To swamps this weekend, DIY Xeroshoes modification

metavo

Barefooters
Apr 3, 2014
14
7
3
35
Time to put some shoes on!
The land has just melted up a little and snow is gone. In other words I'm going to have a little 4-day hike in swamps, that means if i'm lucky i go only knee-deep into mother earth.
In swamps there are things that may be uncomfortable to sink on with a barefoot. Also, what i don't like are frogs between the toes and it's just a season for that.
As i don't have "functional" footwear i plan to go with my DIY Xeroshoes.

So... changed the original cord for 4mm dyneema which is more robust and as foot tends to swell/shrink with different temperatures, gave it an adjustable whoopie sling.
Made test run today, sits well on foot so there's a change I wont lose these things to mother earth. Fortunately i'm not a totally nuts, that's why my backup plan is Feelmax Kuuva2 boots (which i've used in swamps also but these are fragile boots!).

Downside is that dyneema's thermal conductivity is comparable with steel.
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Just want to show how it's done, the last loop is a whoopie so i can tighten it.
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Wish me luck.
Hopefully I'll come back, show some pictures and a few scars.
 
I wish you luck!
I'm not sure Xeros are ideal for swamps: I nearly lost mine in deep mud once...
And they are quite slippery in wet conditions (grass, mud, fords): the xeros are always slipping around on the wet ground and at the same time the foot is slipping around inside the wet xeros.
 
Here's a plan I'm working on.....

Once the skin on my soles is thick enough I'm going to cut some treads into them... :cigar::dead:

On a more serious note, don't you find that as there is more resistance in swamps and bogs you put your feet down slower and find the ouchies before they can hurt your feet? I know that I have less injuries in the wet stuff than I do on gravel.
 
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Well, i'm back. 1 day in "tourism" areas and 3 days in a middle of nowhere.
Sadly must say I don't have action shots as i didn't take my camera to places where the landscape was at it's best. On the tracks i was barefoot but off the tracks I used my xeroshoes. Modification helped, these didn't come loose :)
Land was partly frozen, mostly wet till ankles and terrain in some places allowed to move only with speed about ~1 km/h
Must say that the first day in woods is always the toughest, that's because feet haven't adapted with cold. Second day was better and on third there was nothing that could stop me.

Also I was only one who hadn't had a need to dry boots in camp :D Barefoot totally paid off.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112424810661723360882/Salajanekoht2014
Oh, only the last three pics are made off the trail :)

edit:
There was one thing that ruined my mood. Frogs. Lots of frogs...
 
Nice adventure! Where's the scars?! :)