Crocks.....thinking after those river run's

[oldsparkey]

In one post , just a few below this one ( 7th one , down ) I posted about a pair of the Tava Mens Omnium water shoes or for a better words , almost enclosed sandals or shoes with lots of holes in them but they do cover the toes for protection.

The holes are where they benefit you for draining and ventilation. They can be worn without any socks to let your feet breath and stay cool in the heat , wet , no problem , dry in a flash and are really comfortable.

Well on one trip I found out they like to stay wet for a long time and if you wear socks , like I did........ Get ready for wrinkled feet. Now I was in and out of the water with the socks on so that might be a bad judgment on my part.

Any How.......
After camping with Bear on the Brazos and he had a pair of the Crocks. Then later with the lazyriverguy on Fisheating Creek , all he had for shoes were the Crocks and he is a real Florida Water Rat. A lot of thinking on my part after those river run's ..... So I got a pair of them , last week. I always want to try new things , especially if they offer comfort out canoeing and camping.

Not sure how they will work on a trip ( That is a little ways down the river right now ) but I will find out. All I can say is around here they are comfortable. I am wearing them in the yard and else where to get rid of the sock line on the ankles and feet so when paddling later on socks will not be needed and I will have a tan where the socks use to be. No sunburn that way.
The great thing is there are holes on the top and along the sides for drainage and ventilation to let your feet breath and get dry , almost like being barefooted but with shoes on for protection.

Still have the Tava Mens Omnium water shoes and use them but as far as padding and having dry feet after getting them wet....... The Crocks seam like the best for summertime use around here. As I said , will let you now in a while with an actual field or river test in a ... HOT ... HUMID... Florida Summer where it is almost imposable to be cool or comfortable. "O" Well dips in the river do offer a break from the heat and anything that drys fast is a blessing.

Chuck.

 

[catfish]

chuck i got me a pair the other night too. :wink:

 

[graybeard]

I saw the headline, and thought, "Chuck vs a crocodile? My money's on Chuck!"

On a related note, do folks wear gloves when using a double-paddle, and if so, what do you like?

 

[oldsparkey]

I saw the headline, and thought, "Chuck vs a crocodile? My money's on Chuck!"

On a related note, do folks wear gloves when using a double-paddle, and if so, what do you like?

:lol: :lol: :lol:
We have saltwater Crocks down in Florida Bay but around the central part just Gators. Last week a guy was swimming in Lake Mary Jane and surprised one of them , the Gator bite him and he punched it to get away. It was a small one from what they said , 11 1/2 feet long.
The swimmer figured it was on the bottom and when he swam by it he surprised the Gator so it bite him to get the message across that this is his territory. It did not do the death roll and this is why he figured it was just a warning bite to make him move out of it's territory.

The trappers went in and got it so they know for sure of the length. It is breeding season and they are on the prowl right now and very territorial.

So for me it is the crocks that you slip on for paddling and foot protection ..... not the ones that can slip up and snack on paddlers.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Re: Crocs.....thinking after those river run's

A couple of guys wore Crocs (or knock offs of them) on the Manistee last week. They seemed to like them a lot.

A bit too spiffy and fashionable for my taste, though. I hate to have to dress up like I'm going to Wal-Mart, or anything like that.

 

[oldsparkey]

Wal-Mart , Dressing up are you still in the dark ages , mail order while in your shorts or PJ's. :lol:

Down here in the summer anything that will help to keep you cool is the ticket. Out of the boat and splash around to cool off , then back in and on down river. Same thing when in camp ... a nice cooling dip in the river sure cool's a person off before hitting the sack.
The Crocks offer foot protection from the stuff that likes to slice *** bare feet and ventilation along with rapid drying so your feet are not wet and end up looking like wrinkled prunes at days end.

Chuck.
***Empty mussel ( Clam) shells , oyster shells , flint arrow heads , lime stone ridges , broken bottles and all the rest of the crap out there. Then there is the really fun ones .... Sharks teeth from normal size to several inches across , those are the really , really old ones but still as sharp as when there original owner had them to use a few million years ago. The Peace River ( fresh water ) being the hot spot for them today but a lot of rivers in the center of the state has them , if you look.
.

