KEEN SOLR Wading Sandal

[Sylvaneous]

Just became aware of this. It's a sandal by Keen made to be amphibious. It's advertised for wet surfaces and river rocks. It has a sole material that is supposed to be more grippy in the water than usual sandal bottoms. It's called Aquagrip or something like that.
I can't imagine it's any worse than Vibram Idrogrip. I haven't found that stuff to be a WHOLE lot better than my Teva Spydersole or Spydergrip or whatever they call it.
I'll let you know how they work on what kind of river rocks. The Allegheny and Oil Creek are murderously slippery nightmares. I can't judge them too harshly there. I saw some reviews of the Simms wading sandal (that don't have the felt sole insert, making them less useful as dedicated wading footwear) that said their construction was poor. Many said the stitching was pulling out.
I had a pair of KEENs for wading from many years ago. They fit oddly, in that the toe bumper let my pinky toe come out. The edges were sharp. I tried with a sock. No good. I got these SOLR's from REI and they will stand behind their stuff.
I'm always looking for good wet wading wear and am astonished that 1) so few decent designs are produced 2) that they obviously don't do much field testing because the faults are glaring and 3) as soon as they make something acceptable, it disappears like a fart in the wind, never to be seen again.
I'll keep you posted.
Syl

 

[troutbert]

For wet wading, you can just buy regular flyfishing wading boots, but a little smaller than usual.

Or use your regular wading boots, with a neoprene bootie.

IMHO, any type of sandals are unsafe for wading. Your feet just aren't protected well enough from metal and broken glass in the stream.

 

[tomgamber]

I woud rather go barefoot than put on socks and boots to wet wade. I won't do either but there are so many less clumsy and cumbersome options. but we've already had this discussion. Thanks for the headsup on the new Keens, Syl.

 

[pcray1231]

Personally I like the polypropolene/nylon/lycra wet wading socks over the neoprene socks for wet wading. Still nice and thick but the neoprene holds water for me, then when you get out and walk on land it's slosh, slosh. The wet wading socks solve that problem, they're like thick boot socks except they don't get all squishy like wool or cotton would.

As for wet wading boots. I have:

My regular wading boots - I wear for bad footing, not much hiking type excursions. Lots of rock protection for the top of the foot and studs on the footbed. But clunky and heavy. And studs don't do so well on smooth clean rock.

A lightweight pair of wading boots - Kind of tweeners. They are the predecessor of the Simms Flyweight, I don't recall the model. Light as sneakers. Rubber bottom so they hike and rock hop well. No studs so they are ok in the yak or on a boat. They are slicker than my wading boots in the water, but at least it's idrogrip and a tread designed for in stream use.

Danner Rivercombers - I wear these sock free. They're water shoes, not a lot of protection, but more than many other water shoes, or sandals. Grip is weird, they're dock/boat shoe type grips. Absolutely amazing on wet, smooth surfaces, including clean rock like you get in riffles when the current cleans all the rocks. You feel like spiderman! Dry rock hopping is amazing. It's designed for wet docks and wet fiberglass boat decks. But the tread is too shallow for mud or even the slightest bit of slime on a rock. You have to be careful as the disparity between OMG this grip is fantastic to zero grip whatsoever is a little startling.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Astral is a company I hadn't heard of but seems to be on the right track. At least they're not using that horrific IdroGrip self-inflicted-wading-murder-or-suicide-by-negligence sole, (all alleged, I assure you!)
Highest friction G.ss™ rubber compound with razor-siping and drain holes toe and heel.
Maybe these.

After busting my A$$ using shoes by supposed water footwear authorities, I want to grab them by their neck tie (or hoodie back) and tell them: "WHy on your wet wading shoes does your construction go to S#!T? And you don't use sticky sole material? WHy does your fit suck in THESE shoes, when for 20 years, it's been fine to great in your other stuff? Why can't you take THIS boot/sandal/shoe and put THAT sticky rubber compound on the bottom???? You make every other godd@m thing!" Salomon had a good water sole (supposedly) and solid reputation, yet their reviews show their construction went to s#!t.

 

[pcray1231]

First, you're blaming the rubber compound for what might be a tread pattern issue. By and large, among the rubber types, Vibram's Idrogrip is among the tops in wet rock testing, and well respected in the industry. It's what many of the brand name rubber soled wading boots are made from, a heavy hitter in the industry, and a giant leap forward when lug soles became popular (over the old, hard rubbered hippers and such of old days).

Bad grip could be an issue with rubber compound, sole construction, tread pattern. In any combination.

Teva uses Megagrip, also a Vibram product. It's a little harder/more durable than Idrogrip but inferior on wet surfaces.

