Comments about Fuse-ion:

I watched a lot of videos and read reviews of these shoes extolling the Ion Mask technology on these shoes and was really excited to try them out in the water. When I dipped my foot in the water the first time the shoes beaded the water off like a duck so I was hopeful. I walked around in the river/marsh for a few minutes and decided to get out and walk to another are where I could test them on some slippery rocks. When I got out of the water the shoes were no longer beading and the fabric was wet contrary to one of the descriptions of these shoes that says that the dry time is instant because the IonMask doesn't allow the fabric to get wet in the first place. Well, they got wet their first submersion and haven't even pretended to bead water since then. I wore them the next day while washing my car as another test and not only were they still damp from the previous day at the river but when I dribbled some hose water on them the water sunk into the fabric right away.

I guess since I am planning to use these as watershoes its not that big of a deal that they are in no way water resistant. The grip of the soles on the rocks seemed good so at least they deliver on that claim.

Like I said, I bought these to be used as water shoes but was expecting to be able to use them to slip on for short walks. On the short walk to the river the first time I wore them the heels of the shoes rubbed on the backs of my heels/ankles resulting in blisters the size of quarters on both feet. I guess this could just be because the shoes need a break-in period which I can forgive. The collabsible heel is a great feature but the back heel of these shoes is very stiff and odd to step on at first. Also, the fabric on the interior of the shoes is itchy. The grommets for the shoelace eyelets are burly (which seems like it should be a good thing) and they hit my toe at a joint and seem to dig in when my foot flexes. All of these problems could just be with my feet specifically because all of the other reviews I have read have been about how comfortable the shoes are. It could also be that others wear these shoes with socks, I sized mine to be worn without socks as they were intended to be worn. I was really hoping that these would be my go-to summer shoes at the lake where I am in and out of the water, canoe, kayak, powerboat, wet grass and dirt roads all day. I hope that I can break them in so that they are more wearable for me. Though I wouldn't reccommend wearing them for long walks on pavement as the soles are very soft and grippy and there was noticable wear after a short walk on pavement.

In the end the fit issues shouldn't as much of a problem for others(that is probably just my feet). I usually wear a size 8 but I have short toes so my arches are a different dimension than normal as far as I can figure and a 7.5 fit me better. I think that the Ion Mask is just a gimmick and should be ignored.

Comments about Fuse-ion:

I am a whitewater kayaker and bought these to wear on the river. I love them. They are super comfortable, and I get lots of compliments on them. They have great traction for walking along the river and climbing out of steeper take outs. They are much more comfortable and supportive than booties or most other water shoes. They dry out pretty quickly and do not smell at all, which is often a problem with river shoes. I like them so much I'm buying a second bigger pair so I can wear them with my drysuit!

Comments about Fuse-ion:

I bought these for a study abroad trip to New Zealand since we were told to bring water shoes and hiking shoes for all of the activities we had planned. They were great for hiking, caving, walking especially. They can be worn with the heel folded in, too. When streams in some caves had me in water up to my chest, the shoes were great for walking on rocks even though they were slippery for a lot of the other students. They don't drain well at all but I found that after having them submerged in water for a couple of hours during an activity, all they needed was 3-4 hours or so in the air to completely dry out. Plus none of the other students could tell they were for hiking and water since they're nice looking. I received a lot of compliments on them. It's also nice as a water shoe since your whole foot is protected; you don't need to worry about keeping your toes safe.