Crocs Swiftwater Fisherman Review
The Swiftwater Fisherman is great for river crossings, though my pair has a bend that causes blisters.
Chilnualna Creek at half past six on May 30, 2024. I had already forded thigh-high water in the Crocs earlier that day.
I only use the Swiftwater Fisherman for water crossings, and the pair weighs 24 ounces on my lists, which makes the shoes the heaviest clothing item I carry.
The crossing that justified the weight came at the end of May 2024, on a solo loop up Chilnualna Creek in Yosemite. The creek was running with snowmelt, thigh high and moving, and the whole time I was in the water the current leaned on my legs. I had the Crocs on and my pant legs zipped off at the knee, so the creek only got the hem of my shorts. On the far bank I packed the wet shoes away, dried my feet, and put my boots back on. The next morning Chilnualna Creek was too deep and too fast to ford alone, and I turned around, which I wrote up in I Turned Around at the Third Crossing.
My pair has a bend in the sole that induces blisters. I think the bend comes from how I have carried the shoes strapped to the outside of the pack, so the fault may be mine rather than the shoe.
What works
- Great for river crossings.
- Closed toes for a rocky creek bed.
What does not
- My pair developed a bend that causes blisters.
- Twenty-four ounces is a lot for water shoes.
Open the Swiftwater Fisherman in Backpackers Friend
The link adds the Swiftwater Fisherman to Backpackers Friend as a small gear bundle with the weight filled in, ready to apply to the gear list of your next trip.
The trip kits in Backpackers Friend
The Swiftwater Fisherman appears in seven of my trip kits. Each kit is a real trip and opens in Backpackers Friend as a gear bundle with every item, weight, and quantity.
- Chilnualna Falls, May 2024A solo loop toward Buena Vista that ended one crossing short, carried with a tent instead of the hammock. 72 items on a 17.7-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Tahoe Rim Trail, Leg 1, July 2026The first leg of my loop around Lake Tahoe, with the hammock as my shelter. 70 items on a 19.7-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Solo near Mammoth Lakes, September 2024A solo trip out of Mammoth Lakes. 80 items on a 21.5-pound base weight, including the only iPad I have ever carried.
- Ediza and Thousand Island Lakes, September 2024Two nights in the Ansel Adams Wilderness with my backpacking partner. 79 items on a 20.5-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Ostrander Lake and Buena Vista, July 2024A Yosemite loop with a guidebook shortcut through an old burn. 75 items on a 21.2-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Young Lakes, June 2024One night at Young Lakes out of Tuolumne Meadows in peak mosquito season. 77 items on a 21.9-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Point Reyes in the rain, February 2024An overnight at Coast Camp with a close friend in steady February rain. 78 items on a 21.7-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
More clothing and camp reviews
Keep your own gear list with the trip
The gear checklist in Backpackers Friend weighs every item by category, charts the pack as you build the list, marks each item packed, and saves a list as a reusable bundle for the next trip. The checklist lives on the phone next to the route, the camps, and the offline map. The gear checklist is part of Premium, and planning a trip, drawing the route, and tracking the walk are free with no account.
