- Are these the world’s best shoe?
Do you see these shoes? Seven bucks at Target. I don’t even know what brand they are. Certainly not Crocs. I was put onto them by fellow Hunter Klanner, Graeme Auld, after I lamented not having a general purpose shoe that was truly general purpose. I have Sanuks which are fantastic but take a long time to dry when wet. These things are dry in a minute or two of sunshine. They are warm and pretty close to indestructible. They weigh nothing and you can throw them into the kayak in case of emergency. Some even paddle in them but I prefer proper neoprene boots for that. A lot has been written about how uncool Crocs are and wearers of them run the risk of being social pariahs if seen in them. Yes they are ugly. I got the drabbest colour I could to reduce the risk of them being seen. The fakes only came in two colours though, black and these, so I wasn’t exposed to the hideosity of genuine Croc orange or lime green.
I am in these all the time which drives my wife, Samantha, nuts and that is an enjoyable secondary benefit. But Seven bucks. Did I mention that. You could treat them as disposable if they didn’t last so long. Crocs are $50 and are heavier. I don’t know if they are tougher. Maybe, but seven bucks! That’s seven sets of these for one pair of genuines. You’ve gotta ask why. How can Crocs survive? I don’t care really as long as Target still have these. You should buy some to go with your Sanuks for a complete wardrobe.
Crocks fall in the same category as Ugg boots and Jandals: a bit (a lot) uncool but comfortable, I hear.
I don’t dig them (too soft and slide around my feet) but I am with you on the asking price of $50 for the originals.
Then again, if you are shmuck enough to pay that kind of money for a product like that surely you want everybody to know that you spent that money, hence the lime green attention-grabbing color
$7 is what a real price is for a machine stamped piece of foam, the rest is marketing and brainwash mark-up that the hip market will bear.
I admit it, I too have these (or similar) that I bought 18mths ago from Kmart for $7. I got them in black, and have used them many many MANY times paddling (canoe paddling mostly), including twice for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic. They are light, they are easy to throw on at boat ramps, they save your feet from broken glass and oysters, and at that price who can complain?? Love ‘em!