 

[oldsparkey]

A short history lesson........
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate: CaCO3). Like most other sedimentary rocks, limestones are composed of grains; however, most grains in limestone grains are skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera.

Keeping that in mind , when I was a kid , Dad wanted a well at one of our fields which was located just north of Oviedo , Fl. He had Pa Arie drill the will and after he went several hundred feet down he said it was the right depth in the limestone. Pa Arie dropped a stick of dynamite down there and set it off.

Al hell broke loose , that well shot water up a good 30 feet and in the water were a lot of the sharks teeth and fossilized coral. It was raining water and sharks teeth. Finally the well calmed down but the water was still coming out about 6 feet high from it.
We capped it off but never had to pump any water from it for the field and it was a 5 acre field we were irrigating. Just turn the faucet on and the water flowed. Worked the same way in the other field and the 10 acres where the house was. All the wells in the the fields were 4 inch pipe.
Sadly ... today they would be sucking air but not back then , all the fresh , good water you ever wanted.

Few folks know this or think about it , Florida was a shallow sea and later sand dunes arrived which are the highlands down the center of the state...... All of us living here are living on some ancient sand dunes.

 

[hairymick01]

Chuck, The very lovely and thoughtful Miss Evie bought me a pair of crocks a few months ago. I wear them everyday, paddling or around the yard or yes, even to walmart type shops if we are going out somewhere, she makes me wear shoes - and a shirt but I bloody live in these things. (crocks) they are my favourit foot wear apart from bare feet.

 

[oldsparkey]

:lol: You picked up a pair of the crocks while John was wearing a pair of the dogs ( that is what he believes they are called ) he picked up in Australia on his last trip with you. He was wearing them on the last trip down in the glades with me.
Made it nice for walking around town , even walking on the deck of Johns sail boat you are sure footed. The nice part is you can wade out in the surf or walk down the beach without any worries. Or just kick them off and go barefooted on a clean beach , no broken oyster shells.

Could not tell them apart since they are the same idea , a light weight slip on shoe the water will not damage. He and I were the height of fashion at Everglades city. Especially since we were unshaven , with the shoes and zip off pant leg slacks. :roll: Unzip the legs just below the pockets and you have a pair of shorts. Heck everyone down there believes in comfortable clothing.

I have the everyday ones ( camouflage crocks) for everyday use and shopping at the local stores then a dress up pair (leather tops ) for when we go out. No one seams to care since so many folks are wearing them around here. Even have seen some Doctors and Nurses wearing them while working.

 

[oldsparkey]

Progress report.

Well I had to replace the pair of Crocks I got back in May , 2010 today ( 7-14-12 , 26 months of heavy use) with a new pair. Not bad for some shoes that I practically live in everyday.

After a lot of use around here on a everyday basis and all of the camping and paddling trips they went on. The Everglades and a lot overnight camping and day trips around here the soles of them were worn down to a flat area. All the tread on the bottoms is gone and they are as smooth and slick as a babies bottom.
Really slick , yesterday when leaving the grocery store I hit a wet , slippery , area in the parking lot and went down to one knee , skinning it up. Time to get some new ones with a tread on the bottom.

Since there are still a lot of miles on them for use , so now they can be used a different way.
I plan on using the old ones as camp shoes because the soles are smooth and when packing up the backpack I can slap them together and all the sand or dirt will fall off before I put them in the backpack. No deep tread to hold the dirt and sand.
This way I have my hiking shoes for on the trails and the Crocks for some comfort in camp.

To top it off the local shoe store ( Carnival Shoes ) had them at a discount , instead of the $34.00 Bass Pro wanted I got them for $23.30. If they last as long as the old ones then for 26 months of everyday use it will cost me $0.88 a month for street ( everyday ) use before they become camp shoes. Plus I was even able to stay with the Real Tree Camouflaged ones.

Chuck.

 

[stickbow]

I've about worn my fourth pair of Crocs down to slick as ice. Have all four pairs sitting around - wear them when doing pretty much anything in the yard that doesn't involve large power tools, and keep a pair near the back door to put on when I need to run out back for something. They're good here in fire ant country since you can yank it off and beat the ants off it when you accidentally step in a bed like my mother in law used to do with flip-flops.

