When it comes to hiking in wet conditions there are two approaches you can take to managing your feet: go with something waterproof and hope your feet stay dry, or embrace the moisture and splash through the water without worry. I tend to hike in lightweight shoes and generally prefer the ‘just get them wet’ approach since they will dry quickly. But my water encounters are usually small stream crossings, so I’ve never looked for a shoe intended for sustained hiking in water.

The Columbia Powerdrain is a lightweight hybrid water shoe/hiker for the second kind of person.  I received a pair in my initial box from Columbia as part of the Omniten program, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how much I would really use them. I haven’t worn this style of shoe in the past and have never really felt a need for footwear that would fill this crossover space. I was pleased to find that they felt great on my feet, both barefoot and with socks, and vowed to find a way to try them out on the trail and in water.
These shoes are light, weighing in at about 7 oz a shoe. The upper is a light mesh with a stiffer rubber ‘cage’ wrapping the foot and protecting the toe. The bungee cord system makes for quick on and off and a secure fit. My feet slide in these like a glove and a quick tug on the cord snugs them around my foot. The interesting part of these shoes is the sole, allowing water to drain quickly through a perforated insole and an outsole made up of drainage channels.

As I thought about where I might use these shoes, one primary use came to mind: camp shoes. I like to carry a camp shoe that fits the following criteria:

• Soft and comfortable for my feet at the end of the day
• Something I can wear with socks since it gets cold in the evening (so flip flops are out)
• Secure and grippy for hopping around rocks near camp: filling water bottles, fishing, etc.
• Lightweight, since they’ll be carried in my pack throughout the day.

I’ve used flip flops, crocs, and minimalist running shoes but nothing has fit all my criteria perfectly. But the Powerdrains do everything above. Maybe this wasn’t the original design intent, but I was pretty sure Columbia had just sent me the perfect camp shoe.
Oddly enough, the first backpack trip that I took these shoes on ended up with a short creek hike so I was able to wear these shoes in their optimal conditions. I carried them to Pine Valley in Ventana Wilderness, wearing a different hiking shoe on the way in but using the Powerdrains in camp. From our campsite we hiked to a waterfall, and in order to avoid the poison oak I ended up hiking the creek on our return. I splashed through the water and swam in the falls with the Powerdrains on the whole time. You can read more about our trip to Pine Valley and the waterfall in my trip report.

The shoes once again proved invaluable on my trip to Arizona. Naturally, Columbia had found some awesome conditions in which we could test their gear, so I wore them on our hike along the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon where they split their time between hiker and water shoe. Later, at Havasu Falls, they enabled me to scramble confidently around the falls, as well as jump off of cliffs without worry of losing my shoes.
After several opportunities to put these shoes to the test I’ve found that as much as I love them, there are some drawbacks. First, the positives:

• They drain quickly and are comfortable when wet: there is no ‘wet sponge’ feeling to these shoes when they get wet.
• They dry quickly, so if I splash through some water and use them as a camp shoe in the evening (when it gets cold) I won’t have wet feet.
• Super grippy on wet rock. But like any shoe, they are slick on moss and algae. The 2013 model has a more aggressive tread.
• Light weight, making for an unexpected excellent camp shoe. They aren’t as light as other options, but they fill every criteria I have in a camp shoe. Awesome!
• Stretchy cord lock laces are easy and make for quick on and off. I’ve even worn them through airports just because of this.

And now, what needs improvement?

• The soft and light footbed means feeling each and every rock through the bottom of the shoe. People used to minimalist footwear may be less susceptible to this but even I noticed minor sensitivity in the bottom of my heavily calloused and barefoot-accustomed feet.
• Durability of mesh upper. The abrasive travertine rock of Havasu area really did a number on the upper of the shoe. I didn’t notice this wear and tear prior to the Havasu trip, but a number of us did experience this exact same wear pattern. The 2013 redesign of this shoe extends the toe guard to account for this weakness, so if you will be wearing these in rough, abrasive terrain you may want to hold out until this model is available.

I love these shoes. They are comfortable, soft, light, and the negatives are really nothing compared to the positives. While not perfect, Columbia has already addressed some of my biggest concerns in the 2013 model. I never expected to grow so attached to these shoes, but I’ll probably wear them until they fall off my feet.