Best Shoes Aboard?

[anathema]

It will probably be offensive (I talk too much) to those who have replied crocs but other than maybe for a passage FAR from other people I cannot fathom how anyone could bring themselves to be seen in a plastic shoe that looks like something a mother would think her toddler would look cute in.

Maybe if there were not better sailing shoes, but there are some very nice shoes out there as people have mentioned. Keens are a good selling brand of wet/dry shoe. Saloman also makes some VERY nice shoes.



The flap in the back folds down flat so you can just step on it and slam your feet in, tada a slip on.(This is why I prefer them over the Keens) Or for security in rougher weather, put them on all the way and just yank on those little staps on the back. The inside is treated with some silver ion stuff to help prevent odor. The soles are non marking and they dry very fast.

For those not into the looks of the newer style of shoe (and lets face it if you are wearing crocs this is not an area of concern to you) there are many classic boat shoes out there that do a better job and don't make it look like you've been hit with the boom one too many times.

Sperry makes some very nice shoes as mentioned in above posts:



And..


For a slip on.

I may mostly just daysail right now so maybe my mindset isn't 'there' yet, but this may be one of those things I just never 'get'

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by anathema

I cannot fathom how anyone could bring themselves to be seen in a plastic shoe that looks like something a mother would think her toddler would look cute in.

Yes, pretty much the same thought I had when first seeing adult males in them.

But they are so good I have taken it on my shoulders to look like a dork


Should I say feet....

[anathema]

Really better than the alternatives?

Then again, if it would let me trade places with you two, I'd even wear the pink ones

[scottyb]

The two most honest parts of the body are the hands and feet. Footware tells alot about the person. Crocs vs. something else.... You decide what you tell the world, even if that is not your intention. (but we all know it really is)

[Solitude]

Onboard I'm barefoot, always when its warm and haven't broken a toe yet. I have an old pair of Sperry's to run around the dock in. I leave a pair of rubber sandles in the dinghy for going ashore at anchor. They are great for jumping out onto the rocky BC shores. Leaving them in the dinghy keeps the cockpit cleaner.

[Palarran]

I just bought these Sperry's. I like to have my feet in a shoe - it's more comfortable for me. I'll find out how they work in a couple of weeks.

[Meck]

You've got to try the "Five Fingers" by Vibram. They give you the dexterity of bare feet and the protection to run and jump all over the deck without being maimed by a toe stubbing.

They are REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Meck

[rusky]

None or Crocs

[Curmudgeon]

Keens. No close second. They don't slip. In warm weather, I prefer barefoot.

I have Sperry topsiders, but they are for going ashore. They can slip on a wet deck.

[Not Sure]

Barefoot or Topsider classics. I suppose I'm old-fashioned too. (In a pinch Converse Chuck Taylor hitops will do also, but ever since Converse farmed production out to China several years ago, they're not the same anymore. Too bad.)