Simms Transit Slide Sandals Review

I was overly excited when I saw these hanging on the shelf of our fly shop in Great Falls, MT.  If you're around 30ish years old like me, you probably lived in the Adidas slides with the little clear plastic "massaging" footbed for at least a portion of middle school or high school (and if you're honest with yourself, you were probably wearing black Nike socks with them).

So, at first when I saw these new Simms slides my reasons for wanting a pair had nothing to do with anything practical.

Buy these Simms Transit sandals online here. 

Now, I may be the only one excited about this new product from Simms, but let me give you some reasons why--because this isn't just another flipflop with another brand name on it.  First, let me explain that I seriously tested these things.

I recently purchased these for a 5-day trip to Venice, Louisiana to chase Redfish on the Mississippi River Delta.  So, it’s not like I just think they look cool, although I think that, too.

Want to read more about Redfish?

I don’t know about everybody else out there, but in warm weather, I fish in sandals probably 80% of the time, and for me, the conditions must be extreme to wear traditional wading footwear in the heat.  Here is what I loved about these new Simms Transit Slide Sandals.

What's up with Simms Transit Sandals?

1. Obviously, I like that they are slides and the main reason for that, besides being incredibly good looking, is that there is nothing between my big toe and my second toe. I always have problems with that area rubbing and getting extremely painful with regular flip flops, especially when I have fished in the saltwater and I add sunscreen + sun burn + saltwater all together.
2. They have a solid non-slip sole on these sandals. Standing in the front of the flats boat, or even on the run out to the flats at high speeds, it allows you to feel solid on the boat much more like having a shoe on.
3. The sandals have a neoprene lining which I thought was comfortable and never irritated me, wicked water well and made wearing them all day very easy.
4. You have way more coverage on the tops of your feet to protect them from the sun. I know many people who have ruined their trip with sunburnt tops of their feet.  Don’t be that person.

I’m not going to go on and on, I do realize they are still just sandals at the end of the day.  I like writing reviews that address the pros AND the cons, but honestly I don’t have a lot of cons to present.

I guess, to get as critical as possible, they are a bit heavier than some sandals and don’t have the foam feel due to the heavier and more aggressive boat sole. I think the trade-off is worth it.  They sell at $49.99 which is certainly more expensive than some sandals on the market, but if you are comparing quality sandal companies, this is a fair selling price.

You can buy the slide sandals here, or check out their more traditional fly fishing counterparts here.

Interestingly, out of all the equipment that we brought down to Louisiana, both guides I fished with asked me about the Simms slides I was wearing.

In case any of you out there were thinking of buying these "just cuz," like I was, hopefully you now have a perfectly reasonable way to justify these things (use the sun one which is bullet point 4 with whoever you need to talk so you can get these- that "sun argument" is pretty solid, and should get you the go-ahead and the traditional "alright fine").

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