What are people wearing on their feet for wing foiling these days. My old (30+years) Burke sailing booties need replacing. I have to walk through weeds and shell to get to deep water etc so need something on my feet that still allows feel and grip. Suggestions please.
In summertime Oneill reefshoes. in autumn Oneill Ninja 3mm, now when air is around 5-7C Oneill Ninja 5/4mmWhen its really cold: the thickest Atan I can find (6.5mm).
I've been wearing Patagonia's for a while now and love the feel and warmth but I can't imagine getting 30 years out of them!
I had 2 pair of solite, but even with the remodeling somehow they didnt work for me the heel was a bit wider making them moving too much. But they had a strong and thin sole.
I've had pretty good results from RipCurl Flashbomb booties in 3 and 5mm, and needEssentials in 2 and 1.5mm. I use the 1.5mm in summer when the sand is hot or if there are reefs around.
Wearing my shoe size is ok but if the boots get flooded they get a bit baggy. One size down solves that.
RipCurl were known for their excellent warranty support and people (including me) had stories of ancient wetties being refurbished or replaced for free. I upgraded my RipCurl boots and one pair the taping failed in a couple of weeks. It took two weeks and numerous emails and forms and visit to the local store before I was sent a replacement pair. I've had needEssentials replace wetties that were out of warranty quicker than that, and Solite immediately sent me some new boots after theirs had a similar (but less severe) peeling problem.
I have the Solite cold water boots in 3mm. You have to wear them with little sock liners for them to be comfortable. It's a bit of a mission to get the boots on without the socks getting pulled out of shape. The boots are very uncomfortable without the socks and feel like gumboots. The Solite are good but the needEssentials and RipCurl work just as well and are much easier to get on and off.
I think every brand claims to have an anti-bacterial treatment to stop boots getting stinky. I have found that none of those treatments last more than a week or two. The only thing that works is getting the boots perfectly dry. I've had various methods of drying boots that work, but recently bought a cheap boot drier that has four air pipes for two pairs of boots. I put one pair of boots on and hang the wetsuit so the legs go down the second pair of air pipes. It's still going strong and I have dry, non-stinky neoprene.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..
I think every brand claims to have an anti-bacterial treatment to stop boots getting stinky. I have found that none of those treatments last more than a week or two. The only thing that works is getting the boots perfectly dry. I've had various methods of drying boots that work, but recently bought a cheap boot drier that has four air pipes for two pairs of boots. I put one pair of boots on and hang the wetsuit so the legs go down the second pair of air pipes. It's still going strong and I have dry, non-stinky neoprene.
Turn them inside out to dry.
Select to expand quoteFaff said..
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Turn them inside out to dry.
I did that for a long time. It works very well. Only two problems with it.
One is it's a bit of a fiddle to get the boots inside out. Not impossible, just an effort, particularly on the 3 and 5mm boots.
The other is that the internal seams don't like being inverted. Eventually the glued section of the seam comes apart. They can be re-glued but even that is a nuisance. Since using the boot drier I've had dry, non-stinky boots and a dry wetsuit and the whole process is much easier.
I used to hang the wetsuit over a heating duct. That's only really practical in winter and bits of sand and water can be a little messy. We've recently upgraded our heating and now it's just easier to hang everything out to drip overnight then move them to the laundry and turn on the boot drier. The boot drier doesn't use as much power as the heating system.
Select to expand quoteGorgo said..Faff said..
...
Turn them inside out to dry.
I did that for a long time. It works very well. Only two problems with it.
One is it's a bit of a fiddle to get the boots inside out. Not impossible, just an effort, particularly on the 3 and 5mm boots.
The other is that the internal seams don't like being inverted. Eventually the glued section of the seam comes apart. They can be re-glued but even that is a nuisance. Since using the boot drier I've had dry, non-stinky boots and a dry wetsuit and the whole process is much easier.
I used to hang the wetsuit over a heating duct. That's only really practical in winter and bits of sand and water can be a little messy. We've recently upgraded our heating and now it's just easier to hang everything out to drip overnight then move them to the laundry and turn on the boot drier. The boot drier doesn't use as much power as the heating system.
I just buy O'Neill 3mm ninja boots when they are on special and replace them every year.
