More Water Shoes That Went the Distance

Water Shoes Comparison Chart

How We Tested Water Shoes

Our Testing Grounds & Process

Choosing the best water shoes today represents a tricky challenge. Nearly every footwear company offers a “water shoe.” Some of these are legitimate shoes that can be used for all sports, while others are nothing more than simple socks with non-slip rubber on the bottom.

To find the best water shoes, we put dozens of pairs to the test across a wide range of environments. From paddling rivers in Colorado to wading through rocky shorelines in Baja, we evaluated performance in real-world conditions. Our testing included paddleboarding, kayaking, creek hiking, fishing flats, and scrambling over slippery rocks. We paid close attention to traction, drainage, comfort, and durability over months of use. Whether it was long days on the river or quick dips at the local swimming hole, every pair earned its place on this list through hands-on, multi-sport testing. 

Our Expert Testers

Nathan Ward headed up this test, first packing all the shoes for a trip to the Caribbean and then testing them on the shores of the Arkansas River in Salida, Colo. Nathan is a lifelong adventurer who has kayaked rivers in the Himalayas, wade-fished Rocky Mountain rivers and tropical flats, paddled SUPs on oceans/inlets/lakes/rivers, snorkeled rivers, gingerly crunched over sea urchins, and spent too many hours on the decks of swimming pools watching his son swim back and forth.

He is also a lifelong writer, photographer, and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker devoted to conservation, river restoration, and wildlife protection. In his adventures and work, he has worn out more than one pair of Astral Brewers. In 2025, Ryan Kempfer took over this guide. Living in Jackson Hole, Ryan tests water shoes on paddleboard trips down the Salt River, raft trips down the Snake, and on hikes and adventures with water crossings. This guide represents the best water shoes on the market. If you’re looking for women’s choices, check out our guide to the Best Water Shoes for Women. 

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Water Shoes

Given the thousands of types of water shoes available, this is a tough question. However, the most simple answer is often the best. Where will you use your water shoes the most, and how often? 

For example, will you use them primarily at the resort or the pool, where you need a water shoe to protect your feet from hot sand, sun, and slipping? Then, the Speedo Surf Knit Pro or XtraTuf Riptide Sandal may be the best shoe for you. 

However, if you plan on paddling or swimming whitewater and tackling tough rocky side hikes on a multiday rafting trip, the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal, the Astral Brewer 3.0, the Keen Hyperport H2 Sandal or Merrell Moab Flight Sieve will be your best choice. If you’re surfing or paddling cold rivers or waves, the NRS Paddle Wetshoe will be ideal. 

Close your eyes, visualize where you will spend most of your water time, and imagine what features will make you the most happy. One of the shoes in this review will work well for you.

Use Types

Building on the concept above, different water shoes are best suited for different uses. The most common of these are adventure, lifestyle, and cold. And fashion, of course. Don’t forget fashion.

Sometimes these categories can be combined for a broader range of uses. Regardless of use, every water shoe should protect your feet, stay on, and help prevent you from slipping on wet or slimy surfaces.

Adventure

When we picture water adventures, we think of paddling sups, running whitewater in a raft or a kayak, jogging on the beach, hiking routes that combine trails and water crossings, or wading over sharp coral to fly fish. Your feet need support, protection from rocks, and shoes that stay on if you are washed through a churning whitewater rapid or pinwheeled in the waves. Adventure shoes include the Xero Aqua X Sport, the Astral Brewer 3.0, the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal, the Keen Hyperport H2 Sandal, the Merrell Moab Flight Sieve and the Teva Outflow Universal. 

Casual/Lifestyle

Casual water shoes are oriented more toward lifestyle pursuits like walking in small lapping waves, strolling around town near the river while you look for a delicious bagel, crossing the gravel between the parking lot and the beach, and stepping across sun-baked hot concrete and sand. You can wear these shoes at the beach, the water park, and the restaurant afterward.

They will not necessarily stay on in waves, running rivers, or any action-oriented water activity. You often find single casual water shoes washed up alone on the edges of lakes, rivers, and beaches. 

Why not just wear flip-flops? We love flip-flops, but water shoes definitely stay on better than flip-flops, offer a degree of sun protection, and have soles designed to prevent slipping. The Speedo Surf Knit Pro, the XtraTuf Riptide Sandal and Kiata Drift Sneaker, and Merrell Hydro Moc fit this lifestyle category. 

Cold Water/Cold Temps

To pursue cold water sports, you need a water shoe that will help keep your feet as warm as possible. This often means a neoprene shoe. Or, you can choose a more sustainable option like the Terraprene in the NRS Paddle Wetshoe or Kicker Wetshoe. Many companies sell low neoprene booties or socks. For better protection, choose a cold water shoe that covers your ankle and tucks under the legs of your wetsuit.

You also want them to zip on the side for ease. A small tab to cover the zipper so it doesn’t cut into your wetsuit also helps. NRS has specialized in cold water for decades. Its Paddle Wetshoe is the most recent version of a long line of paddling booties.

