Bushwalk Australia

Hi guys (and gals)!

First post here, so kinda of an introduction. I'm an 'emerging' professional photographer in the Blue Mountains area of Australia. You can find some sample shots of my work here (if you like); https://eddysummersphotography.myportfolio.com (go Landscape for some 'Bushwalky' like pics

I'm posting here because I'm after some words of wisdom or guidance from you bush walker pros! Thus far when I have taken my landscape images I have stayed dry, but Summer is well and truly here, tourist attractions get busy and I could actually take some interesting shots at some rock pools and waterfalls (safely of course!) if I got my feet wet. Summer also means busy time with lots of tourists, I could see (the other day) that I could shoot some scenes away from tourists and have none of them in my shot if I could wade into the water a little (really no deeper than shin level, that's all it would take).

Right now however I'm not sure any of my current footwear is suitable, I'm worried I'll ruin an otherwise good dry trainer but more to the point is that after the wetness of wading in, I want to be able to continue walking (safely and comfortably) for the rest of the walk, so perhaps something that is intended for this purpose and dries quickly (at least till the next waterfall lol).

I own something like (if not exactly) the same as these already; https://www.kathmandu.com.au/mens/footw ... ndals.html

I don't find them very comfortable, I get chaffing if I wear them without socks, and with socks it's too daggy So I don't think sandals are the solution, I really need a sock as I'm a delicate soul

I was thinking... is there like a very gripy light trainer, the meshy kind that dries out quickly, and perhaps purpose made socks that if wet dry super quick? I can't help feel that's kinda what I'm looking for. Obviously once back to the car a change of sock and shoe can be made, it's more about being comfortable (and safe, the shoe once wet needs to still be able to grip flat rock surfaces afterwards etc).

I'm slim kinda guy, med build 70kilosish.

What can you recommend?

TIA!

Bruce (eddy)

"Crocs" mate......the plastic shoes.....not the toothy critter ! Cheers

s358

sambar358 wrote:"Crocs" mate......the plastic shoes.....not the toothy critter ! Cheers

s358

Haha! God no... I already hinted at the non 'daggy' aspect in the OP!

Crocs "daggy" ? Surely you jest BB.

The link below might be closer to what you are after.....I use these as my wet-wading fly fishing footwear for alpine rivers with a slippery rocky bottom. Essentially zip-up neoprene wet suit boots with a good grippy lug sole plus lots of little high tensile nail-like spikes for additional grip on anything slippery. I find them great for wading in slippery conditions although for what I do a hard toe-cap would be handy and I tend to get the ends of my toes a bit banged-up on the rocks now and again....but I hardly ever fall over in the river with these on. Available from BCF and other outdoor/fishing retailers. Cheers

s358

http://www.bcf.com.au/Product/Adrenalin ... ens/107996

I can't speak with any authority on the newer style canvas jungle boots used by armed forces which I believe are still available but the older green canvas ex ' Nam boots gripped like glue on wet rock. They tested ones patience in lacing them up but a spin off was that they were highly effective in keeping out leeches. Army disposal stores have seem to have fallen by the wayside and the last time I priced a pair I was gobsmacked. Also- the rubber didn't seem quite as soft on the Australian issue ones either. You wouldn't want to have to take them off regularly but a pair of wool socks might do the trick in keeping feet warm in a canyoning environment.

Vibram Five Fingers

I'm with sambar358 with this. Crocs are my " perfect" footware. I wear them pretty well all the time I'm not consulting patients as a GP in an upmarket suburb. The family hate them. I love them.

A

Runners with a mesh top, light, comfortable, quick drying, find one with tacky/grippy soles for those slippery rock surfaces.
Another plus...runners being so light & foamy is that your feet/legs feel a whole lot lighter, floating close to the surface as you drift/swim around a cool rocky rainforest pool...

Thin neoprene socks for water + spare pair of normal socks for terrafirma for the walk in/out.

I use that combo when wet wading streams chasing trout or rock hopping to waterfalls & gorges.

