Crocs have become an incredibly popular footwear choice over the past couple of decades. Their foam-like material and signature hole design make them light, breathable, and comfortable for casual wear. But how do they stack up for hiking?
Many hikers have strong opinions, both for and against wearing Crocs out on the trail. They certainly have some benefits in terms of comfort and ventilation. However, their lack of structure and support spells danger for more challenging hikes.
Let’s dive into the debate around whether Crocs make sensible hiking shoes.
What Makes Crocs So Popular?
First, it’s worth understanding why Crocs have become such a phenomenon worldwide. There are a few key factors that explain their meteoric rise from boating shoe to mainstream fashion:
1. Extreme Comfort
The proprietary Croslite foam that Crocs are constructed from is exceptionally light, soft, and cushiony. The material forms to your foot for a customized fit that makes it feel like you’re wearing slippers around town.
The ergonomic shape with a roomy toe box prevents any pinch points or rubbing spots that might irritate your feet during prolonged wear.
2. Breathability
The holes across Crocs allow for significant air flow, keeping your feet cool and dry rather than hot and sweaty. The ventilation prevents the build up of odor-causing bacteria.
3. Versatility
Fans of Crocs appreciate that they can wear them pretty much anywhere without looking out of place. You’ll see Crocs out on city streets, college campuses, backyards, boats, beaches, and more.
Their casual, laidback styling means you don’t have to worry about clashing with your outfit. You can toss on your Crocs to run a quick errand or wear them while relaxing for hours.
4. Fun Style Options
From sophisticated solid color options to crazy vibrant prints, Crocs come in an incredibly diverse range of styles. Both kids and adults can express their personal tastes by choosing from different colors and patterns.
Collaborations with major brands like Bad Bunny, Salehe Bembury, and Liberty London mean the options are endless for customizing your Crocs.
The Case For Hiking in Crocs
So why might an avid hiker choose to wear Crocs while out on the trails? There are a few factors that lend themselves towards taking Crocs hiking:
1. They’re Lightweight
A pair of Classic Crocs weighs under a pound per shoe. That’s exceptionally light compared to bulky hiking boots that can weigh 2-3 pounds each. The lower weight helps reduce fatigue over long distances.
Many long distance and thru-hikers value minimizing pack weight. Shaving pounds off their footwear allows them to hike longer and cover more ground day after day with less joint pain or fatigue.
2. Comfort Even On the Trail
The soft, cushiony feeling underfoot makes Crocs an enticing option even for trail use. The rigid soles and structured upper of heavy hiking boots can feel restricting. This has led to trail runners becoming more popular for covering ground more quickly.
Over short distances, the comfort of Crocs may offset their lack of technical features.
3. Quick to Dry Out
The open-air design allows water to quickly drain out of Crocs, whether from rain showers or river crossings. Getting soaked feet leads to a miserable hike as waterlogged boots or shoes apply uncomfortable friction. This quickly leads to painful blisters forming.
The faster Crocs dry out, the lower the chances of debilitating blisters, making them ideal for areas with frequent stream crossings.
4. Resist Odor Buildup
The ventilation of Crocs also prevents offensive odors from sweaty feet building up over time. Breathability and quick drying time keeps bacteria growth in check.
Dealing with stinky boots can quickly ruin the experience of sharing a tent or ride home with hiking partners.
5. Budget-Friendly Price Point
Investing in a quality pair of hiking shoes or boots can set you back over $100 or more. Crocs cost significantly less, making them appealing for hikers on a tight budget or just getting into the sport.
In-depth guide: How Long Does it Take for Crocs to Arrive
The Case Against Hiking in Crocs
However, the opposition to hiking in Crocs generally centers around their lack of technical features to support hiking:
1. Lack Proper Support
Hiking on irregular surfaces like rocks, roots, and dirt requires stabilized foot support. Crocs completely lack intrinsic arch support, heel stabilization, or rigid toe protection.
Over long distances with weight on your back, this can mean sore, aching feet. The flexible, unstable Crocs also contribute to a much higher likelihood of twisted ankles.
2. Poor Traction
The Croslite foam material that Crocs employ has no real tread pattern or grip texture. This means traction suffers greatly on muddy, uneven, slippery, or angled surfaces.
Wearing Crocs while descending steep hills leaves you prone to slips and falls. They also provide no real toe protection when accidentally kicking rocks.
3. Debris Hazards
The holes that make Crocs so breathable also invite dirt, gravel, sticks, leaves, and sand into the shoe. This can poke at your feet or lead to irritation and blisters.
Debris inside Crocs while hiking also raises the hazard of twisted ankles should larger rocks or sticks get caught inside.
