Bushwalk Australia

Any recommendations on the best shoes to cross small rivers and / or waterfalls? I have recently been confronted with a crossing perhaps knee/waist deep and was wondering how one should cross since I only had my hiking boots..barefoot or in hikers (making them annoyingly wet) seemed like the only options... Your suggestions?

Hi

Crocs in the correct size (or the many cheaper knock-offs) are ok. Could use beach shoes but find them a little thin on the soles. But Vibram 5 fingers might be the best.

Beats the hell out of bare feet or soaking your boots.

Cheers

+1 for croc type
corvus

If you have camp shoes to wear at the end of the day, your boots are best to cross rivers by far!!

Though I am also a bit soft and dont like to get wet wet too early in a walk.

ILUVSWTAS wrote:If you have camp shoes to wear at the end of the day, your boots are best to cross rivers by far!!

Though I am also a bit soft and dont like to get wet wet too early in a walk.

Never had a problem with Crocs drying, but I suppose some might that are special in that special way.

Cheers

Ummmmmmmmm no I haven't either, but crocs aren't all that safe for crossing fast moving water. Boots are.

ILUVSWTAS I agree that boots may be the best for river crossings if big and uncertain ? but get heavy if you dont stop and drain them and for multi day walks I much prefer to avoid continuous full immersion where possible especially when it is not hard to put your camp shoes (crocks)on and off
corvus

Couldnt agree more Corvus. Crocs can be slippery underfoot, as well as your foot moves around inside them, not a good choice at all for river crossings i'd say.

Actually twin walking poles are worth their weight on slippery rocks with fast moving water. Also a heavy pack keeps you anchored. Based on a fellow walker's report the Five Fingers are the go. Pity they are so expensive and not made in large sizes.

Cheers

Yes a stick is a must if you dont carry poles. Those 5 finger things would be good, but im not sure i'd carry them just for the purpose of river crossings.

corvus wrote:for multi day walks I much prefer to avoid continuous full immersion where possible

+1
I crossed a creek in my boots on day 1 of 8 a few years ago - and got blisters sooooo bad that I ended up doing 6 days (some off track) in my friend's fake Tevas
Not thrilled re crossing in Crocs, but better than barefoot - I gave that up after I got a foot punctured with blackberry thorns, which I didn't notice with my numb feet in the snow-melt. I just make sure that the Crocs still have plenty of tread.
Not so thrilled re creek crossings now you mention it - don't really like any of the options. Soft, I know...

Tortoise wrote:

corvus wrote:for multi day walks I much prefer to avoid continuous full immersion where possible

+1
I crossed a creek in my boots on day 1 of 8 a few years ago - and got blisters sooooo bad that I ended up doing 6 days (some off track) in my friend's fake Tevas
Not thrilled re crossing in Crocs, but better than barefoot - I gave that up after I got a foot punctured with blackberry thorns, which I didn't notice with my numb feet in the snow-melt. I just make sure that the Crocs still have plenty of tread.
Not so thrilled re creek crossings now you mention it - don't really like any of the options. Soft, I know...

Take the socks off, then you wont get blisters. It's the wet socks that causes the rubbing.

Good point. I have done that too, though. I have tried most things in terms of blister prevention I think, and am yet to find the perfect boot for my feet. I tend to use the lighter weight, icy puddles-in-my-boots type ones. Worked better on the mainland, but I'd much rather be here.

Im not going to beat the mesh runner drum too much but i just walk through. Let them get wet, they will dry quickly enough as they don't hold water. No delay. No issues. Even in NZ glacial ice melt. Your feet generate a fair bit of heat.

If in boots i try not to get them drenched early in a walk as leather goretex boots can be slow to dry.

Crocs are a great choice as they will not retain any water.
I'll vote against the 5 fingers for water crossing shoes. The fabric will gain at least double the weight in water retention and they are a bit slow to dry. Been there, tried that. You just end up lugging damp toe shoes that don't work with regular socks as decent camp shoes. I like vibram 5 fingers alone, just not carried in addition to boots for water crossings. Crocs will not hold water and dry like lightning. They can be great insulators too if it's cold in camp.

ILUVSWTAS wrote:Couldnt agree more Corvus. Crocs can be slippery underfoot, as well as your foot moves around inside them, not a good choice at all for river crossings i'd say.

As we have many small deepish river /creek crossings up our region of Paradise (Tassie) our crew have found "crocks" to work,upstream facing careful foot placement can be important
corvus

Each to their own, but i'd never wear crocs. too dangerous.

