The Best Camp Shoe
Written by: Flip-Flop
Camp shoes give your feet a new place to hangout and breath after a long day of hiking, are great for crossing rivers, and also make a great shower shoe for trail life.
My first camp shoes were flip-flops (part of how I got my trail name). They were light weight, cheap and comfortable for short periods of time. But the more technical hiking I got into (thru-hiking and water crossings) the less they performed.
Crossing rivers in flip-flops is very difficult, and squeezing my toes together so hard to make sure I didn’t lose them was quite the chore. Their traction sucked on wet rocks, and the foam soles wore out quick. So tried Crocs, which were much more comfortable, but were bulky, heavy, and also didn’t work well in water.
So in the middle of our Appalachian Trail thru-hike 2018 I went to Amazon hoping for a solution. We were about to enter New Hampshire and I was looking for a shoe that would stay on my foot, give me protection while crossing rivers, and would be comfortable enough to walk around town in too.
My only complaint is that they don’t dry as fast as flip-flops or crocs because of the material they are made out of. However, I overcome this drying period by absorbing extra water with my pack towel, and clipping them to my pack to air out and catch some sun. Doing this I am able to get them to dry out in a matter of hours, and if I have to cross a river right before camp I just wear my trail runners that night as camp shoes until they dry out the next morning.
They also work great as a shower shoe while thru-hiking; the last thing you want is to get foot fungus while using public showers.
They are pretty true to size, but if you are in between sizes I would recommend sizing up to give your toes extra wiggle room. 🙂
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I do want to remind you that these are minimalist shoes and if barefoot shoes and/or feeling the earth beneath you isn’t your thing, I’d recommend the crocs. But, for those of us looking for a camp shoe that is light weight, flexible, and multi-purpose, these are them. For the price, you can’t get anything better and they come in so many fun styles too!
I have used these exact shoes for both my AT thru-hike, and PCT thru-hike, and have also convinced other thru-hikers to jump on the Amazon camp shoes wagon.
I wouldn’t be recommending them if I didn’t truly love them, promise. Heck, even Caveman tries to steal them from me (see photo above), probably time we buy him a pair too… but hey, we’re saving base weight by sharing.
Get yourself a pair today!! Only 4.8 oz for those who are counting. 🙂