Best Boating Shoes Ever
The Sperry H20 Escape Bungee Boat Shoe has changed my footwear for good.
Through the years I have gone from sandals and crocs to flip flops and even worn tennis shoes while guiding. Each of them has their own merit but all of them have a down side that is beat by the Sperry H20 Escape Bungee Boating Shoe. I am a big guy at 6ft 6 inches and 250lbs. Support and traction are very important to me. I have tried everything and decided these are the best solution so far.
First lets run through some other choices.
Flip flops are terrible for many things including traction and foot protection. Many fishing guides I know wear flip flops and as a trend I have seen back issues resulting from them. Most the the accidents I have seen on my boat were resulting from flip flops.
Crocs just are not good. after they wear just a little these shoes turn into an ice skate and will dump the wearer right on his butt. Crocs are not allowed on my boat ever. Also the dirtiest shoe ever as they are like little sponges that pick up all the grease anywhere to be found and bring it all right to my boat.
Tennis shoes I wore for a couple years. With a none marking sole and good rubber tread they were great for my back and did not scar up my boat. Also tennis shoes offered the best support for moving around quickly, like playing tennis. Down side is they are hot. Very hot and do not dry. If you get your feet wet tennis shoes need a day or two to dry out. I found the New Balance shoes to be the best.
Tevas were pretty good. I enjoyed wearing them as they had a great grip good support and dried off very well. The only problems I had with Tevas was the smell and funny tan lines. Tan lines I could live with but the smell of bad feet was way to much for me. I got to the point that I had to rinse off my sandals every day with a bleach water rinse to kill the bacteria that formed from a day of working and sweating. The Tevas also offer no line of defense for my toes in case of toothy critter on the deck.
Water shoes started making a strong presence seemingly a few years ago. may manufacturers came out with their newest style and design. I tried lots of them always dropping back to wearing tennis shoes on the boat for my daily wear. I was in the Bass Pro Shops with a friend one day and saw these new Sperrys I looked them over and asked to try on my size.. The felt great. Super light weight and I could feel the air flowing through them. Now they are not the total water shoe that Sperry makes for stand up paddle boarding or what not, but they are a quick flow and super airy in case you get them wet. Perfect for wading, boating, wind surfing, paddle boarding and even light running.
Expensive? not really. When you consider the quality that these shoes offer they are very affordable. I have paid as much for another solution and gotten way less. They come in all mens and women’s sizes and some different colors than what I show here. The image shown is from the Amazon web site.