“You know Mitch is going to make fun of those shoes all day, right?” my friend asked me before we set out on our Independence Day raft trip. Mitch—an experienced river guide, expert kayaker, and IRS agent—would be paddling the Colorado alongside us in his kayak, and would supposedly hate my shiny new water shoes. But the first thing Mitch said to me before we put-in: “Great kicks! Who makes those?”
Why, Helly Hansen makes these, and I think they’re pretty fantastic too.
I wore the Helly Hansen W Watermoc 4 for 12+ hours that day and barely noticed. These low-profile slip-ons protected me from ants crawling in the sand along the river bank, sunburn, and stubbed toes. The stretchable and flexible mesh upper hugged my foot comfortably and kept the shoes on while I floated the rapids, kicked around in an eddy during a beer break, and hoisted rafts onto trailers at the take-out site. Plus, the flexible Ultra Storm Grip soles prevented me from slipping as I moved around in the raft and carried gear up the launch ramp.
So comfortable, lightweight and breathable, I forgot I was wearing the Watermocs and kept them on instead of changing into sandals for the ride home. I only took them off for dinner in town because they’re so good looking that people would have stared.
W Watermoc 4, $70, www.hellyhansen.com
