Tips and Reviews

Review: Astral LoYak M’s

How much consideration do you afford to your choice of kayaking footwear? I can’t say that I did. I used to throw on a pair of old sneakers and go. Temperature? Not a factor. Terrain? Also irrelevant. Hydration? Permeability? Ventilation. Negative, nope and no.

Did I bust a few pair of cheap sneakers or sandals at the seams while loading or carting my kayak? I did. Did my feet sweat too much, costing me precious hydration on long days? Did poor footwear choices result in cold feet on windy, rainy days? Guilty on all counts. And I slipped on a few ramps, too.

After a sandal exploded and I ended up shoeless, I began searching for better footwear options. That was around five years ago, and I never quite found the right balance of qualities. Some shoes wear light and breathable but the soles quickly wore out. Others had poor stitching that popped. Still others were too narrow or the fabric held water for too long.

I turned to Astral for solutions in 2024, hoping for a fix. And I found it. After one year of wearing the Loyak men’s shoe (or Loyak M’s), --> I can provide a thoroughly positive assessment of the shoe based on a few essential qualities. Those are durability, safety and comfort.

Durability

At first fit, I was impressed with the stitching of the Astral M’s. It wraps the lower ankle and extends down the back to the heel, providing additional strength. Those weak areas can become vulnerable over extended use, creating frays, tears or holes.

After a full year of dragging my kayak up and down steep hills, portaging around dams or dragging through river shallows, I can say that the Loyak M’s pass every test. Not a stitch has changed in the shoes. What’s more, the soles have remained attached to the fabric despite lots of flexing and twisting. Structurally, the shoe has remained intact after over one hundred hours of sustained use (a number that does not include long ours of pedaling).

The soles have also demonstrated remarkable grip. Astral’s trademarked “Flex Grip” outsoles stick to hard, smooth surfaces. Here in North Carolina, where I sometimes have to deal with slippery, clay-based soil, the shoe shave been superb.

I have noticed that the trademarked “G.15” rubber has worn down a little around the forefoot, where your metatarsals meet your toes. This is an area where we often plant our foot to pull things (like a kayak), so it is bound to sustain more friction. Since there has not been any slippage when I plant my foot, I can accept some rubber loss on the sole in exchange for safety.

Safety

Footwear plays an important role in safety. As I noted above, the Loyak’s trademarked Flex grip soles are exceptional sticky, providing stability in dry and wet areas. Additionally, the durable stitching offers reliability but also protection from tears that can result in injury or exposure.

While doing research for this review, I consulted some scientific footwear studies (yes, those are a thing). Do you think you pay too much attention to your choice of fishing line? Just imagine what sprinters and marathon runners take into account. For them, “permeability” is a huge factor because the structure and fabric creates a “micro-climate” inside a shoe.

A shoe’s permeability can have several consequences for safety. Feet that stay wet for too long can develop fungal infections, while feet that are too hot inside shoes can sap our hydration (and energy). If you fish long tournaments or take long paddling trips that include camping stops and multiple weather changes, these are important risk factors. Itchy feet and burned feet, or dehydration and heat stroke, can make those trips a lot less fun.

The Loyak M’s shed water quickly and their mesh tops and side ventilation help them to dry. I have worn them with and without socks, with the same result: the Loyak M is permeable and fast-drying, but it also isn’t so light that it doesn’t provide protection from sun and wind.

As I noted, I might wear socks on a cool spring day, and if the shoes get wet the socks will air out, too. However, if everything stays dry, the Loyaks aren’t so permeable that my dry feet will get too cold. Would I wear them in very cold temperatures? Absolutely not. But on a cool day, the shoe’s design offers limited protection from the elements and dries quickly.

On sweltering days, the shoes provide protection from the sun. I wear them without socks on those days, and my feet will sweat a bit. But I would rather have protection and a firm grip than burned feet.

Comfort

The Loyak M’s comfort is not merely subjective. When I opened the box, I noticed that the forefoot was wide. If you have narrow feet, this may create excess room. For me, the wide design at the front of the shoe was just what I had been looking for.

That wide design is related to durability (as it diminishes foot pressure on the shoe’s sides) and safety (the feet are not crowded). More importantly, my feet gripped the foot pegs of my paddling kayak and the pedals of my pedal drive without issue. With a wider surface area, I had a better “grip” on my kayak’s foot-based features.

At the end of a long day, my feet left the Loyak M’s dry and fresh, without cramping of discomfort. My only complaint is that at times the laces tend to pinch the top of my foot. This is the area at mid-foot where the longer toe bones (the metatarsals) meet the thicker cuneiform bones. Our feet have awkward, sloping angles there, and the shoe’s flatter design sometimes feels too short where the laces end.

Summary

Overall, the Loyak M’s pass every test. They have been proven to be exceptionally durable, safe and comfortable. I would also note that the eight available color schemes are varied and sharp-looking. The Loyak M’s also come in men’s size 8-14. And if you are looking for greater ankle protection, the company also sells a “Hiyak” model that offers additional ankle support.

The Loyak M’s are for those kayakers who are ready to invest in better footwear options.

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Hank Veggian is a multi-species freshwater kayak angler. He is a member of the Jackson Kayak Fishing Team, Ketch Products Fishing Team and Get Outdoors Pedal and Paddle Pro Staff. His writings on fishing have been published in numerous magazines. He has written for the KBF and KAS websites, and is a former KFL angler.