water shoes for stalking

[timberland]

Anybody use lightweight water shoes for stalking? Any brand recommendations or things to be aware of?

 

[roadrunner]

Water shoes?

 

[timberland]

swimmers wear them to protect their feet

 

[Ferrulewax]

don't use them, but the rubber coated socks always seemed a great option to me. Skinners are like 4 ounces a pair.

 

[Fatcamp]

I wear similar. Mine are more of a ballet shoe. They work well enough but nothing stops prickly pear. The sole works pretty well, but I'm gonna look for something that wraps up the side so looking at water shoes. Need some side protection.

By the end of last season I had my fill of that stuff. They make me slow waaaay down and very carefully place my feet. 17 yards is the closet I got last season in a noisy environment.

 

[Fatcamp]

don't use them, but the rubber coated socks always seemed a great option to me. Skinners are like 6 ounces a pair.

Skinners?

 

[SoloWilderness]

I picked these up last year for stalking, nice soft sole, a bit heavier (around a pound if I remember correctly) but very flexible, and you can feel the ground easily, with a bit more protection and grip. I've tried lighter options and spent too much time slipping and sliding to make them worthwhile. These were much better traction wise.

 

[Ferrulewax]

Skinners?

Name brand of rubber coated socks

 

[Rich M]

Would you guys put a thick wool sock over the top to help quiet things?

 

[Desk Jockey]

I have a pair of skinners. They aren’t cheap but they are quiet.

IMO it is a balance of quiet vs durability and comfort. depending on how far you are going, a pair of decent socks is t a terrible option. If you are talking about more still hunting than a short stalk, I have played with some options from vigo barefoot and some canvas crocs called Santa Cruz. A bit more wear protection and comfort but louder.

Comfort 2.0 | Czech barefoot sock shoes

Get your own pair of the ultimate footwear for every adventure. Available in a wide range of designs and colors. Freedom of socks. Protection of shoes.

skinners.cc

 

[Fatcamp]

Would you guys put a thick wool sock over the top to help quiet things?

I wouldn't because it will snag stuff and make more noise. That's me, I hunt in a dry snagging area.

 

[WoodBow]

Skinners really had my eye when they where on kickstarter years ago. And then i saw the price.

A tip i saw on here years ago was to just put a shoe insole inside a sock. This gives you some padding and protection. You could even glue a layer of thin leather to the insole to give some added thorn protection. The main problem i have with socks is when side hilling at all they want to roll around your foot.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I have only used them when fishing streams and Mt. rivers.

 

[dtrkyman]

Giant fleece socks stretched over my hiking boot. Too many thing to stick you to wear socks here in New Mexico, wife spent 20 minutes last year pulling cactus from my feet.

Had a little loop of wire you had to press down around the thorn to expose it then pull out with tweezers, basically a form of torture, they had been in there for months too.

 

[htlt_surfboards]

I have two methods depending on where I am hunting. Where I normally hunt locally is usually really dry grass and loud. In that scenario I use a pair of "Fit kicks" that I linked below with a pair of army surplus wool socks over top of them. The fit kicks stop all the sharp and pointy things around while the wool socks make them dead quiet. The fit kicks also double as camp shoes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FFGKLG5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This year I also tried a nock off version of the skinners people have mentioned from amazon. They worked pretty well but didn't think they were as quiet as the combo I mentioned above. The skinners were also discussed in another thread and my nock offs were significantly heavier than the real ones that people had so if going this route the extra money might be worth it.

Moving forward I will use the sock/fit kicks combo for my local desert hunts but will use the skinner nock offs when hunting places like Colorado where everything isn't trying to stab you and the ground isn't as dry.

 

[Fatcamp]

Giant fleece socks stretched over my hiking boot. Too many thing to stick you to wear socks here in New Mexico, wife spent 20 minutes last year pulling cactus from my feet.

Had a little loop of wire you had to press down around the thorn to expose it then pull out with tweezers, basically a form of torture, they had been in there for months too.

Pretty sure I have PTSD from cactus in my feet last season.

 

[Fatcamp]

I have two methods depending on where I am hunting. Where I normally hunt locally is usually really dry grass and loud. In that scenario I use a pair of "Fit kicks" that I linked below with a pair of army surplus wool socks over top of them. The fit kicks stop all the sharp and pointy things around while the wool socks make them dead quiet. The fit kicks also double as camp shoes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FFGKLG5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This year I also tried a nock off version of the skinners people have mentioned from amazon. They worked pretty well but didn't think they were as quiet as the combo I mentioned above. The skinners were also discussed in another thread and my nock offs were significantly heavier than the real ones that people had so if going this route the extra money might be worth it.

Moving forward I will use the sock/fit kicks combo for my local desert hunts but will use the skinner nock offs when hunting places like Colorado where everything isn't trying to stab you and the ground isn't as dry.

Those are what I use. Maybe I should try socks over the top.

 

[LongWayAround]

I've been packing my Altra solstice running shoes for stalking but haven't had a chance to try it out.

They're very light with a soft rubber sole.

 

[dtrkyman]

In most of the terrain I have hunted out west recently any shoe is not quiet enough unless there is wind, I have thought about having giant thick socks made to fit over my boots, the fleece ones I use are thin and a B to get on/off, they are quiet but not silent!

 

[Fatcamp]

I think my footfalls can be silent but there is no getting past crunchy vegetation.

Have to go sooooo slooooowwww to not make noise.