I am an intermediate windsurfer (almost non-beginner anymore) and a shoe size of 10.5 UK, 11 US, 45 EU.
I have been windsurfing with windsurf/sail boots, but find that my coordination with my feet is lacking. On a 69cm width board I can't really place my feet how I like and the feedback from board to feet is not at all great I sense.
Do you all wear boots (which? Better ones?)?
Kind regards Thomas
easier to slip in and out of the straps without boots and you have a more positive feel to your board
no boots for me 
I use Atan boots, they give a good feel, have no seams to hinder getting in/out of the straps.
Oneil are good but only wear them for foiling or rocky beaches, you will have a better feel for the board without boots. You will have to tighten your footstraps if you go barefoot 
always no boots for me, but i don't live in a very cold climate. booties are like frangers on your feet
Boots have a better grip. Especially if the board surface is a bit worn out.
After being stung, first by a flathead , then by a cobbler, I started wearing them, but have found that sometimes they get stuck in footstraps just when I move to gybe, causing some interesting "freestyle" moves.
No longer wearing them, but would take them with with me to places where stonefish, flathead and cobblers are plentiful.
I hated boots for decades but had to start wearing them in dodgy locations. I bought the really thin Excel and got used to them after a couple of sessions.
Depends where you sail. If like Moreton Bay you have oysters, barnicales, shellfish, razor fish and rocky bottoms then for many, boots are essential. They also protect you feet from accidentally kicking your foil or weed fins when water starting. If you want the best feel, I found two brands that work really well. Atan and Ion. Both have a similar concept of neoprene with a very thin layer of latex or rubber on the sole of the boot.
Always get a very snug fit. I normally wear 44 shoes but buy 40/41 boots.
www.ion-products.com/en/products/ballistic-toes-2-0-external-split-48230-4310?variant=42569101344968
www.atan.fr/en/produit/boots-surfing-windsurfing-kitesurfing-diving-atan-madi/
Select to expand quoteJohn340 said..
Depends where you sail. If like Moreton Bay you have oysters, barnicales, shellfish, razor fish and rocky bottoms then for many, boots are essential. They also protect you feet from accidentally kicking your foil or weed fins when water starting. If you want the best feel, I found two brands that work really well. Atan and Ion. Both have a similar concept of neoprene with a very thin layer of latex or rubber on the sole of the boot.
Always get a very snug fit. I normally wear 44 shoes but buy 40/41 boots.
www.ion-products.com/en/products/ballistic-toes-2-0-external-split-48230-4310?variant=42569101344968
www.atan.fr/en/produit/boots-surfing-windsurfing-kitesurfing-diving-atan-madi/
I get them a roomy fit so my toes don't get crushed . With the Oneill's you have a velcro strap over the foot and you can tighten that to stop your feet going forward.
Best with out boots (if its safe) but a sock and sole type one designed for windsurfing if you do have to wear some, eg Neil Pryde ones.
Worst injury I ever got was wearing a boot (split toe surfing style pair) completely got stuck in strap during a gybe attempt overpowered and ripped my foots internals apart badly. Lisfranc injury.
I love sailing without boots. I even more love not slashing my feet on coral, or feeling the delightful ouch of a Box Jelly tentacle on my foot...so for the last 12 years it has been boots for me and I really feel weird sailing without them nowadays. If you need to protect your feet boots are a great option and you do get used to sailing in them.
Like so many decisions in windsurfing, wearing boots is down to personal choice and your local sailing conditions.
We have stoney, pebble beaches here where I sail in the UK but I never wear boots until the water is really cold, in the winter months.
At that point, for the south coast of England from late December or early January, I wear 2mm or 3mm summer 'shoes' rather than boots.
If you do wear boots then try and use the 3mm type, rather than the 6mm ones. Pick ones that have then soles, and which won't jam your feet in the straps. Make your footstraps wider for when wearing boots or shoes.
The issue, as with gloves and neoprene hoods, is really about the trade-off between feeling warm and how much a layer of rubber can disconnect you from the board and from the moment.
Obviously, if you are windsurfing in temperatures of less than 10 degreesC, then being warm means you can sail for longer.
Many sub-tropical beaches (e.g. Florida) have little coral pebbles that will cut the daylights out of your feet. Boots are recommended.