Keens Aquagrip IS Vibram Idrogrip with Keen's proprietary tread pattern.

Those Astrals tread look like hiking boot tread, maybe you can do a wet crossing or two, but they don't appear to be made to be a purpose made wet tread. I think you might find them pretty slick (and not due to rubber compound, due to tread). But try em and report back, I'm interested.

As far as construction, I hear ya. Wet/dry cycles are incredibly harsh on fabrics. In order to get durable you generally have to get thicker, and heavier. They're called WADING BOOTS. If you want ultra light weight, water shoe style, there ain't gonna be much material to stand up to the rigors of wading streams. And most of them are gonna have sole patterns designed for wet but smooth surfaces, like boat decks and swimming pool floors. All that fine siping. You need big old lugs/cleats to cut rock slime, and fairly stiff soles so that you don't flatten out the tread on uneven terrain. Again, heavy. Some have made wet wading boots, namely Simms, with the sandals and such. The idea there is thick material in places, but lots of holes to keep it fairly light, with a wading boot style sole. They just didn't sell great compared to true wading boots or the lighter water shoes of Keen/Teva, etc.

I've been happy with the longevity on my Danner Rivercombers. They are decidedly in the water shoe category, not much protection on top, and baby sipes, like the Astral, Merrell Watertrekker, Salomon Amphip, Simms Challenger, etc. I think the Simms Flyweight or Orvis Pro Approach is probably the wet wading boot you're looking for. These are the purpose made tweeners, with soles meant primarily for wading, not hiking or boats. But lighter and lower topped than a traditional clunky wading boot. They are made for wet wading fishermen. And the flyweight is studdable, not sure on the Orvis. Note the Simms Flyweight wading boot and Simms Flyweight Wet Wading shoe are different products, don't confuse them!!!!

 

[Sylvaneous]

5.10 had Aquastealth 25 year ago. It wasn't felts, but felts aren't perfect. Studded, it worked really well. It was all I used when I had it. It worked. This isn't a mystery.
Basically all of my sandals , many shoes and boots survive wet/dry cycles all the time. I've had stitching fail and bad construction on footwear (Danner Pronghorns) that DIDN'T have those problems in years past. I don't buy that. Construction has just sucked. I'll posit tread is minor, as the IdroGrip has tread and sucks. Aquastealth BARELY did, and worked much better even without almost any tread.
I had an industry person try to blow smoke about tread maybe 15 years ago. I identified the BS they wanted me to believe.
Simms had a pretty good solution with their River-something wading shoe, which I am currently using. And, of course, its GONE.
Again, this isn't a mystery, it just isn't being done.

 

[pcray1231]

Idrogrip isn't a tread pattern. It's a type of rubber. A very soft rubber that grips wet stuff well, but wears out quick. The shoemaker can put whatever pattern they desire in it for whatever surface they wanna design for.

Five Ten's Aquastealth was almost identical to Vibram Idrogrip in rubber formulation, lol. It was the forerunner to it, Vibram copied it when Adidas killed Five Ten. And yes I've had them way back. The round rubber tread pattern with fine sipes, you resoled them when they wore out (which happened quickly). They were billed as kayaker shoes mainly. And the finely siped "dot pattern" it had was very similar to the water/boat shoes of today. GREAT on wet smooth surfaces, TERRIBLE if there was any snot at all. It's not hard to find water shoes of this sort, from Simms, or Danner, or Keen, or Merrell, or probably the king of them all, the originator of this type of grip, Sperry! And 1000 other makers. Under Armour, Nike, etc. all have em. I mean, it's like the most common type of water shoe. Since I was perusing the Simms site...., this going to perform almost identical to the Aquastealth sole.

M's Simms Challenger Air Vent Shoe | Simms Fishing Products

SIMMS Men's Challenger Air Vent Shoe. Lightweight, breathable, bringing comfort, durability, and relentless grip.

www.simmsfishing.com

As will this:

Rivercomber 3" Goblin Blue/Charcoal

Land crafted, river approved. Danner’s first boots may have been built for loggers, but today we make footwear for every challenge the Pacific Northwest has to offer. The mountains here are home to glacier-fed rivers, lazy streams and crystalline lakes, where having the right gear spells the...

www.danner.com

I have those. I wear them kayaking all the time. I jump out and drag the boat through riffs. I park it and rock hop the shore and fish. When I go to the beach and fish a rock jettie, those are on my feet. They're amazing on wet ROCK. And then I keep them on to walk the boardwalk in the evening or go to the bar. But I don't recommend these on a dedicated river fishing trip as they are just super slick anytime any snot is on those rocks, just like the old five tens. And don't even think about mud. It's not the rubber, it's that there's no spiky's to cut the slime, and not enough tread depth to stick in mud. There's a reason sports players wear spikes on dirt.

