Finding the perfect paddleboarding shoes is more challenging than you might think. In fact, I currently have only one shoe that I recommend for paddleboarding.

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If I find more I will update this post, but for now, the best paddleboarding shoes I have found are made by NRS brand.

Paddleboarding Barefoot

I have tried paddleboarding barefoot but found this not ideal for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons is my feet hurt when I explored rocky areas. I like to paddleboard to interesting areas, park my paddleboard, and walk around. Some of these areas are filled with hard large rocks or even worse tiny sharp rocks. Those tiny rocks can feel like you are stepping on a bed of legos. If you know, you know! You could carry a pair of extra tennis shoes, but that is just one more thing to carry, and putting socks on wet feet is challenging and icky. In a nutshell, I can still feel the board under my feet in these shoes, and yet, it doesn’t hurt to step on rocks while we are exploring the land around us.

Also, bare feet don’t provide the grip that shoes with treads can provide. This can make the paddleboards feel a little bit slippery.

Paddleboarding Shoes with Hard Soles

If bare feet make walking on rocky surfaces difficult, you may think getting shoes with super hard soles, may be the best choice. For me, super hard soles made it, well, hard to feel the board. Feeling the board helps me balance easier on the board.

Paddleboarding Shoes with Soft Soles

So if hard soles make it difficult to balance on the board, are soft sole water shoes the most logical choice? I have tried some soft sole water shoes that felt no different than bare feet. These shoes provided no protection from those lego-like rocks along some shorelines.

The Perfect Paddleboarding Shoes: The Happy Medium

I really don’t know how NRS did it! These shoes somehow provide traction on the boards and are thick enough that I can painlessly explore the shores, yet somehow, I can feel the board beneath my feet and balance effortlessly while I am paddling. They make a pair that fits low on your ankles as well as a pair that comes up to your calves like a boot. I personally like the ones that fit lower on my ankles. I feel like I can move more during my paddleboard workouts.

These NRS water shoes are the best I have found and they don’t pay me to say that! My husband and I both have a pair and never paddle without them.

You can find them at many outdoor stores or you can grab up a pair here on amazon.

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