Look into injini socks, I have met a few people who do a dual layer, toe sock inside, thin wool sock over that for warmth.
As far as a good shoe. If there was a shoe that could survive immersion, be comfy and handle walking, everyone I work with would own a pair. I do school camps, so a fair bit of canoeing, and that means wet feet. I've tried columbia "river shoes" gotta take some glue into work again to re-sole them, had them a year, glued twice already. Generally the crew wear crocs, old volleys, toe-capped keen or teva sandals (not so much of those since you get sunburn spots on the feet) or surf booties. Probably your best bet is to just carry some surf boots and change for your river walking, then back to the shoes for the walk out. I've found that its better to get two pairs to do two jobs, none do both evenly.

Hey guys (gals?)!

Thanks for the heap of replies, I just signed up to this account and for whatever reason am not getting email notifications for replies

I very much like the idea of Vibrams Five Fingers, are these therefore also intended to be worn sockless? I like the idea of not wearing socks as even if I use a light breathable mesh trail trainer type thing I'm sure I'll require socks and they'll get wet so doesn't that therefore defeat the purpose of wearing a trainer that dries quickly? Yes I could take more socks, but sometimes I could be in and out of the water for hours... how many socks can I carry? (one walk for example could have 4 waterfalls within a 2hr walking period).

I feel I have enough photographic (and bushwalking) gear in general, I'm trying to limit the amount of stuff on my person, taking a second pair of shoes is just really not feasible. I also don't have the time to change footwear after every splash.

Good suggestions here tho, I would like to try some Vibrab Five Fingers on before buying, not sure if any physical retailers in oz actually have them for sale?

Years ago before I started buying specialist footwear for my summer wet-wading trout fishing in mountain streams I used to just glue synthetic carpet to the soles of old track shoes. Easy to do.....smooth-off the track shoe soles and make sure they are 100% dry, cut a piece of carpet to the shape of the sole and use a contact adhesive to attach it to the sole. These were super-grippy on wet and slippery rocks and I never had any issues with the carpet peeling off the soles if I did the glue-job correctly and I managed to get a couple of summers fishing out of them as well as the added bonus of using the old track shoes a bit longer.

The commercial version of this concept was much the same....a synthetic lightweight boot with thick felt glued to the soles....I tried a few pairs of those too but found them quite expensive and most seemed to last only one fishing season.....got a better run out of the old track shoes and $5 worth of carpet off-cuts. Cheers

s358

Plenty of walkers wander down rivers, criss-crossing from side to side all the time. Standard cheap NON-GTX joggers with thick wool socks work just fine. Specialised stuff is mostly a waste of time and money.


Coxs River, one of MANY crossings.

Cheers
Roger

Five-fingers are pretty good, I've used them quite a bit, although I have gotten sunburn through the fabric while wading, and the ones I have (treksport I think) do fill with sand if its around. Not sure on retailers, lots of fakes on the market.

If your feet can handle walking wet, then they might be a good option, I found that they loosen up as they get soaked, so they are not always as comfortable. But I do like them.

I got my genuine 5 fingers online from the walking company.
Haven't done 'full' days with a pack or used in water so no help to you there. But I do wear the thin Injinji sicks with them.
Actually just put them on today (thongs all summer) to get my feet used to them for a walk I'm doing soon.

Hi,

We tried bare foot and it was no good actually very dangerous, not only was it super slippery but extreamly painful, on the return trip we kept boots on but the car was only a 1 hour hike away so no big deal, it would have been a different story on our way in, leather finished gortex boots won't dry in a hurry

I have used crocs for years and don't think they would be suitable with a full pack on,

Any one tried duct taping there shoes to there pants ?

Inov8 Trail Talon 290 water drains out well and once off the foot they dry quick. Also dry on the foot whilst wearing. Same shoes for walking as wading. Get to camp -dry socks, bread bags,wet shoes back on. Foot heat will dry them. Especially good on a warm day to cool those tootsies. Good to 4 to 5 degrees I suppose maybe more. Your feet will be warm while you walk, no problem.

We only had a short hike back to the car with wet boots and got blisters

I have heard maybe taking off your socks stops this ?

