Bachelor on the Cheap

By Mike Thayer

Water shoes, a.k.a., aqua socks....  They're great for fishing, they beat any other foot gear when it comes to launching a boat or even if just bank fishing.  If you're stuck on the shoreline, water shoes give you the confident ability to wade out from the bank a bit and extend your casting range.  There's no fear of slipping on rocks and your feet won't feel like two anchors once you step out of the water because water shoes drain and dry so well.

So what kind of water shoes should you buy?

Don't go cheap.  That's what I did on a recent vacation and while the shoes I purchased did the job intended, the quality was less-than-stellar.  What I bought amounted to a disposable pair of water shoes.

I purchased a pair of Wave Runners at Walmart for $7.99.  They are a slip-on style, comfortable, the sizing is good - I wear a size 12 - and they fit nicely, the mesh breathes and dries well.  My only real knock on these shoes is the tread.  It's minimal.  As you can see from the pics, the tread is quite worn, after just two days of use.  Traction will most likely become questionable during my next fishing outing.  They're fine on sand, or perhaps at the pool, but I won't be able to trust them on mossy surfaces or sharp edged rocks/shells when wading into that next lake or river.

If you're in a pinch and/or forgot to pack your quality water shoes, the Wave Runner is OK, but know that it's a very temporary water shoe solution.  For $8, they did what I needed them to do on a two-day fishing trip that included a lot of bank fishing/wading.

Wave Runner water shoes gets 2 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  They're inexpensive, comfortable, dry well, but the tread doesn't last.  Spend the money on a water shoe with a thicker sole and better tread.