Dog_paddle – 13 hours ago  » 

paddleplacid – 6 days ago  »  By far the best footwear for riverwalking (hauling a canoe, lining, just walking in the water) are Croc-style in two or three sizes oversize, with the strap not holding the heel.  People drown in fast currents when feet get stuck between rocks, and the oversize Croc style can be slipped out of easily .. and they float for retrieval .. a bright colour is best for locating them.  Croc style offers toe protection and their soles are thick .. when ashore their great for general duty.  I use rubber boots (Wellingtons) for portaging as portages are often wet, and cold, wet feet are not a thing a person should be stuck with on a canoe trip.  A lightweight pair of cloth runners or hikers round out my Tripping footwear, for those hikes up the secret trails.

Walking in the water with a pair of “Crocs” on that are 3 sizes to big? This is supposed to be a safety tip?  It sounds like a good way to end up barefoot.  I’d have to get a pair of size 15′s…lol…they would be like wearing flippers, they’d be so buoyant that they’d just float right off my feet whenever I lifted my foot to take a step.  I did try Crocs once on the river and found them to be sloppy and slippery, and they felt like little foot sauna’s- I am not a fan.  But what ever works for you.  Just my opinion

     The looseness of the oversized Croc will allow a person whose foot is trapped between rocks to slip out of the Croc IF the strap is over the front of the Croc and not around the heel.  Crocs are made to float .. if they slip off they come to the surface and can be retrieved, which is why I choose bright colour for mine.  last year I retrieved a small, woman’s, cloth, laced runner from between rocks in a rapids on the Mattawa River (North Bay Ontario to Ottawa River) shortly after a young woman was drowned by being pushed over backwards by the swift water when she had her foot pinned between rocks.  I don’t know if the runner was hers, but retrieving it certainly made her story personal for me.  A person can generally keep an oversized Croc on their foot even walking downriver by sliding the foot along instead of lifting it.  My runner boots which I also wear Tripping are also three sizes too big, to slip out of easily in crisis.

The Crocs aren’t for hiking, Randy, just for walking in the river while lining or hauling, they’re not even for wearing while in the canoe, for which I either go barefoot or wear rubber boots.  You’re right in saying portaging is the better option, and that’s been said by a couple professionals in their books, although I can’t quote them as Dog Paddle will probably demand.  I do wear Crocs around the camp at times, but have a pair of lightweight hiking-walking shoes for hikes.  Alaso, don’t forget, that the guy with River Rescue training didn’t know what Crocs where, saying they were gardening clogs.  Trainign can be out of date, like hanging food from trees, bears have learned to get the stuff down, and it actually attracts bears to camp. I use an airtight, 3/16″ plywood wannigan with latches which pin.  Other advice is double wrapping food in heavy garbage bags and stashing it in brush away from camp.  However, for anyone who took Outward Bound training 20 years ago such an idea will be preposterous because they learned that hanging from trees is the safe way.  I know some national parks have special facilitites for hanging, but in those parks the bears are also discouraged from being in campsites.

As usual Dog Paddle you resort to accusation of misinformation.  I reminded myself this morning of the snugness of Crocs even two sizes oversize.  I wear a 9 1/2 shoe and tried on, again, my size 12 Croc (knock offs) .. they fit snugly enough to keep the shoe on if walking in current downriver, but are loose enough to slip out of if the foot becomes trapped.  Part of the design is a depression for the ball of the heel which serves to keep the Croc (or knockoff) on the foot.   I’ve worn the Croc (knockoffs) in current and don’t find them a problem at all as you describe.  Perhaps your self-admitted very large size foot has something to do with your unfavourable opinion of Crocs, or perhaps you tried a Croc knock off made of hard plastic instead of soft rubber, the hard plastic ones would be slippery.  I’m sure you would have a different opinion of the soft rubber Crocs or knock-offs (priced $5 in Canada).  I’m not the only poster on this forum, by the way, who warns about water shoes with straps around the heels being entrapments.