We use our crocks with no problems are we more careful or what ?
corvus

The only issue I have with Crocs crossing creeks is if they are not in 4wd mode, by that the back strap in placed. The more elaborate sandal type Croc overcomes this concern. I find that they grip better than boots and the sole can handle sharp broken rocks better than most other camp footwear. A pair of runners would do the trick as well but might be a bit more vulnerable to cutting above the sole on the "hidden" broken rock and not as easy to kick on and off at camp but worthwhile considering. With size 49 feet finding camp shoes apart from genuine Crocs is rather elusive.

As for wet boots and blister. Some people appear to be lucky (and I am one) while others need to be careful with footwear and find dry feet a must. My Scapa SLs weigh in over two kilograms each when water logged so nice to keep them dry. One advantage of big feet is often the boot comes up high enough that I can tip toe across many streams with dry feet but have come unstuck more than once so wound up with soaked boots,

As for dangerous, well they are "Tasmanian" creeks after all and we know how dangerous Tasmania is for some people In our group never seen a dangerous Croc crossing event. But the slippery log ones can be hairy.

Cheers

Forest wrote:

Im not going to beat the mesh runner drum too much but i just walk through. Let them get wet, they will dry quickly enough as they don't hold water. No delay. No issues. Even in NZ glacial ice melt. Your feet generate a fair bit of heat.

Go ahead Forest, beat that drum! I love walking through streams and rivers with my mesh shoes, more so in summer, while my leather/gortex-shod friends tiptoe from rock to rock. I love the opportunity to have nice clean cool feet without the effort of taking my shoes off and I love the feel of the water being pumped out as I continue walking. I've been amazed at how quickly my socks dry out from the heat of my feet. When I walked in snow, I popped on a pair of goretex socks over my normal socks and my feet stayed perfectly dry. The mesh shoes dried fairly well overnight and got soaked again the next day in snow.

I bought a pair of aqua shoes from a surfing store for water crossings two years ago but have never taken them with me. I'll try them out when I go canoeing in a few weeks. They could be a good solution for someone who wants separate shoes for river crossings. I've never taken camp shoes with me before but could be tempted to take crocs for walks which have summer swims on the agenda.

IMO, it really depends on your preferred walk style. If I was only doing one water crossing and preferred big heavy boots (which I don't) then I'd take separate shoes, but if I'm doing lots of water crossings then I really couldn't be bothered swapping my shoes all the time.

Depends on the crossing. Safest by far is in your boots.
On a boulder crossing I once had a rock roll out. A potato shape about two or three feet across. Actually it pivoted and spun then rolled in the flow, and I rode it down under a heavy pack.
My foot went forward between the next large boulder, and the bolder was held back for a moment by the rigidity of the toe cap to heel, and gave me an instant to rip the foot clear before the boulder rolled home. Amazing what you can do when sufficiently motivated.
It will NEVER happen to me again, it was a huge wake up call. In crocs or barefoot the foot would have broken and probably the shin too as the bolder ran up over the back of my leg. As it was I had a black foot and howling dents and scrapings with plenty of blood up the shin. Used a whole roll to tape the foot and the ankle to prevent swelling, it was fine, no problems, but anyone who saw it suggested the ankle was broken.
While Id chalk it up to an accident rather than an example of river crossing, wet boot crossing are still hugely in credit for me, unless its a sandy or gravel smooth bottom with little fish swimming round.

Five Fingers are fantastic. Take longer to dry than crocs (still reasonably warm when damp though), but offer much better grip on slippery rocks, also much more packable and if you end up swimming they are no real impediment unlike crocs, runners and especially boots.

Rob A wrote:My foot went forward between the next large boulder, and the bolder was held back for a moment by the rigidity of the toe cap to heel, and gave me an instant to rip the foot clear before the boulder rolled home. Amazing what you can do when sufficiently motivated.
It will NEVER happen to me again, it was a huge wake up call. In crocs or barefoot the foot would have broken and probably the shin too

Thanks for the real life experience

I'd never cross on crocs, but im more than happy for some people to continue doing so.

If you were to slip in a situation like this wearing crocs, best result would be you'd end up wet and lose your crocs. Worst result could be fatal.

I think the main problem with Crocs is that somebody might see you wearing them...

I'm with sim1oz...I simply hike through in my trail runners (Inov-8 TrailRoc 245's)....then keep walking. None of this tippy toeing to keep my feet dry. It's actually quite refreshing to cool the feet down and get them wet!

Remember the original question was related to small rivers /waterfalls, not raging torrents:)
corvus