Crocs

[Life_Saver]

I am just curious as to how many of you already own a pair of crocs or plan on buying them for the summer. If you don't know what crocs are they are the foam clogs with a moveable backstrap that come in a variety of colors. Payless is selling airwalk knock offs right now for cheap. I have a pink pair. I think they will be great for when I'm pushing canoes in and out of the river and while wearing at the pool.

[Whimsy]

I own a pair of hunter green crocs! They are magnificent! Last summer is when they hit camp. The nice thing about them is that you can get them wet (they actually float), they count as closed toed shoes at our camp so while they have holes for air to come through we can still wear them on our beach, and they are uber comfy.

[boilerswim7]

oh man, i saw them right before i left for camp last summer and thought they'd be genius at camp. HOWEVER, we had a director (who wasn't well liked) that wore them constantly, but was always in the dirt, never the water. the end result- she had nasty nasty nasty nasty nasty (to the umpteenth power) feet, and now i can't condone the wearing of crocs outdoors.
tangent- some of our divers wore crocs around the pool deck this year, and every time i saw the shoes i felt a deep-seeded need to wash my feet (though i should let the divers go, because our pool is probably the most sterile area in the world).

[Melk]

every time i saw the shoes i felt a deep-seeded need to wash my feet.

ha so do i

[Sparkes]

I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate them. Hate them. As someone who considers herself a shoe connoisseur, they the most ugly things I've ever seen! But, I know others who have them and rave on about how their the most comfortable shoes in the world. Still, you'll never catch me in a pair, comfortable or not!

[gremlin_c]

I feel I have to stick up for them. I bought a pair of black ones for camp last summer and loved them. Around the middle of the summer I decided i wanted to be more colourful and i bought an orange pair. They are so comfortable and so perfect for canoeing.

They were a huge hit at my camp, some of the girls had up to three pairs. One for waterfront, indoors, and outside.

Too bad some of you had such a bad experience with them.

[audur]

I don't own a pair, and I think they are super-ugly so I don't think I'll ever get one. Noone at my camp wore them last summer, I'm excited to see what'll happen this year... but I'm sticking to my chacos.

[rockinsmiles]

I agree with them being ugly. It is funny because last summer only one of the staff had a pair. In fact I had never seen them before, they were bright yellow and to be looked like the were made out of hard plastic (like legos!). I didn't mind them on him cuz they fit his personality soooooo well. But then when i came home I started seeing them all over the place. I have to invest in some water shoes for this summer but they aren't going to be crocs!

[campCardinal]

I think they are the ugly. Everyone who wore them complained about their feet getting sweaty so they were always putting foot powder in them. Sure, they might be pratical, but I have plenty of shoes that look nice and are practical.

[prettysocks]

Good crap those things are hideous! No one at my camp wore those things either.

I'M ALL ABOUT THE BIRKENSTOCKS!

[drink the wild air]

I have tried on those of friends and they are extremely comfortable but I dont own any either. I live in my chacos. However, a vast majority of the staff I have run into down here in Texas wear them because of the closed-toe shoe rule too. They get too hot in normal gym shoes with socks, but the crocs are considered closed toe and still ventilate. And I have seen a few kids/staff get some nice cuts on their feet from being in the woods with them and stepping on a stick just right and it goes through the foam.

[camper]

haha i don't have them but like everyone at my school and camp does, they're kind of like floatie flip flops, ugly things that everyone has haha. if they're not a really awful color i think they're cute.

[Sparkes]

ah ha ha...I am not alone in my hatred of the ugly ugly things!!!!

[Pooka]

Heheh. I think they're ugly, but my mom randomly bought me a pair the other week. They're comfortable, but I can't quite get used to the weird texture, and if something goes down one, I'm compelled to do this bizarre shoe-fixing dance while falling over furniture and bits of the landscape.

I think I'll just stick with sneakers, this summer.

[KiwiCRB]

I don't think they'd pass the closed toe shoe rule at our camp... too many things could get in there and hurt your feet. Eww, I can just imagine my feet being covered in chiggers in the pattern of crocs! Imagine how uncomfortable that would be!

