Kamik Portage Shoes Review

Can you believe they sell khaki and gray wading shoes and sandals for fishing?  Why not just a darker color?  I don't want a light colored pair of wading sandals to be seen downstream byt the fish I am stalking.  I bought a pair of Kamik Portage 2 sandals/shoes from Zappos.  Since Cabela's sells Kamik products, I am familiar with the brand.  Kamik products are made in either Canada or the US and come with a lifetime warranty.  I used to wear my green Remington wading boots which I had bought 2 pair which were on sale at Bass Pro Shops ages ago.  They aren't comfortable except when wearing waders.  I was wearing my Adidas Kanadia shoes which were amazingly comfortable and could air dry and not become nasty or mildew.  However, the material in the shoe fell apart because I've had them so long.

The Kamik Portage 2 is amazingly comfortable.  I parked about 1/4 miles down from where I wanted to fish and walked on a sidewalk.  I figured they wouldn't be flexible on the concrete or chafe my feet because they were dry.  To the contrary.  The only issue I had was that rocks entered the shoe and some wouldn't come out simply buy wading in the water or shaking my foot.  I didn't want wading sandals because I didn't want to stub my toes or "portage" the stream and walk down stream and feel thorny vines on my toes or feet and trip because of weeds and such catching between my toes and sandal.  I wanted something to protect my feet in and out of water AND that would last a long time.  They are called portage shoes so that if you do portage a water vessel and carry the canoe or kayak, that your feet would be protected.

The other issue I had was that the cord locks wouldn't hold tight.  One of them came loose pretty quickly. I didn't want to loose a shoe in the mud or come off in swift water.  Who wants to be stuck with one shoe way down stream from his vehicle?  I bought a 4 pack of cord locks from Walmart for .99 and they did very well.  I did have to walk through the brush and brambles and timber and gravel bars left by recent flooding.  That gravel slipped in to the shoe but all I had to do was slip it off and back on.  My Adidas rarely let large rocks in but a lot of gravel.  These shoes do have better grip than my Adidas too.  And overall, I don't have sore heels.  If you want to portect your feet, or you are floating a stream,  I do recommend these portage shoes.