Another option would be to use the neoprene NRS Kicker Wetshoe. Or, you can put an NRS Wetsock under your adventure water shoe. If you do this, you must buy an adventure water shoe big enough to fit the neoprene sock. The downside is that the larger shoe size will decrease your warm-weather performance when not wearing the neoprene sock. There are always trade-offs when trying to combine equipment for very different conditions.

Fit and Sizing

All the water shoes reviewed offer fairly wide toeboxes, although none of them come in a wide option. Wide toeboxes are popular because you can spread your toes out. However, sand and water sometimes collect or pool in a wide toebox. The NRS Paddle Wetshoe and Kicker Wetshoe offer a very wide toebox.

Many water shoes do not come in half sizes. Most of the time, you need to order the half size larger. For example, if you normally wear a 10.5 regular shoe, order an 11 water shoe. For more active adventures, look for a shoe that comes in half sizes so you can get the best fit.

In this review, the Astral Brewer 3.0, Xero Aqua X Sport, Merrell Moab Flight Sieve, XtraTuf Kiata Drift Sneaker, Keen Hyperport H2 Sandal, and the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal all come in half sizes. You may want to order the Merrell Hydro Moc and the XtraTuf Kiata Drift Sneaker half a size down because the fit is fairly loose. The Astral Loyak runs big, and they don’t come in half sizes, so order half a size down. The Speedo Surf Knit Pro‘s sttretchy fabric will stretch out to the width of your foot.

Weight and Packability

The shoes that offer the most protection also weigh more. Look at the NRS Paddle Wetshoe, the Athmile Water Sock, and the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal. Shoes with less protection often weigh less. The exception here is the Speedo Surf Knit Pro. It weighs quite a bit for a casual water shoe because it’s built with a fairly thick sole for additional protection. 

Most of these water shoes squish flat, so you can throw a rubber band around them and stuff them in your suitcase or pack them where they will take up very little room. The exceptions are the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal, Keen Hyperport H2 Sandal, and Merrell Moab Flight Sieve because they are built more like supportive sneakers. If you’re trying to pack minimally, wear these on the plane while traveling.

The weight, packability, and performance winner is the Astral Brewer 3.0, which is lightweight and doesn’t take up much room. 

Outsoles (Tread)

Regardless of what type of water shoe is best for you, a non-negotiable feature is a shoe sole that protects your feet from rocks, hot sand, slippery algae, fish hooks, broken shells, coral, limestone caves, burning concrete, and all the other environmental dangers that can damage the sensitive bottoms of your feet. While some things like very slippery rocks and broken glass may best every water shoe rubber sole, the shoe soles in this review, all do a very good job. 

Some companies focus more on rubber. For example, earlier versions of the Astral Brewer used the proven nonslip Stealth climbing shoe rubber. Over time, Astral developed its own proprietary rubber, which it calls the G.SS Rubber + Flex Grip Outsole, which it used in the Astral Brewer 3.0. It’s durable, grippy on wet surfaces, and doesn’t mark up the floor.

Another take on a protective outsole is the NRS Paddle Wetshoe, which uses a thin but sticky sole combined with a 5mm inner sole, a 2mm plastic shim, and additional protection on the heels, Achilles area, and toes. The end result is a flexible water shoe that also protects your feet. 

Support and Comfort

Many water shoes are not very comfortable for long periods, as they’re designed to be worn only for the time you are in the water. As a result, many do not offer much, or any, arch support. The manufacturers know most water shoes are designed to be worn directly on a bare foot without the cushion of a sock, so water shoes are often lined with a material soft on bare skin. If you want some arch support, look to the Astral Brewer 3.0, the Teva Hydratek CT Sandal, the Keen Hyperport H2 Sandal and the Merrell Moab Flight Sieve.

Sustainability

As we all know, creating sustainable products is a huge challenge. Shoes are made with materials, glues, and compounds designed to protect your feet, not break down easily once they wear out. This is an unfortunate reality, but several of the companies manufacturing the water shoes profiled here are making a sincere effort to design products more sustainably.

We’ve mentioned many of these sustainability initiatives above and you can read about them in much more detail on each manufacturer’s website. To highlight a few sustainability initiatives:

• Astral has moved away from PVC, neoprene, toxic glues, and construction processes. Today, it incorporates recycled materials, hemp, and less intensive manufacturing.
• Teva uses various recycled materials, makes its straps from recycled plastic bottles, reduces water usage, and much more.
• NRS is moving away from neoprene slowly and considering the environmental impact of its products and manufacturing.
• Merrell posted six ambitious sustainability goals to achieve by 2025 on its website. 
• Xero is starting to make its shoes better for the planet. 
• Speedo has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability.  
• Keen has a wide slew of sustainability initiatives.
• Merrell is pursuing several sustainability goals across their shoe lines.
• XtraTuf is starting to pursue more sustainable manufacturing, including and Eco line. The Riptide Sandal fits in this line.

Could they all do more? Of course. Can they all do more and still stay in business? We don’t know. However, every dollar bill is a vote, so when choosing shoes, you can make an impact by deciding how to spend yours.

If sustainability is an important consideration for you, spend yours on companies that aggressively pursue sustainable materials and processes, both before making shoes and after the shoes have worn out.

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