I wear Crocs kayaking, but take them off once I'm in the boat. That isn't perfect, so I have been thinking about a new/different pair. Have neoprene booties with kevlar soles, water sandals, all kinda stuff, but the prune feet bother me and the soles on the water sandals are clunky and get in the way. For warm weather use (and hey, that's most of the time in the deep south), I want something that drains, but fits close, has a thin sole, but stays on my feet. Just so happens I got an email from Amazon today offering a discount if I order shoes from them, so I looked up prices on some running shoes that several people had suggested in various places might be good paddling shoes.

Found these:http://www.amazon.com/Vivobarefoot-...X0DER&s=shoes&ie=UTF8&qid=1345477106&sr=1-140 They aren't exactly meant for paddling, but look to be made out of similar stuff to Crocs on the top, and have sticky soles. The price is higher than crocs, but I can use them when I do my exercise walking too. My New Balance Minimus' are starting to wear out and smell pretty bad anyhow.

 

[Kayak Jack]

When my New Balance shoes - that I wear all the time - get smelly, I toss them in the washing machine with a load of whites. I add bleach to the soapy water as it fills, then add laundry after it's full of water. Bleach, soap, and warm water gets rid of odor. Do NOT put them in the dryer - air dry them.

Also, before I put shoes in the washer, I remove any pads (Dr. Scholl type) first, and stick the tongue up through the laces. This lets water slosh around better inside them.

 

[Oyster]

Socks and crocs, yep what a croc. :wink: :wink: You need to get up to speed since you live in Florida, sandles. For some reason after reading the original post, a mental image came to mind. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[oldsparkey]

You better lay off of the ice cream ,sauerkraut , baked beans and dill pickles just before you go to bed. :lol:

 

[hairymick01]

Oh God !!! now, I'm scarred for life. :shock: Crocks and white socks. eeeewwwwww.

A problem I found with the crocks (and their imitators) is the thinness of the sole. In a previous post, I mentioned that I wore them everywhere, and I did but I have found that waling round in the bush in them, they are prone to being impaled right through and into ones feet on sharp sticks etc.

I still love my crocks but something a little more robust in the sole is better in the bush.

These fit the bill for me nicely.

http://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/pro ... vAodvqkA-w

They are a bit expensive but the quality and comfort are extraordinary.

 

[oldsparkey]

Mick....

Last year I was in the yard and walking back in the house when I got on the porch there was a sharp pain in my left foot around the heel area. I took the Crocs off and looked , sure as heck there was a thorn in my foot which had gone all the way threw the sole of the shoe.
It was buried deep enough that I had to go the the emergency medical service here in town. After an injection and some digging the Doc got it out and it was just over a half of an inch long.

Taking a good look at the thorn and the shoe you could see where it got into the bottom of the croc , then when I got on a hard surface it just pushed on up into my foot. When I took the shoe off the thorn broke just below the skin of my foot.

Yep. I still wear them just about everywhere I go.
For the back yard or anywhere off pavement I have there Off Road ones.

They have a sole almost three times the thickness of a normal one.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Some kinds of thorns have a "detachable tip" that pulls off as the thorn is removed. As it secretes stuff into a muscle, it can cause pain and stiffness.

 

[oldsparkey]

Some kinds of thorns have a "detachable tip" that pulls off as the thorn is removed. As it secretes stuff into a muscle, it can cause pain and stiffness.

YES !!!! It did not feel that good in fact it felt so bad It made me go see a ER.Clinic , Doctor , to get it taken care of.

 

[hairymick01]

Chuck, could you post a link to those off road ones of yours. They look even more robust than my Shimanos. Re the thorns, Yes, I have had them too, and screws and nails and even the dorsal spine off a catfish threw the soles of my crocks.

I had to cut the spine off the fish with side cutters and then pull the spine back through the sole to get my foot out of the crock. It hurt too much to even swear (much)

 

[Kayak Jack]

I'm not a fan af partial shoes; I favor protection. Do you guys think, in retrospect, that these thorns, spines, wires, etc. would have been as much of a threat in boots, or even shoes?