Booties - really?

[Flyingseb]

I can’t stand not adding my 0,02 cents. What’s the matter? Booties are “uncool”? They prevent riders to get proper board feeling? Or is it a macho thing like “nah, I don’t need these”
In more than 30 years of ocean water sports, I’ve injured my feet so many times, seen other doing the same, that I don’t even bother NOT wearing booties or shoes, anytime, anymore.
Frankly, that is just a question of little time until you get accustomed to them.
No fear of rocks, glass debris, fin cut, fish sting, even hot sand.
Bonus: I feel more confident in the grip I get, that I’m succeeding at much radical takeoffs, while surfing.
Why trying to prove that it is better without, although it can save so many from being kept out of water because of injuries?

[Nem0]

I never thought that this would get to a topic but over the 20 years of kiting - booties are the least durable parts of my equipment. I typically go through more than 1 set a season. I tried all mayor brands by now and some are a little less worse than others. None are good. Mostly I have a hole in the sole. Others fall apart somewhere else. My distance from car to the spot is a 2 -3 min walk. That can’t be it.

The soles they put on are super duper thin. I get the idea of getting a good feel but this is just nuts. As a TT and foils rider I don’t need thaaat much feeling on my toes.

Am I the only one who would like to get more durable boots / goods ? G

Give this a try https://soliteboots.com/

[supachip1]

i hoped this was a different type of 'bootie' thread ! (sad emoji)

[Peter_Frank]

I can’t stand not adding my 0,02 cents. What’s the matter? Booties are “uncool”? They prevent riders to get proper board feeling? Or is it a macho thing like “nah, I don’t need these”
In more than 30 years of ocean water sports, I’ve injured my feet so many times, seen other doing the same, that I don’t even bother NOT wearing booties or shoes, anytime, anymore.
Frankly, that is just a question of little time until you get accustomed to them.
No fear of rocks, glass debris, fin cut, fish sting, even hot sand.
Bonus: I feel more confident in the grip I get, that I’m succeeding at much radical takeoffs, while surfing.
Why trying to prove that it is better without, although it can save so many from being kept out of water because of injuries?

Well, it is not a matter of being cool or not, it is simply personal preferences and riding spots, and nothing but that.

Noone is judging one or the other, with or without booties.

But we cant help having very strong individual likings as to how we enjoy the full surfing experience - which can be extremely different.

If you have a record for cuts, and ride where it is quite "risky", booties are the thing of course.
If you dont have had major issues, and ride (or choose to ride) where it is less likely, most seem to prefer without booties.

Just like whether you prefer to wear a helmet or not - personal preference and what makes you have the best overall experience.
Here it is the very same, noone will judge you for wearing a helmet, or not.


Reality is, that most prefer bare feet when good conditions for this.

Which means, booties are often chosen very thin, on season occasions or spots where needed.

And this is what this thread is about, how to avoid wearing down your booties fast.

Of course one could pick a 7 mm boot with a super hard sole - but most dislike these, so it is a quite important factor to understand why many like thin booties, and we should protect these the best we can against wear - and how we can do that, and how long they last, is what this thread is about - not whether to use booties or not

Peter


PS: An unknown fact for many, but it is the reason we see very polarized opinions on whether to wear booties or not, so would share.

If you have had a serious foot injury, you might wear booties after this incident, all the time.
Or not - again personal preference and judgement.
Historically you learn kitesurfing with booties, because you dont have focus on what you step on, you might get dragged, and often learning in low water spots with higher risk.
Makes perfect sense.

During my 45 years of surfing I have noticed a very distinct correlation -

If you are used to booties, and go without, you get cut a lot, and much worse, than those not using booties.

Why is this?

Well, because you got all the wrong "reflexes", if used to booties, meaning -

You lose awareness of where you step off your board, and you just step down hard.
Whereas used to barefoot, you will become very aware of the "ground" at your typical surf spots, and when you go ashore in either unknown sea bottom or where you know there are shells and stuff, you step down really careful letting the kite take all the weight, or you let yourself fall slowly backwards (or forwards) in the water instead of feet first, so you can feel the bottom now, thus no cuts.

These reflexes are soooo intuitive when you have learned, but not something you can just "do", without lots of time and practice.

[Zurki]

Has anyone else experienced foot cramps when using booties on a twintip? This happens to me after only a few minutes and only when using my 3mm booties. Not sure if it's an issue with my bindings (Nobile click&go gen2) that seem very tight even in the largest position. Seems strange to me because I own the M/L size which should fit from 43-48 and I have size 43. Also this happens only when wearing booties. Or is it maybe related to the cold water temperatures?
I get similar cramps on my wrist from the 5mm gloves but not as much as my feet...I wonder if it's only me.

[Matteo V]

Has anyone else experienced foot cramps when using booties on a twintip?

If your feet are a bit wide, and your booties are a bit narrow, then the pads/straps can exacerbate a poor bootie fit. For me, TT pads/straps are uncomfortable especially on my wider right foot, whereas my surf straps on my directionals are not.

[Grizwald]

I have found an old pair of cloth high top running shoes work better than most booties. You can usually find several pair in any thrift shop usually for less than $10. They last better than any bootie I have tried, they don't have the straps over the top that cause spot pressure on your foot or get caught on the bindings and if you wear them with bright red socks you are creating a fashion statement that can only Billie can match. The downsides are they don't keep sand out which can accumulate and rub and they are not the best for super cold water.

[Matteo V]

These reflexes are soooo intuitive when you have learned, but not something you can just "do", without lots of time and practice.

Yes, dainty..... you can train to be that way. I'd opt for a more straight forward approach, by just wearing booties. And that approach allows you to react quicker to the actual things that really matter, instead of unnecessarily exposing a vulnerable/essential part of your body and having to add more steps/techniques to the task at hand. And thus with booties, you can focus more on kite control, launching/landing quickly, and other much more important things than tip-toeing around on the beach or making sure your butt touches before your feet.

The helmet thing is very much similar. All modern kite safety systems require you to maintain conciousness to operate and manage them. If you get knocked out, you are more of a danger to yourself and an extreme danger to innocent beachgoers. All the while, wearing a helmet costs you nothing in performance.

So why no booties and why no helmet? Because you are trying to be cool. Personal preference is not applicable here. That's more for TT vs surfboard, big kite vs small, 144cm TT vs 140cm TT.

[iriejohn]

. Personal preference is not applicable here.

What utter judgemental bollocks.

Of course personal preference is applicable!

On my beautiful local beach, exactly why would I bother to wear boots?



Https://images.app.goo.gl/FaZSDGZVa2w5XiB5A

[Matteo V]

On my beautiful local beach, exactly why would I bother to wear boots?

1. Broken bottles

2. Fishing tackle

3. Other flotsam

4. And the fact that a severe cut on your foot takes you out of kiting for a long time.

Booties turn out to be a session saver......it is your choice, but it's taking an unnecessary risk to go without, which gives you no measurable benefit. So it's not preference, its fashion.