Astral Loyak Men's Water Shoes, Lightweight, Breathable, and Grippy Footwear for Water Sports and Casual Wear

This is my second product review ever, and this shoe deserves it. I bought the navy ones before a trip to NZ in 2019. I walked for hours across sharp lava rock on Rangitoto, the volcanic island in Auckland, wore them on many 25 mile days of trekking across South Island. I walked in them in rain, across streams, over pastures, sliding on scree, on hot pavement, and while kayaking. When the time came to have a nice dinner in town, these shoes did not look out of place with a pair of jeans and a sports jacket. When I came back home to Hawaii I found every other shoe felt heavy and clunky. So when I wasn't wearing our state footwear, aka Da Slippah, I wore these: across our dense red soil, on my weed-choked 5 acre "farm," on many of our 125 O'ahu beaches, and on bicycle rides with pedals that shred soles for breakfast. That original NZ pair is still kicking, only slightly worse for the wear. But the vagaries of fashion and supply chains being what they are, I've had to buy a second pair to make sure I have a back-up pair. What's so great about these? Key words:- Comfortable AF- Lightweight- Versatile (outdoor adventure or urban wear)- Resilient (The lack of wear given the abuse I've put them through is stunning)- Water-friendly- Easy to clean (I throw them in the washer)- Packable (they squish down flat)- ValueShould you buy a pair of your own even though you don't plan to walk across sharp lava? Yes...yes you should.

These are fantastic. Zero rise, minimal shoes but not so minimal that you can't walk on gravel. I've had New Balance Minimus and Merrell Trail Glove 5s. The NB were great except if you stepped on a stone over hard ground, it felt like stepping on it barefoot. The Trail Glove 5s had a good sole, but an annoyingly large arch support for a minimal shoe.I have used these for jogging, walking, flat pedal mountain biking, and wearing around like a normal shoe. I'm curious to try them for kayaking when the weather warms up. I think they'll be great for backpacking. There's plenty of ground feel and room for my forefoot to spread out.They seem very well made.I normally wear size 9 in athletic shoes, and 8.5 in dress shoes (US mens sizes). I had to get size 8 in these. I tried the size 9, but they were too big.My only slight complaint is that the tongue is not separate from the rest of the shoe, so it makes it difficult to get the shoes on. There are helpful loops for putting them on though.Edit: After about a month the upper material stretched enough so that they are much easier to put on.

Like others have said before... just buy them! This review is long past due. If you like minimalist shoes without paying an arm and a leg like for Vivobarefoot (although they are quality). Other reviewers have taken off points because they make their feet hurt...well duh! these are minimalist shoes and have no super thick padding or arch support. So when you are new to walking more natural your feet will be sore, but will eventually get stronger from really using your foot muscles and soon foot, leg and even back pains while walking start to get better. Please look up all the info about the barefoot/minimalist movement and its benefits.Size is spot on. Ordered a size 10 and they fit just right.It has that nice wide toebox just like Vivobarefoot.The grip is other worldly. I thought they were exaggerating, but these shoes have to be tried to believe them. I use them for the city/urban areas and they just grip in such a nice way without getting stuck/tripping up, if you know what I mean.Oh and they are made of hemp. Look up all the great qualities of hemp for yourselves. You will be amazed. Hemp is many times stronger than steel. It keeps odor down. Also helps the environment by cleaning up toxins from the earth(even radiation) and is super sustainable.Ok so the only down side, which, isn't even so bad is the opening. It does not have a tongue. It just had an elastic type opening, which, frustrated me at first, but soon it loosens up or you could use a shoe horn.Tip* you want to grab the front part of the opening with one hand and the back, slide your foot in and gently bring up the back over your heel. Something like that.Also the quality is superb. You know when you open a new product and you can just tell its gonna be good. There are no loose threads, everything is clean, the cuts are precise...its just quality.PS the website fake spot has ratings for product reviews like this shoe on amazon. This shoes gets an A! (they rejected my first review of this product for referring that site...I wonder why?In summary try the shoe its a great quality, fits great, has a great grip and has a better price value than other more expensive minimalist brands.Enjoy!

Astral has two rubber compounds and this model of shoe has the less gripper G.15 rubber. Their G.ss rubber is far more grippy. Regardless of the lack of grip, they fit great and are extremely comfortable considering how thin the midsole is. It’s very soft. I have not tried these on wet rocks yet but I think these will become my light weight approach shoes and water shoes.Astral, if you’re reading this, put your G.ss rubber on all shoes. No one will complain about having more grip and any loss in durability will be moot as I am sure I’ll wear out the upper long before the outsole. Also your available colorways straight suck and or blow… I’ve already emailed your team with my offer to do some free design work for you to improve your designs and colorways. Stop with the gray and navy shoes. You’re a sports brand. Black is always gonna sell, but make some fun sports colors. Reference what adidas has been doing in their trail running shoes. Adidas used to be my go to as for a time you could get stealth rubber on many of their sports shoes. Adidas destroyed stealth and the brand five ten. Very sad, but Astral you have a chance to take over the serious outdoor sport shoe market. Climbing Approach shoes, canyon shoes, scrambling shoes, you can do this and it can be done with style.