Soft Science Rocks ICAST

On Thursday, July 14^th as I walked the rows of booths looking for new brands, I came upon Soft Science.  Because I am somewhat a shoe sport shoe junkie that owns many pairs of Sperry, Chaco, Merrell, and Crocs just to name a few, I just had to stop.  Well this booth was so crowded with onlookers, buyers and media; I could not wedge myself into position to speak with anyone.  So I stood on the periphery of the booth and took some great photos.   I marked Soft Science for a return visit on Friday.

Each Friday afternoon of ICAST when the show is winding down is the best time to visit booths.  The booth traffic is so slow at this time that it gives media loads of time to grip, grin, take photos and videos and talk with sales and marketing reps.  On Friday I listened to Tubby Madden, Soft Science Sales and Marketing, talk to a pro angler about selecting the right size shoe for him.  The angler was a kayaker that was looking for a better shoe to

wear when peddling his fishing kayak.  Tubby said that their shoes only came in whole sizes and that the foot bed and sole was made from a new proprietary material that was designed by one of the past designers at Crocs.  In 2013, Scott Seamans, founder and chief designer of Crocs and John Duerdan former president and CEO of Reebok got together to form Soft Science and the redesign of great comfortable shoes.

Tubby went on to say that the new formula improved upon what Crocs uses.  As I inserted myself into the conversation, I said that I had lost many a pair of Crocs in my car when the Crocs melted.  He said that the new material had corrected that problem.  The kayak angler decided on a size after trying on a pair in the booth. Tubby said that he would get a pair set out to him for testing.  Tubby then turned to me and asked if I wanted to test a pair.  I said yes and gave him my business card. 

Having intimate knowledge on Crocs, I am excited to test out a pair of these shoes.  One feature that is important to me is the tread pattern on the bottom of the shoe.  I experienced a bad fall in May of this year while covering the 2016 Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic. I was out early in the morning taking kayak fishing photos from shore when I, while wearing a pair of Crocs, slipped on the tidal shoreline and fell on my face.  When looking back on why I slipped and fell, the Crocs I was wearing were part of the problem.  The bottom tread had worn to the point where I was not getting good traction.  Mind you I probably should have chose better footwear, but being in a wet environment I chose a pair of Crocs instead of my other shoes.  The bottoms of Crocs tend to wear out quickly when walking on rough surfaces like concrete or asphalt.  I cannot wait to test out the Soft Science shoes to see if they perform any better than my Crocs.  

I liked all the different styles and colors that were on exhibit at ICAST especially the fishing and boat shoes.  You can purchase Soft Science shoes on their website (Click HERE). I will post an update to this article after I have had time testing the Soft Science shoes that they send me.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.