[camplover86]

When i first saw crocs i thought they were really ugly. Then my mom bought me some light pink ones, and they were REALLY comfy! They were great at my camp! alot of campers had them and probably half the staff had atleast 1 pair! I also live in my chacos, but every once in a while it was good to have a break from em! also they are really easy to slip on at night if a camper needs you.

[who_stole_my_loofa]

i agree with everyone thajt said they are the ugliest shoes in the world. i wear really nice shoes- like chanel flip flops and manolo pumps but when it comes to camp i love my crocs. they are so ugly though. but the best. the best. buy them. wear them. love them. dont show your stylish friends.

[Sparkes]

whats with all you guys and this closed shoe rule? We wear what we want, but in accordance to what activity you partake in (trainers for tennis/soccer) but we can wear flip flops (which I live in)

[prettysocks]

We don't have a closed toe shoe rule, but we do have a "3 strap/backstrap" rule. You can wear shoes if you want, or sandals, but both must have something holding your heel in. Slip on shoes, flip flops, or other slip on sandals, are not allowed. They aren't practical for running in an emergency, and they are also safer and more sturdy on wet surfaces (at the pool, in the showers bathing campers).

I had a little chuckle with myself, because I was thinking "my camp should have a STEEL-TOED SHOE rule!". More than one person got their foot run over by an electric wheel chair (often up to 300lbs+), and had to take a few days off to let the bruising/swelling/pain go away. But holy crap, would that ever be hot!

[clarabelle1985]

our camp has it to stop everyone getting injured feet seen as camp is on a really steep hill in wooded area i thought they were being a bit over protective at first until my friend broke the rule over a weekend off wearing flip flops and whilst comming down the hill cut in between her toe open i now understand the rule!!!!

[audur]

We can wear sandals as long as they have a back strap... my camp is really spread out and we do a LOT of walking and flip flops aren't really very good for that... plus, it's just safer to wear something that stayes on your feet properly. We do have to wear closed-toe shoes for when we're around horses or at the challenge course/climbing wall, though, for obvious reasons.

[camplover86]

We don't have a closed toe rule. Sandles have to have backstraps (tevas, chacos...) and crocs have to have the strap on the back.

[Belay06]

Oh man, crocs are the most awful looking shoes i have ever seen! People at my school wear them and i just cringe whenever i see it. I personally would never even think about investing in a pair, plus i am perfectly happy with the sandals i have now! They're really broken in and they have all of the necessary straps and everything.
We have a closed toe shoe rule at my camp also, usually unless its a tennis shoe, or some sort of shoe that covers your entire foot (like a tennis shoe would) then its not considered closed toe. We do this because obviously we're in the woods and people cut there feet and everything else on the sticks and rocks.

[campnerd99]

I don't understand the crocs trend either, and have no plans on ever buying a pair.

We don't have a closed toe rule, or sandal strap rule. Unless it's an activity where sneakers are required then both socks and sneakers have to be worn or you have to sit out because it's not safe to have people hiking or playing soccer in flip flops.

[ThanksALatte]

Ok so I thought (and still think) that Crocs are about the ugliest shoes ever. However, I will admit that I own a pair of the ugly shoes. My mom bought them for me because she swears by them (she's got bad feet), and I find them rather comfortable. They are very light, and don't smell when they get wet (at least mine don't and I've worn them in a downpour and then for a long period of time without taking them off and no mold has grown yet...haha).
So yeah. They're ugly, but I wear them for comfort when I can't wear flip flops or my chacos. I live in chacos and flip flops.

[Campgirlboo]

Ok, here's the deal...I thought they were ugly too..haven't broken down to try them on/buy one.... i'm glad to see someone brought up the closed-toe rule...i've always broke that rule at camp (well, broke is so rough sounding...bent the rules, more like it) but this year, we're going to have to be sticklers about some rules, so I'm trying to be good...I am going to wear my closed-toe sneakers so I'm not even tempting fate...if they are half as comfy as my Dir. swears they are, I'd be hooked....

but they are ugly as sin, no?

