're not the cheap ones. They're comfortable and have great tread, and you can't beat them if looking for something waterproof.

We have been using Chuck Taylors for the past couple years. This year trying something new. I've used other versions of there shoes for years. Never disappointed. And it's nice they're on clearance.



Water Tennie

Keen Voyager hiking boots is great for wet footing

quote Blatz: "Keen Voyager hiking boots is great for wet footing"

Thumbs up on this one. They dry quickly and keep the ankle biters away when paddling.

How about these???

quote Beardmead: "I am getting ready for my second 50 mile trip in BWCA and I need new shoes. I was wondering if the paddle shoes in the link below are a good investment. Our route has plenty of portages, and I'm worried they won't have enough support for this kind of trip. Thanks!

Water shoes "

I have a pair of these and use them when paddling the Lower Wisconsin river and some other rivers. They are fine for river paddling but I sure would not portage in them very far. I just don't believe that they would be very comfortable nor would they hold up to all of the roots and rocks.

I wear some keen sandals (leather) while moving and portaging, paddling, exploring. My camp "dry shoes" are some lightweight mesh tennis shoes. If it is a cooler day I might wear wool socks under my sandals.

I like the keens for a few reasons:
- They dry out fast
- Easy to pop off while paddling, I like to go barefoot in the canoe
- My feet can breathe and stay cool and don't get wrinkled and gross from being in wet shoes
- Quite durable from what I can tell
- comfortable. I bought them to use strictly for camping and BWCA trips, but they are SO COMFORTABLE I wear them around town as my go-to summer shoes. I am not exaggerating when I say they are the most comfortable footwear I own.

I have never had a problem with them not being grippy enough, and I have never had a problem with stability while portaging in them.

I had posted this previously- but these have been pretty darn good. And cheap. They've got mesh screens in the floor and sides to drain but not let in rocks and other junk.

I have these exact shoes. I love them. Work great on the portages and in the canoe. I love the grip and feel of them. Plenty of support for me even on long portages with heavy loads.

I like something with good ankle support anytime I am hauling a load. I tried a "water shoe" once and the results were not so good. Give me some sort of boot for sure.

I use and really like the Chota Caney Fork wading boot. It handles both mud and rocks very well.

quote unshavenman: "I use and really like the Chota Caney Fork wading boot. It handles both mud and rocks very well."

+1

+1 - I agree with Bill and Unshaven - good support and comfortable.
Though - those stylish "paddle shoes" from pswith5 has are interesting!

This is what I used for the first time on our last trip. I used these with the Chota hippies. I was happy with how they worked.

Hikers

I think I have finally found my paddle shoes! Back in the day I had some huge clunker Teva sandals - the open toe terrified me on portages. Went to a Teva shoe that wasn't bad, but my wide foot just keeps getting wider and anyway they have changed the design in the 15 years since I bought them. This year I tried some Keen sandals. Great foot bed, closed toe, medium weight, but they take forever to dry and I was always getting little stones under my foot.

Last week I got some KEEN Mckenzie II Hiking Boots and took them on my first camping weekend of the year. I wore them in the boat. I wore them on a 1.5 mile walk. I didn't bother to change into camp shoes and just wore them around camp because my feet were happy. No stones in my shoes, a tiny bit of sand worked in. They dried, and even my socks dried, while I was wearing them. They have enough support for at least a medium length portage. Probably nothing has enough support for a long portage. I just checked, after wearing them 3 days they don't stink. My only concern is how long will the mesh panels last? Only time will tell.