Water proof shoes

[Scott]

We plan to start the Camino Frances in April from St. Jean. Are water proof shoes really necessary? Are there streams that have to be forded? Thanks, Scott

[grayland]

My opinion is Yes..the water proof shoe is needed. You probably will not run into any actual streams (maybe a couple of tiny ones) but you will run into huge puddles on the trail that can't be avoided due to deep mud in fields at the side. Also, deep wet mud.
Heavy rain will soak your shoes.
No waterproof actually keeps it all out but it helps a great deal. Blisters are the result of wet feet and socks.

[ElizabethIrish]

Planning to walk the Camino May 2013, waterproof needed then? I've heard so much conflicting advise on this matter. That I can have not been able to find a single boot/shoe that is waterproof that is comfortable for me.

[grayland]

I am surprised that there is much conflict from people who have completed the Camino about waterproof shoes. It can, and does, rain anytime of the year along the path. The rain is often very heavy and wind blown and can last for hours while you are walking. You also need a raincoat/poncho and pack cover.
An example...yesterday I left home for a 15 mile (24km) training walk. I wore an old pair of shoes that I walked my first Camino with. They were no longer waterproof. The rain started and my feet were soaked within 15 minutes without any big puddles or "streams" to cross.
In my opinion you need good waterproof shoes. My first couple of Caminos I wore Merrill shoes which advertise "goretex". The both leaked badly in heavy rain. I now wear Keens and they seem to actually be waterproof. Nothing is more miserable than wet feet and another 15km to walk. Much easier to dry if the insides are not soaked.

TIP: If you do get soaked boots...stuff them with newspaper right away and get them by a heat source if possible. The newpaper absorbs a lot of the excess water. It really works.

[geraldkelly]

Like Grayland I'm not aware of any controversy about whether you need waterproof shoes. Even in summer you'll probably get a couple of days of rain and if you haven't got decent shoes you're going to suffer. I always buy Ecco boots and I find them very comfortable. Friends of mine swear by Lowe or Meindl.

[Oak Hill Walkers]

It depends on how your feet do in wet weather. We've been using the Merrell 'ventilator' series of boots which breathe in hot weather and drain water very effectively. We pack water shoes for fording streams but most times we're just too lazy to take off our boots. So far, no foot problems due to waking in wet shoes. At night, we just pack our boots with newspapers and we're set to go the next day.

[ritescot]

I walked the last 100 miles of the Camino from O Cebreiro to Santiago the last week of April, 2010. There was plenty of mud in places. Also, one area on the day out of Sarria had a path that was virtually a stream. I wore Keens and my feet remained dry. Heavy rains set in a day or two after I arrived in Santiago, and I was grateful not to have faced that on the road.