Gone are the days of dirty old gym shoes. Until now, I hadn’t owned a pair of river shoes that really won me over. Sure, I bought a new pair every couple seasons but ultimately reverted back to worn out running shoes when something about the paddling-specific pair rubbed me the wrong way.
Enter the Brewess, a feminine counterpart to Astral’s Brewer shoes. The women’s specific design makes them ultra comfy—much better than my previous attempts to size down in a men’s or unisex version. I wore them barefoot from the start and didn’t suffer a single blister. I also love that I can step on the heel to wear them as a clog without doing any structural damage.
This shoe is less clunky than Astral’s popular Rassler—made for serious scouting and portage missions—but, thanks to a quality outsole, the Brewess still provides enough support for a rocky trail. The outsole offers reliable traction even on slippery rocks.
It can be tough to find a shoe that’s at home on land and water, but the Brewess is best at both. When I end up in the water, the shoes are very light for swimming. The slim but tough fabric doesn’t absorb water that weighs me down and the multitude of drainage holes helps water flush through the shoes instead of filling them up.
The flip side of great drainage is that there are many places for sand and small stones to enter. At the end of the day I find myself dumping a collection of dirt out of each shoe. On the plus side, the simple design and durable fabric don’t leave anywhere for the sand to get embedded, as in the old sneakers I’ve used as river shoes until now—with a quick rinse in the river or shake when they’re dry all dirt is easily eliminated.
My favorite thing about these shoes is that I almost never had to put them on wet. The simple design means they dry in no time. A hot half-hour in the sun is often enough to leave them ready to throw on dry the next day. Even wearing them wet around camp on multi-day trips, I found these shoes dried fast on my feet.
www.astraldesigns.com | $99.95
