Time for new winter boots. Atan again?

[BudhaNl]

Atan with split toe for me, I have a decent walk to the beach but because of the split toe I can use an old and large pair of flip flops and thus save the sole untill I have inflated my kite and laid out the bar .

I do need to use straps (haven't yet) to prevent the rolling down.

[deecaldwell]

Note I run Solite boots in Europe.

Ankle strap runs around and under the heel (only brand that does this) idea is to give a more connected feel.

Idea behind internal split toe is to not lose to much warmth but keep the improved balance/feel.

cheers

[Mikkelza]

I use the very same 3 mm Mistral here in Denmark all winther, used the Miboot from Atan, the first years.
Both are sufficiently warm here in Denmark where water is not below zero, and still great barefoot feel.

Thicker and it feels wrong to me.

[CUT]

Peter

I Guess it is fair to mention that Peter is a viking when it comes to cold water. I prefer 6-7mm boots (and mitts) here in Denmark..

[NorCalNomad]

Note I run Solite boots in Europe.

Ankle strap runs around and under the heel (only brand that does this) idea is to give a more connected feel.

Idea behind internal split toe is to not lose to much warmth but keep the improved balance/feel.

cheers

As much as I love the moldable bottom unit of the Solite boots the strap location REALLY needs to be improved.

It sits too high and angles too reward therefor does not help to lock down/ stabilize the navicular bone of your foot. Containing the navicular bone is one of the most important parts of shoe fit when talking performance. The Xcel Drylock booties have one of the best strap locations for this. Also as a shoe with such a stretchy upper having the strap effectively anchor under the heel also allows it to rotate around your foot much more (like when you're resisting the pull of the kite when you're on the sand).

Before anyone tries to poke holes in my critique of the strap location. The knowledge of navicular containment is something that all high performance shoe manufactures/ bio mechanist know about. They have years and years of data to back up the direct performance benefits of containing the navicular. And it's not just a problem for my foot. If you overlay the strap on drawing of foot anatomy it misses by a large margin.

I've used both the xcel drylock and solite booties for years kiting surfing and regularly surfing. This problem doesn't present quite as much when regularly surfing since the forces (especially laterally) on your feet are much lower for kiting.