CKS Customer Butler Cox - Long Term Keen Gorge Boot Review
Comfortable, Warm, Dry, Grippy, and No Stink
By Butler Cox
I’ve found the Keen Gorge Boot to be a giant value in water footwear because:
- I can wear them all day in a kayak, on the shore, or driving to the put-in and they never cause discomfort. That’s saying a lot because I have some fairly severe foot and ankle issues due to being in my seventh decade plus one mangled ankle. The Gorge causes no discomfort from chafing, burning feet, or rash, contrary to every other water shoe/boot I’ve worn. That’s a lot, having worked on or around water most of my life.
- They’re warm. They’ve been toasty in 51 degree water for as long as 7 hours so they should do well this winter.
- Best of all they drain super fast. I really hate squishing around with an inch or more of jammy fluid oozing around my feet. Worst of all, all that mushiness makes for less than secure footing on slippery rocks. Also helps with drying. These easily dry overnight with just an hour or two in the evening sun after day out there.
- Pretty grippy this is really skippy for us old dudes whether or not we’re hefting our ride.
- Almost best of all: They are super easy to don and doff. Keen thoughtfully has placed two grab loops on the Gorge. One on the side and one on the rear in the usual spot. Also awesome is these loops are quite large, not the wimpy size found on other products. Another large plus in the inner liner allows my feet to easily glide in and out of the Gorge, yet when climbing rocks my feet are snug with no greasy slippage. And there are plenty of attachment gizmos to make them snug and very supportive, but easy to undo with cold fingers.
- A really big feature (the best according to my wife) is they don’t reek after a day of use. We can drive home and not have to open every window plus the sunroof. Nor on the next day do they make our house smell like a swamp. Very adroit of Keen to figure this out. All in all, since foot comfort is a challenge, I would rate the Keen Gorge Boot at the top of the list of stuff that can make paddling more enjoyable.
Good grip on rock.