Keeping feet dry when camping?

[peliroja]

My cycling shoes tend to get wet when we're camping. Not necessarily through cycling in the rain, but by wandering around in wet grass on campsites. So, I was thinking of getting some pottering about, lightweight waterproof shoes, such as these Crocs.

Does anyone have any tips for keeping feet dry while camping it up? 

[andygates]

Crocs, flipflops or barefoot are the traditional ways... I go barefoot, always have after a Very Wet Week in which some of my co-campers got yer proper trenchfoot.

[rogerzilla]

Wellies are great, although maybe not for cycle-camping.

[1gear]

I wear crocs all the time except when im at work. I love them, i dont have the ones without all the holes in though.
They should keep feet dry though. The only time i get some water come into my crocs is when i walk on grass and its really wet, but to be honest its not enough to get your feet really wet. Ive walked through snow in them aswell and they havent been too bad, only let abit of snow in.
Only problem with those crocs you might find is your feet might sweat abit in them.

[Ian H]

I'd second flip-flops or basic lightweight sandles. Something that packs small. It's good for your feet quite apart from keeping your shoes dry.

[Charlotte]

SPD sandals and embrace the wet.  Dry off before you get in your sleeping bag.

[Domestique]

We picked up a couple of pairs of sandals similar to these from Chavworld Sportsworld for £12.50 a pair.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-travel-sandle-ladies-278046

[mrcharly-YHT]

I think it's impossible unless you take wellies.

Take a few J-cloths and use them to dry your feet when you get back into your tent.

[peliroja]

Thanks for the suggestions. Thinking about it, what I'm really after is a way of keeping my cycling shoes dry, while having alternative lightweight shoes to keep my tootsies relatively dry while pottering about the campsite.  I'll try some Crocs without holes, I think.

[fred the great]

Shoes which are regularly soaked and not allowed to dry will get damaged 'cos the glues that hold 'em together will will not hold 'em together forever.

Hence for camping, better to change into something else much cheaper to replace.

[rogerzilla]

It helps if the campsite has its grass regularly cut.  Many don't bother - when we stayed in Wales a few weeks ago, we needed wellies just for the morning dew because the grass was six inches long.

[Jon P]

I think you just have to learn to live with wet feet, but typical hiking socks are "warm when wet" anyway.  I'll normally stay put once I'm in the tent and put a pair of Helly Hansen pile socks on over the hiking ones, but if at a campsite and I had to go to the shower block I'd just squidge into my cycling / hiking shoes again.

[TimO]

I think something like flip flops are a good idea.  Walking barefooted is fine, until you've got to walk through a muddy section, or in a field which has been grazed until recently, or need to use a less than salubrious toilet & shower block.  You can use your cycling shoes, but as others have said, you can end up getting them wetter from dew than a days worth of drizzle would do.  It's also a mite annoying having to do and undo the laces just to pop quickly to the loo, or to get in the shower quickly.  Flip flops at least pack fairly flat, unlike many other shoes.

[Butterfly]

Shimano sandals and sealskinz socks I usually carry a pair of flip flops in summer, but last week it wasn't really warm enough for them . Several times I had a pair of merino socks under the sealskinz. When I'm off the wet grass I take the sealskinz off again.

[Kim]

Yeah, I'm gravitating towards that as a generally optimal touring solution.  Sealskinz socks aren't exactly quick-drying, but are much easier to dry and carry spares of than cycling shoes.

And I've already got the computer science degree and the recumbent, so in the absence of the beard option, socks and sandals are practically compulsory.

[Oaky]

On the "Freeze your bits off" camping trip, it rained.  It rained lots. 

My feet still got pretty wet, even through neoprene overshoes. 

What really got the shoes and socks wettest though, was traipsing across the waterlogged bits of campsite when putting the tent up.

After the evening in the pub, though, they were mostly fine (the crumpled newspaper trick was used to speed the drying of my shoes).

I think I'd be tempted to pack sacrificial socks/sandals for plodging on the field if I had to cycle any sort of distance the next day.  Even in january conditions.  Perhaps a couple of plastic bags as a temporary layer too, assuming I didn't have space for anything more proper.

[rogerzilla]

What about those blue disposable overshoes that they give away at swimming pools (and morgues)?

[jogler]

I cycle in Shimano sandals with a combo of no sox/sealskins/nylon pop-sox/overshoes/wool sox.
On camp sites I often use just the sandals & then woolly sox only when in the tent

[LEE]

Crocs

They are extremely light and extremely comfy. Perfect camping footwear.

[clarion]

Crocs take up a lot of space, though.  I have flipflops for general campwear, but I'm often barefoot.  My newest cycling shoes got absolutely soaked last week.

[jogler]

I too used crocs in the wet grass at Mildenhall.I actualyl  keep them in the car permenantly as emergency all weather footwear

[LEE]

Crocs take up a lot of space, though.  I have flipflops for general campwear, but I'm often barefoot.  My newest cycling shoes got absolutely soaked last week.

Yes they are bulky but there's no need to pack them inside a bag, just tie them on top of a pannier/rack-pack.  Despite mine being the model full of holes, they are warmer than flip-flops (and you can wear socks with them). I also have Crocs flip-flops, they are also very comfy and light.

No need to faff about in showers either, just wear them in the shower.

There is certainly a "dorkiness" about wearing Crocs but I can live with that as they are so convenient for everyday life.

[Notsototalnewbie]

For camping, I have a pair of backless croc-alikes (with added sparkly bits) that came from one of those cheapy ShoeZone shops for a fiver. They are pretty naff, but weigh next to nothing and are comfy. At Mildenhall I was so cold that I committed the sin of wearing them with fluffy socks in public. They travel stuck under the bungee that holds the tent on the rack.

Mind you, Greg complimented me on them, but he may have been being sarcastic.

[mrcharly-YHT]

A friend of my youngest was wandering around outside in Crocs.

Trod on a nail.

Right through the Crocs and his foot.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Brrrrr, never mind camping, I've come to the conclusion that even at home you need three sets of everything. One to wear, one that's soaked from yesterday, and one that's dry-ish from the day before.