I used to sail barefoot until I cut my foot badly, struggled to drive back home and had to get stitches...
Been using Atan "socks" for more than 15 years now, 3mm in the summer and 6.5mm in the winter. As there is no hard sole you still feel the board well and there is nothing that can catch in the straps either.
Boots for me, less slip on the deck during transitions and you can really jam your foot into the straps so less likely for your foot to slip out during rotations. Personal preference I guess.
If you want to make it easier to break your foot wear booties. If you would rather cut and scratch your feet go barefoot and wear slippers for the walk thru the parking lot.
Select to expand quoteslsurf said..
If you want to make it easier to break your foot wear booties. If you would rather cut and scratch your feet go barefoot and wear slippers for the walk thru the parking lot.
You've left out the third option, wear sock like protection (e.g. Atan) and then save your feet from both types of damages. :)
In the Oz summer you also need to consider sun protection. You put it on your face but forget the melanoma farm on the tops of your feet and sunscreen on your feet really doesn't work.
As many have said, it depends very much on where you windsurf. I never wore boots till a few Maui trips, then it made perfect sense with the coral. The Rip Curl "Reefer" booty is good. 1.5mm sole and mesh top. Now I am used to them, I wear them all the time - even in Sydney. I'd agree, getting in and out of footstraps is easier in bare feet. But up here in FNQ, with murky water and coral, booties are the go.
Our local season are cold water conditions. Might be a balmy 25C onshore, but you need a full 3/2 or 4/3 and for me booties. Numb feet have less feel than bootie footed. Our last high wind day forced all of us into 5mm booties. Once offshore about a kilometer the big seas churn up the 5-10C deep water.
Only boots I wear now are the Solite brand. 1mm outsole, thermo fitted. I purchase a full half size down. The thermo fitting stretches the boot allowing for a comfortable and firm tight fit. The seal minimizes flushing better than the various other boots tried over the now decades of windsurfing.
Just ordered their summer 2mm Reef 2.0. Same seal as their bootie vs. the old cinch cord. Plus they added a urchin barrier layer, but still 1mm outsole with 3-4mm thermo molding insole. The original pair used have torn at the heel pull on strap area. Plus the cinch cord doesn't really seal out sand and small stones.
Expensive. Not the most protection against sharper rocky surfaces, but good traction. Except on steep muddy surfaces.
Side note: wetsuit calf flushing. 3 different makes of 3/2 suits. Billablong, O'Neil, and Mystic. All of us when no boot or short summer booties end up with flushing up the calves. Problem is water doesn't completely drain out. Bit annoying. Wearing the Solite boots has eliminated the flush retaining. We don't remember this happening last season when the suits were brand new. Side effect of modern supper stretchy neoprene ?
I wear the tropical boots for all the mentioned reasons. Except this: stonefish, flathead and cobblers. We've got sharks and jellyfish and rays and all that kind of normal sea stuff. I even have an impressive scar from an oyster slicing open my calf muscle 30 years ago. But we live in a petting zoo compared to all the things that want to kill you in Australia. So, yeah, boots. Don't love them, but need them.
Coming from a similar place: sailing 2 years, easy time getting in and out of the straps barefoot but once the weather turns (or at places that you need the seabed protection) boots are a must. Last fall I was very iffy getting into the straps, so didn't do it much once the boots came on. This year I got a bit better so have no issues getting OUT of the strap to the point where I got serously freaked out and hurt both toes the other week stuck in a crash on a gusty day.
Initially I tried making them just as narrow as the boot, but quite tall. I found that really sketchy as I'd only made two runs but couldn't pop my foot free to gybe either time. Went back to the beach and made them much wider, to the point where the strap is ~25mm wider than the boot. I could see issues with top end control, or with the foot sliding in all the way and getting stuck, but I found it far far better and enjoyed sailing more once I realized I could always get my foot out. Board is a RRD Firemove 135 with the straps all the way out and back. Hope this helps!
Boots always. Too many hazards on the bottom where I sail.
I've always liked ion booties but like the ONeil's they only last me about two seasons before I wear a hole in the bottom. I bought a pair of those heat moldable Solites boots last winter, they are warm, comfortable and have held up pretty well so far. The solites also have a internal split toe that doesn't dig into the skin between my toes like the ONeil's do.
