Ultralight day shoes - only 190g! Other ultralight ideas?

[Ungawawa]

Part of the Camino planning I love is finding items which are ultra-light and do their job really well. There's a real satisfaction in figuring out a way to shave another 300g or whatever off your total pack weight. When you want to carry as much sundry stuff as I do, you need to get smart about it!

I'd like to share my latest ultralight find - a fully functional pair of canvas day shoes for walking around town and relaxing in the albergue which weighs only 190g. That's less than a pair of flipflops, and a third of similar canvas shoes likes Converse.

These I found in my local Schuh store. They're by a brand called Toms (toms.com) and the model is "Hermosa" (slightly strange name for a men's model shoe).

The trick to getting their weight down to 190g is to remove the foam insoles they come with. They pop right out. You can then wear them without insoles as slippers or transfer the insoles from your hiking shoes to them when you want to use them. My Scarpa trail runner insoles fit right in there perfectly!

I'm pretty pleased with this find as they are not only very functional but look quite stylish too, and we all know how rare that is for hiking equipment ;-)

What are your other ultralight best finds?

 

[RJM]

I have found some slip-on and lace up water shoes on amazon that are fairly lightweight, about 300 grams or so. Some less, some more and many manufacturers and styles. The good thing about them is the price. Some less than 20 euros. Makes them almost disposable by the time you reach Finisterre you have gotten your use out of them. Cheap and while not better than a regular shoe, they do offer better support than a rubber flip-flop and allow your feet to ventilate.

 

[Ungawawa]

I have found some slip-on and lace up water shoes on amazon that are fairly lightweight, about 300 grams or so. Some less, some more and many manufacturers and styles. The good thing about them is the price. Some less than 20 euros. Makes them almost disposable by the time you reach Finisterre you have gotten your use out of them. Cheap and while not better than a regular shoe, they do offer better support than a rubber flip-flop and allow your feet to ventilate.

Good idea. I was looking at getting a pair of these sort of half-sock / half-shoe things for the albergue showers. The only advantage to flipflops over canvas shoes is that you can wear them in the shower. For around 100g a pair you can find water socks with a grippy rubber sole that would bridge that gap, if you're worried about having bare feet in strange albergues!

 

[RJM]

Good idea. I was looking at getting a pair of these sort of half-sock / half-shoe things for the albergue showers. The only advantage to flipflops over canvas shoes is that you can wear them in the shower. For around 100g a pair you can find water socks with a grippy rubber sole that would bridge that gap, if you're worried about having bare feet in strange albergues!

Yes, there are so many varieties on amazon I couldn't describe them all. The water sock type with rubber bottoms are a good choice and at around 100 gram a pair, very light. The bare feet in the albergue shower issue is one of those things that it will in all likelihood not be a problem, but the chance for fungal infection is there. You could actually bring the water sock variety and a pair of the thinnest, cheapest rubber flip flips you can find, and the two pairs combined would still be lighter and less expensive than one pair of regular shoes.

 

[t2andreo]

I have a pair of Columbia Bahama Vent PFD 'fishing shoes' that I am going to consider using in place of sports sandals. Living in South Florida, these are my 'go to' slip on shoes for running errands and around the house. However, they weigh only 220 grams the pair.

The first thing to do is to compare them to the Ecco sport sandals I have been wearing in the evenings and rest days when on Camino. Then we will see...

 

[AlwynWellington]

@H Richards , good find

Is that 190 grams in total or 190 grams each, thanks.

 

[lt56ny]

My daughter got me a pair of tom’s classics. I don’t know the weight but they are super light. I wore them every night. I even walked about 40k in total when I had a blister or 2. I actually walked about 10k in them (on roads only my recommendation).
They lasted 2 Caminos. Just ordered another pair for my 4th Camino,
Which I hope will be this fall. They have some on close out now on their website for about 30US.
Another great thing is for every pair that Tom‘s sales they give one pair away to a needy person.

 

[Ungawawa]

@H Richards , good find

Is that 190 grams in total or 190 grams each, thanks.

190 for the pair, so 95g each!!

 

[Ungawawa]

My daughter got me a pair of tom’s classics. I don’t know the weight but they are super light. I wore them every night. I even walked about 40k in total when I had a blister or 2. I actually walked about 10k in them (on roads only my recommendation).
They lasted 2 Caminos. Just ordered another pair for my 4th Camino,
Which I hope will be this fall. They have some on close out now on their website for about 30US.
Another great thing is for every pair that Tom‘s sales they give one pair away to a needy person.

Yeah can't fault them really.

One note is that not all Tom's have the removable insoles. The classics for instance are sewn in, which does make them potentially a little heavier. But we are only talking 50g or so here

 

[lt56ny]

Yeah can't fault them really.

One note is that not all Tom's have the removable insoles. The classics for instance are sewn in, which does make them potentially a little heavier. But we are only talking 50g or so here

Right! Whats 50g or so among friends and pilgrims!

 

[Ungawawa]

Right! Whats 50g or so among friends and pilgrims!

Heheh, not much, but amongst the ultralight crowd it's like carrying a millstone ^^