Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

NRS Crush – Review

The new NRS Crush Watershoe landed at Unsponsored HQ a few weeks ago. Since then they have been used both off an on the water.

NRS Crush Shoe Review

The Crush arrived in a neat little cardboard box that included a short NRS strap to hold everything together. At first glance the NRS Crush look like a normal pair of canvas shoes. However look a little closer and you start to see a number of technical features within the design.

unsponsored-NRS-Crush-Watershoe-2015-2

Firstly the shoes are quite low profile yet still have a good sturdy sole. The sole has a pretty good tread (in the shape of Idaho) and has been pretty good on rocks, and wet grass. Who knew that the state of Idaho would provide so much grip. Its not as grippy as Five Ten Stealth rubber, but what is? The fabric feels really tough, as it’s the real deal Cordura® this makes sense. Inside the shoes are lined so there is no issue with the tough fabric being in direct contact with your feet. Drainage holes are included on the sides of the shoes, and seem to work pretty well.

The material doesn’t seem to hold water. The DWR treatment is clear to see and I’m very interested to see how this holds up over the next few months.

NRS Crush Shoe Review

All drainage holes and lace holes have been bound with thread. There are no metal or plastic grommets to worry about failing/corroding/falling out. The shoes also come with two sets of laces, the blue ones shown here (matches Palm’s new gear) and a set in grey.

NRS Crush Shoe Review

NRS Crush Shoe Review

The heal section of the NRS Crush watershoe can be folded in easily (Crushable) so that the shoes can be slipped on. This has turned out to be quite useful at times.

NRS Crush Shoe Review

The tongue of the NRS Crush are lightly padded and are fully integrated into the rest of the shoe. This will help keep it in place and lower the number of ways grit and dirt can find there way in.

So far so good.

Summary:

A good fit that is sized pretty comparable to normal shoes
Tough material and seems well put together
Colour bang on trend!
Crush heal does work well

Specs:

Rugged materials, smart details and our signature Idaho style make the Crush your go-to shoe, day-in-day out, trip after trip, on and off the water.

This versatile, technically-capable shoe looks as good at the pub as it performs on the water.

The super sticky, siped rubber outsole provides a sure grip on wet rocks.

Quick-drying, DWR-coated Cordura® upper shrugs off the wear and tear of sticks and stones.

Ports in the sidewall quickly drain water away.

A removable foam insole supports and cushions the foot.

A “crushable” heel lets you also wear the shoe as a slip-on.

Includes two pairs of contrasting-color laces.

Custom-designed “launch box” includes a free NRS strap.

Marking sole.

NRS Website

4 Comments

  1. Phil

    If this isn’t too personal a question, what size feet are you? As someone with size 11 feet I have trouble finding show that’ll fit in the end of my boat, and these look pretty slim

    • Unsponsored

      Hi, good question. UK size 10.

  2. Lee

    Looks like they copied Astral’s shoes.

  3. Phil

    I’ve just got back from a two week trip and used these shoes pretty much everyday.

    They really are super comfortable, even when wearing without socks. They are a bit harder to jam your feet in when wet but that is where the crushable bit comes in handy. The soles are pretty grippy and I never had a moment when I was concerned about them clambering over wet rocks

    On the downside, they do seem to let of debris in that just stays there. I noticed it when walking around in rivers with sandy or gritty beds and when scrambling up soft banks; there was often a couple of niggling little stones in bottom that necessitated taking the shoe off. Neoprene socks would help with this and, if you’re wearing them with a dry suit, I would absolutely wear a sock on the outside of your dry suit foot to protect them.

    The material of the shoe itself is not particularly quick dry, even in the French sunshine. I really struggled to get these dry and they were always the one bit of kit that was still a bit damp the following morning.

    All in all though, really happy with these shoes. As someone with size 11 clown feet I’ve struggled to find a pair of shoes that were both low profile and flexible enough to get in the end of my boat and these do the job admirably.

    And they do look good on, should that kind of thing matter to you.

    Hope that helps someone

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 Unsponsored

Theme by Anders NorénUp ↑