Fit really changes when shoes get wet, they get stretchier, and your feet slide more. Dry socks can help, but it depends on your shoes. Some people double-sock. some go no-sock, but I think it also depends on how hard your feet are, and again shoe design is huge. Sock quality is major as well. I've never had good cotton socks in the wet, synthetics or wool are all that work for me. Even just re-tightening the laces if the shoes are getting sloppy will help to a degree.

two pairs of socks , one pair are liner socks, they are sold as liner socks, most of any siip happens between the socks and not against your skin.. footwear that drains easily

Ive taken to using mens acrylic dress socks inside boots for wading and hiking combined. They dry quick and keep blisters away for me inside jungle type boots. I think a lot of it is personal preference though..I have pretty tough feet. I love runners but deep mud or sand they fill with crap or I lose them off my foot.Crocs/thongs etc good for mucking about and day wear, obviously not for heavy pack carry on gradients. I always carry a set on long hikes as camp wear or for easy trails where feet are breaking down.The best boot I found so far for rainforest trekking where a lot of slimy rocks, mud and wading is expected was the palladium, former french combat boots copied by yuppie brands. Lightweight canvas, about 2/3 the weight of normal cmobat boots, chunky rubber treads, very tough, I also added grommets to the sides for drainage. The only problem is the latest manufacturer doesn't have a size that really fits me, buggar.

phs wrote:We only had a short hike back to the car with wet boots and got blisters

I have heard maybe taking off your socks stops this ?

merino socks. yes they cost a bit but you'll never go back to synthetics after trying them

I’d suggest KEEN sandals. They have models that are open weave and are perfect for water drainage while tough enough fog most walks, including toe and heel protection.

GPSGuided wrote:I’d suggest KEEN sandals.

I have a pair of KEEN sandals bough for just such a purpose. They fell apart from walking around my home. Not buying anything labelled KEEN as I could not trust it.

I agree with Roger. You don't need special equipment to stand up to your knees in water. A pair of trail runners and wool socks will work for 95 % of stuff you will do in the Australian bush, especially in the Blue Mountains.

I have a pair of keen walking shoes, lasted well, good for a wide foot. I agree with wallwombat. An add on is if you are on a rocky bed a mesh shoe is great, dries quicker, solid outer less sand/grit gets in. If you take more that one pair of shoes you may of well be car camping.

Have waded a bit of the Shoalhaven in Fivefingers. Was good as your feet and toes can feel ahead and mould around the riverstones.

Usually my older walking shoes become my next wet shoes.

Warin wrote:

GPSGuided wrote:I’d suggest KEEN sandals.

I have a pair of KEEN sandals bough for just such a purpose. They fell apart from walking around my home. Not buying anything labelled KEEN as I could not trust it.

That's interesting because a lot of the folks I work with use keen extensively. They tend to have a harder sole than Merrels, so do more miles at the cost of a little less grip. Any shoes can be lemons.

I gardened for 12 months a pair wearing Keens (includes acreage gardening), for a few years in a row. They are the closest off-the-shelf fit I can find so recently after two pair of Oboz, just went back to them for walking.

As a fly fisher, I have spent many years wading all sorts of streams. There are specialist wading boots but your 1st issue is traction. There are different surfaces. For slippery slimy rocks, the absolute best grip hands down is a felt sole. However felt is extremely slippery on clay, mud and wet grass. There is a sticky rubber sole for general wading but it isn't great on slimy rock. Korkers make a boot with interchangeable soles but in my experience with older models, these tend to fail in the larger sizes though the smaller sizes seem to work fine. Water is hard on most any boot though. A cheaper option might be neoprene boots with a firm sole. You can put a pair of explorer socks inside out over the shoe or boot to gain grip on slimy rock. Fly fishers tend to wear stocking foot waders and boots but, honestly, there is nothing wrong with tossing the waders and just wet wading with wet feet in appropriate shoes or boots. Just dry your feet after the wet activity is fine. It is not advisable to have neoprene against the skin, causes blisters. If you use a neoprene shoe, boot or sock, please just put on an ordinary pair of thin close fitting socks between skin and neoprene. This will prevent blisters even walking an entire day in and out of water. I would suggest using hiking shoes or boots for any extended dry walking though. I would not wear anything like sandals or crocks wading streams as small stones will get between your foot and the shoe which gets old fast.

Regards, Ken

For multiday wet feet activities fishing, bushwalking, abseiling, canyoning, kayaking -Ive adopted Skurka's method for dealing with wet feet, works for me & just a good footcare strategy, YMMV.
https://andrewskurka.com/2012/minimizin ... -wet-feet/
Ignore the climbers salve and choose your own Aust made equivalent - shop local.