Adventure Slippers! Loyak’s & Loyak AC’s
Adventure Slippers!
Hi-YAAA! Ninjas in the Outdoors!
(January in Michigan…What a perfect time to review sandals right?!?)
Have you ever wanted to go kayaking, then hiking, then dancing and NOT wanted to CHANGE YOUR SHOES?!! Well now you can!…(not change your shoes). I introduce you to Adventure Sandals!
A few brands out there today have created a show that is the ultimate late spring, summer and early fall (if you’re in the colder climates of the continuous 48) shoe/shandal/slipper. Astral has made just such a shoe. Let me set the stage for you, given my unique situation so you can have some background for the rest of this review.
First of all my feet fit in nothing. They don’t even perfectly fit in these shoes, but they’re close enough. I have flat feet, Morton’s toe, skinny heel, wide middle, narrow forefoot and crazy long toes. All that said though, they work for me just fine. In fact if you think of a normal foot shape, mine looks a little like an elongated diamond shape. Given all these issues they work pretty well for me. I wore them instead of sandals most days this summer and into early fall even!
These adventure slippers are also the stickiest soled shoes I’ve owned outside of true climbing shoes. The sole actually comes up the sides slightly which helps with grip while kneeling on a boat or in a kayak or climbing for that matter.
As far as looks they pass for shoes. They work well on a fancy sailboat or yacht. They can be worn into just about any restaurant or event that requires shoes because they look like slick shoes. The fancy materials look like traditional canvas and rubber. The materials are high tech though, and those design elements include drainage holes that really work!
Now the one thing that happened to me and may not happen to you (especially if you use your orthotics in them) was I think I gained a little plantar fasciitis after wearing them all summer. To be fair though I am getting old and even flip flops are starting to irritate my flat feet. So that could be due to age as well. After all they’re not meant to have any support…they’re adventure “slippers!”
I purchased the Loyak mens in the blue/tan color combo (which is a little darker blue than the pics). I get tons of compliments. By the time I decided they were adventure slippers, fit me really well and worked really well I went to buy another couple pairs. This is because most shoe companies change the fit year to year, which is annoying as fuck if you have weird feet. So I always purchase a few pairs of shoes that fit. I also got a black pair that I haven’t started wearing yet. The only other 13’s I could find were the Loyak AC’s which are basically the same but a much more minimal/see through mesh on top of the toes. I did not like the AC’s. I felt the fit was shorter, and I needed every inch I could get for my Morton’s toe. Also that mesh just meant your toes baked on a hot day on a boat. The Loyak’s really are the perfect blend in my opinion of features, look, fit etc.
With either the AC’s (I got them in the gray color) or the regular Loyak’s I can swim decent enough in them, which means for a quick dip I just leave them on when I’m on a sailboat. That makes it easier to climb up the side, the ladder, whatever’s available. They drain water immediately and dry crazy fast. That way you don’t get the squish squish when heading into the bar after you get off the boat.
So here’s a quick pro’s and con’s to wrap this up. As you can see the pro’s generally outweigh the cons.
Pros: lightweight, fast drying, immediate draining, look nice / get compliments, extremely tacky soles, good fit for weird feet, comfortable
Cons: A bit pricey for some nylon and rubber at $95, the AC’s are even pricer for less materials at $110, may have given me plantar fasciitis (the jury is still out on that)
In conclusion you should buy them. They are great. They represent an innovation in summer footwear that is truly (water) trail to town!