[KristinR]

I think their ugly too, but I think I might get a colorful pair for the summer. Don't get the knock-offs, they aren't as good

[dreamer]

I, too, used to think they were the ugliest shoes ever. That was until I bought myself a pair of knock-offs. They are so comfortable. I lived in those for about 2 weeks while I was having a problem with the bottom of my foot.

[runrachrunn]

i'm not going to read this whole thread, but the short of the matter is that I have two pair of knock-off "holey shoes", in baby blue and bright pink - the baby blue ones are on my feet as I type this. I definetly agree about the smelly feet - I wear mine in the shower, which seems to help, but I have a feeling I'll be leaving this pair in Israel and buying a new pair of real crocs.

[ArtisticEric]

I was reading a viewer Q&A with Tim Gunn an laughed so hard when I read this: Arlington, Va.:

Tim, In what is, to me, a particularly distressing trend, I have seen many women (and quite a few men) wearing crocs in public. Is this truly acceptable? Is there some sort of fashion clearinghouse which decides on a whim that actions which would normally result in ostracization are instead cool and accepted? Tim, please offer your advice.

Tim Gunn: Ohhhhh... May I respond by merely saying, "I hate crocs. May they please go away."

[happy_camper]

I agree. I think they are horribly ugly.
I'll stick with with my knock-off tevas.

Oh, and camper, I still have campers wear those giant floatie flip flops. They are pretty bad too!

[Mouse...]

I thought and still think they are the ugliest shoes on the planet however I bought some knock off ones last summer and they were quite nice for wearing when it was muddy or raining outside, or when we went on canoe trips.

The camp I work at has more of a sock rule. Socks must be worn everywhere but the waterfront. You can wear sandles with the socks as long as the sandle has a backstrap.

[runrachrunn]

Wow mouse, I think i'd go nuts if I had to wear socks everywhere. Why is this rule in exisistance. To be honest, it's so nice to be able to go barefoot or clad in sandals for a few weeks.

[KiwiCRB]

I think it all depends on the part of the country you're in and the terrain you have to go over. Down here there are tons of dangerous things lurking on the ground and there isn't any paving around camp so we have to wear socks and tennis shoes. And there are chiggers in the grass so if you don't have socks covering your ankles they'll attack and they itch worse and for longer than mosquitoes.

[pinescounselor]

I thought Crocs were absolutly hideous at first. Then my grandma bought me a knockoff pink pair from target because she thought i could wear them at camp. I brought them with me, and as summer went on I started wearing them more and more. They were really comfy, but no fun when they got wet.and they're aren't the best looking shoes, but camp is one of the only places someone could pull them off as stylish :D

I'm pretty sure every camper under the age of 12 had a pair. We have the closed toed show rule only for sports/running games/hikes and after too many "but crocs are closed toed!" complaints from campers, it had to be rewritten to a tennis shoes rule.

[Mouse...]

The paths at camp are somewhat rocky and it's very wooded with sticks and stuff everywhere. It's more of a saftey, cleanliness thing. However I'm certain every staff member has broken it while on break. :)

[CAMPFRIEND]

I think it all depends on the part of the country you're in and the terrain you have to go over. Down here there are tons of dangerous things lurking on the ground and there isn't any paving around camp so we have to wear socks and tennis shoes. And there are chiggers in the grass so if you don't have socks covering your ankles they'll attack and they itch worse and for longer than mosquitoes.

Don't forget about the great snakes in Texas:) All of our campers & Staff must wear shoes when they are out of their cabin and on their way to the pool. My big problrm is with the staff. After they see their first snake the have their shoes on.

[KiwiCRB]

Haha see I'm the staff member that says "Ooooh a snake! Think I can pick it up?" One snake was a bit too big for that and bit me, so I've learned my lesson on size haha. During post camp cleaning last summer we found a baby bull snake so I caught it and put it in an empty first aid kit and then asked the camp director to look inside. Oooooh man I had some laughs over that one... I don't think she thought it was as funny though.

[gabor85_hungary]

http://www.addconsults.com/store/images/crocks.jpg

Ohh, they are ugly for my Hungarian eyes: ) I prefer being barefoot while canoeing, because it's easier to dry my feet that way.