4. Increased Injury Risk
The open-toed design exposes more of your feet to stubbed toes, scraped toes, and direct impact from kicking objects. The thin sole also transfers more shock impact from stepping on rocks or tree roots.
Over long hikes, these minor aggravations can really add up!
5. Tendency to Cause Blisters
Long periods of hiking create friction as your foot slides around inside the Crocs while walking. This inevitably results in painful hot spots.
The circulation holes can also create rubbing on the top of your feet. Hiking-specific shoes and boots better lock down your heel and midfoot. This prevents the rubbing motion that causes blisters inside Crocs.
Best Practices For Hiking in Crocs
If you’re dead set on giving hiking in Crocs a try, there are a few measures you can take to enhance comfort, safety and performance:
1. Choose Short, Simple Trails
Limit hiking distances under 3 miles when wearing Crocs. Avoid technical terrain and aim for flat, groomed dirt or gravel paths. Essentially the easier the hike, the better chance you have of happily hiking in Crocs.
Rocky trails with loose stones or steep inclines must absolutely be avoided for safety.
2. Wear Hiking Socks
Good wool or synthetic hiking socks play an important role in blister prevention. The socks minimize friction hot spots inside the Crocs while wicking away moisture.
Look for snug mid-calf length socks offering medium cushioning. This ankle support also helps compensate for the flex of Crocs.
3. Consider Aftermarket Insoles
Inserting supportive insoles into Crocs provides much needed structure, whether over-the-counter orthotics or products like Superfeet and Dr.Scholl’s.
These help cradle the arches of your feet and absorb shock impacts. It helps make up for the complete lack of anatomical design in Crocs.
4. Utilize the Heel Strap
Many models of Crocs feature a cross-stap strap across the heel cup. Using this adjustable strap creates a more locked down fit for active hiking by preventing heel slippage.
This enhances safety and stability during hiking, guarding against loose movement inside.
5. Pack Backup Shoes
If attempting more ambitious hikes in Crocs, always stash an extra pair of hiking shoes or trail runners in your daypack in case the Crocs become uncomfortable.
Having backup footwear guarantees you can complete the hike without agony should problems arise from the improper footwear.
Credit: www.pjwetzel.com
My opinion – Are Crocs OK for Hiking?
When evaluating all the pros and cons, Crocs only make sense for very casual, short, simple hikes. They should not replace proper hiking boots and shoes for serious hiking pursuits.
The lack of stability, grip, protection and structure inevitable causes issues with either comfort, safety or injury prevention. However, for brief excursions of a mile or two along groomed park trails, Crocs offer carefree breathability and cushioning.
Just be careful, as the margin of error is much lower. An accidental twist of the ankle can happen much easier due to their floppy construction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the suitability of Crocs for hiking purposes:
Are Crocs better than flip flops for hiking?
Crocs rate as slightly better than flip flops simply because they offer more coverage, especially around the heel and midfoot. The additional heel strap also aids stability. However, both footwear choices remain quite hazardous for hiking.
What about hiking in rain boots vs Crocs?
Standard rain boots have solid traction and support over Crocs along with guaranteed weather protection. The closed top design also locks out debris far better. I’d choose rain boots over Crocs in wet conditions.
Can Crocs work for beach hiking?
For short strolls along flat, groomed beaches, Crocs have better traction on sand than most shoes. They allow you to splash through tide pools comfortably. Just be cautious of stubbing toes on buried driftwood or rocks.
What do long distance hikers think of Crocs?
Thru-hikers and serious distance backpackers would never select Crocs as primary footwear due to negligible foot protection and the high injury risk on rigorous trails. Specialized trail runners or hiking boots remain mandatory for multi-day treks.
Conclusion
The casual comfort Crocs offer continues tempting hikers wanting to dare to be different with their footwear choices. However, technical limitations constrain Crocs primarily to very short and simple routes to remain reasonably safe.
While the concept of hiking in Crocs has appeal because of weight savings, ventilation and price point, those benefits generally get cancelled out by excessive foot fatigue and potential medical issues.
By all means, experiment with an easy local hike in your Crocs to satisfy your curiosity. But utilize proper hiking shoes or boots for forays deeper into nature’s unpredictable terrain.
When used judiciously, Crocs might supplement a shoe rotation as creek-crossers or camp shoes. Just don’t expect them to fully replace purpose-engineered hiking footwear without consequences.
Ultimately, rejecting marketing hype in favor of physics proves hiking further and safer over the long run. But nothing substitutes for individual testing to reveal the limitations of any gear, including Crocs!
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