Words By: Garrett Quinn
*note: my partner, Heather, is a Pink Mountain Ambassador but I am not. So, this review is not totally free from bias. However, I am passionate about kayaking and river safety and want gear that will help to bring us safely home at the end of each outing. Stating the obvious: shoes are important. Good shoes with sticky rubber have got me out of some dillies of pickles. Just like having a spare paddle, first aid kit, and a pin kit, I hope to never be caught on a creek with a pair of runners or cheap neoprene booties.
One of my go-to conversation starters now is asking paddlers what they do or plan to do for footwear. Whenever I see something that is not an astral product or a Water Tennie, I always ask about them. Since 5.10 was bought by Adidas, and they divested from whitewater, kayakers have been left with few options for a sturdy creeking boot. I love the Water Tennie. When they were discontinued, I bought two pairs on sale like I stoked up on toilet paper in March.
I have owned Astral shoes and they are great, but I prefer a Water Tennie because of its sturdiness, durability and capabilities on wet rock. The new Astral hiking options look cool, but they are not for sale in Canada. I have wanted to try a pair of 5.10 Canyoneers, but they are also difficult to get. I scoured MEC’s website for hours wondering if there was some chance that a new trail runner might be a sleeper option for a solid kayaking boot as they seem to be using better rubber these days, and I thought about going to an approach shoe. I found some interesting candidates for less than the price of Rasslers, but couldn’t commit. Then I saw that Pink Mountain Imports could get the Palm Gradient Boots. After some research, I jumped at the chance to get me a pair.
The unboxing brought great joy! First impression: these are sturdy and well built. The closure will help keep rocks and debris out, and they look like they will drain and dry fairly well. The toe and the shoe overall has good protection that might prevent an injury. The size is perfect and because the toe box is wider, I have a little more room in the UK10 Gradient Boot than in the US11 Water Tennie. There is also an option to remove the insole to give a touch more space.
I wore them down to our little training spot on the Englishman, giggling with my first few steps. These boots have a bit of cushion to them. I also pretend to be a distance runner sometimes, so a comfortable ride is exactly what I am looking for. These are going to be epic for long hikes.
The soles on the Gradient Boots are a sticky rubber from Vibram that have more aggressive lugs than the Water Tennie. This makes them better on dirt and mud. There is a small but steep dirt hill down to our spot that can be a bit slippery even in my Water Tennies. The Gradient Boots were awesome on this pitch and confidence inspiring.
At the water, I started playing on wet rocks to test the sticky factor. On wet granite (actually diorite, but who cares for geological accuracy anymore) without algae they were great. I tried sedimentary rocks, also great. I can trust these shoes on wet rock.
I think the Water Tennies are a bit better on wet rock because the sole has less aggressive lugs. The Water Tennie also has more of a climbing shoe style toe which makes “climbing” moves easier (I don’t really know what a climbing is). I have found this useful in some canyons – like the times I’ve done Dusty Dennis’s White Canyon crux scout in the last couple years.
The next test was our local, granite-canyon, little-waterfalls run. They were so sweet. I didn’t try any climbing moves, but I think I prefer the Gradient Boot to the Water Tennie especially because we have to walk our shuttle. I am excited to have a boot that is going to perform better on hikes and portages away from the river and be more comfortable.
I will try to make an update as I put days on and give an update on durability and performance.
A closing note: I worry that our ability to get quality kayaking gear is tenuous in Western Canada because of the pandemic, MEC changing owners, kayak shops like Ocean River on the Island closing, and big companies like Adidas swallowing up smaller manufacturers and discontinuing products. I am happy to support Pink Mountain Imports with this purchase and wish them many years of success in providing quality gear to paddlers in BC.