Simms Rivertread is a name for their rubber sole. It is Vibram Idrogrip with Simm's proprietary tread pattern, that accepts Simms proprietary cleats, etc. Same rubber as many of those water shoes, but a tread pattern meant for rivers, with some rubber spikes to handle snot on rock. Most of their heavy duty dedicated wading boots have it and it's been unchanged for a long time. I won't say it's better than felt, it's not. But it's ok. They didn't get rid of it, they never changed it. It's just in the ads, instead of saying "Simms Rivertread" they say "Vibram Idrogrip", because they were pressured by the company Vibram to do so. It's the same thing.

The Simms RipRap was a wet wading sandal/shoe model they had. There was a shoe and a sandal. Those too had the "Rivertread" bottoms, i.e. Vibram Idrogrip. These were made for stream bottoms, not boats. The sandal was replaced with the Simms Confluence sandal, billed as a wet wading sandal, it does have a different tread pattern to do better on land (worse in water). The shoe version of the RipRap was replaced with the aforementioned Flyweight wet wading shoe (not the flyweight boot). This has the Rivertread, and accepts studs (which means the sole has to be thicker). Here they are: Notice the more aggressive, deeper, spikier tread designs. Same rubber, different tread. Will do WORSE on smooth wet surfaces, less surface area. But much better if there's slime on the rocks.

Flyweight Wet Wading Shoe | Simms Fishing

SIMMS Flyweight Wet Wading Shoe. A lightweight, hiking-inspired, wet wading shoe for moving fast on warm days.

www.simmsfishing.com

M's Confluence Wet Wading Sandal | Simms Fishing Products

SIMMS Confluence Wet Wading Sandal. Hardworking, wet wading sandals for all-day comfort and protection.

www.simmsfishing.com

And here's Orvis' version. They go with Michelin rubber.

PRO Approach Shoes

The rugged Men's PRO Approach Shoes take you from wet wading to boating to hiking in comfort.

www.orvis.com

I'm failing to understand what exactly you are looking for. The entire spectrum is still covered. The most lightly covered part of it is the lightweight, low cut water shoes with treads made for wading rivers, as most low tops are made for boat/kayak/dock occasional light wading. That's because the market is small and only the fly fishing centric brands play in footwear specifically for dirty slimy rivers. But Simms and Orvis do, see above. I think Chota as well.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Yes. You were right all along.

 

[Rainier42]

You can always install grip studs in these.

 

[pcray1231]

I had a pair of Chota wet wading boots years ago. They were hybrid rubber/felt soles. Meaning around the edges of the sole were rubber, and on the toe where you push off when walking. But there were felt pads on the ball and heel of the foot, where you put your weight when standing. They were absolutely amazing grip, in and out of the water, best of all worlds. The shoe itself kinda sucked though and fell apart in like a year. And they don't make them anymore. Shame... I don't know that anyone else ever did that rubber/felt hybrid thing.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Spent 2 solid days wading Spring in the SOLR sandals and I can say these are the best wading sandals I've had to date. The only thing missing for a great fishing wading sandal would be to have felt pads in place of the flat(ish) siped sole section. Most of the gravel and sand washed it's way out. The lacing bungee tightening clip actually held. The ankle & heel was supremely well held and secure. There is a wide range of foot types but my 9 1/2 foot fit perfectly in the 9 1/2 size sandal. No blisters or wear spots. Based on what another person said, their AquaStop soles are the same compound as IdroGrip, so take that for what it is. If it was AquaStealth, it would be better, again. I walked a lot and waded a lot and I give them Thumbs Up.
Syl

 

[Sylvaneous]

Spent 2 solid days wading Spring in the SOLR sandals and I can say these are the best wading sandals I've had to date. The only thing missing for a great fishing wading sandal would be to have felt pads in place of the flat(ish) siped sole section. Most of the gravel and sand washed it's way out. The lacing bungee tightening clip actually held. The ankle & heel was supremely well held and secure. There is a wide range of foot types but my 9 1/2 foot fit perfectly in the 9 1/2 size sandal. No blisters or wear spots. Based on what another person said, their AquaStop soles are the same compound as IdroGrip, so take that for what it is. If it was AquaStealth, it would be better, again. I walked a lot and waded a lot and I give them Thumbs Up.
Syl

Too bad they're basically out for the year. They'll probably be discontinued next year, replaced with something not as good.