I'm heading to Nic and CR for two weeks, aiming to do a little of everything - hiking, whitewater, lazing. Any suggestions on footwear? I have a pair of Chacos, but I don't know if I need some of those fancy water draining walking shoes. I also have a pair of scarpas, but they'll be far too hot. Ideas and abuse expected and welcome...
2
chuckybaby
I bought a pair of Chacos for a kayaking expedition to the Nam Ou river in northern Laos and they promptly gave me an inch diameter blister where the stap entered the sandal base on the outside of one of my feet.There's a small bulge built into the sole at that point and it seemed to be the culprit.I had to give them away and go with my well worn Nike coral shoes.For this year's trip to CA I'm wearing Keen open toed sandals that resemble huaraches and are all rubber and cordura nylon with no leather,which can decay in the tropics during the rainy season.The straps enter the sole at a flat point,with no "anotomical" bulges to pressure your feet.Sometimes adventure sandal manufacturers can get a little carried away with the idea of "anotomical footbeds",such as Merrell and some other manufacturers offer.Sticking with flat soles seems to work best for me,but my wife was able to handle the Chacos with no problems.Teva makes good stuff also,but try everything on before paying out your hard earned money.Buena suerte on your trek......
4
ticotim
I use Solomon Amphibians, about $65, for trek, waterfall, rafting, hiking and mountain biking among other activities. You need a shoe that offers support, you dont wear a sock with, and can get wet and drain easily, as the canopy is rivers, creeks, waterfalls, and muck, mud and sloppy rutted trails. Next best choice for me is a Teva type Trek Sandal, I like the Nike model, about $26.
Bring the above 2 shoes, and a pair of flip flops for the beaches and lounging, and your good to go!
5
erint
i'm going to CR for a few weeks in july. so you guys wouldn't recommend a pair of sneakers or waterproof hiking boots for hiking? i want to make sure i have enough support, so i had been thinking of lugging my big waterproof boots, but do you all agree that chacos are sufficient?
8
basiaw
I also have a pair of Solomon's Amphibians that work great - my partner has a pair of similar shoes made by North Face or something... Doesn't matter the brand but the water-friendly sneakers are great as they dry quickly (bonus as it's often hard to actually get things to dry out in CR), they offer protection not given by sandles with holes in the sides (i.e. sticks poking in, etc.), don't need socks, have a good degree of ankle support and shock absorbtion for both hiking on pavement and in the jungle, and they are usually fairly light-weight. We had these and a pair of rubber flip-flops for the month which served us perfectly (hiking, jungle-trekking, rafting, touring cities, fly fishing, kayaking and dragging boats through the mud, etc.).
Also, I've heard of a few people buying cheap rubber boots for jungle exploration on location (or as close to where you are hiking that the boots can be purchased) and giving them away after. We lugged hiking boots over Brazil/Argentina a couple years back and not having them on the trip to CR was much nicer (never missed them)...
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