Trident is well pleased to finally tackle this subject. What to wear on one’s feet while surfing hardly seems to count as science, but we’re here to shed some light on this subject. ‘Coz simply put, despite what one may think – there’s actually a buttload of science involved here. Although it’s unlikely no mainstream science publication would be caught dead using the word buttload. More’s the pity we scheme. But for all we know, they use buttload buttloads. More power to them we say.
Anyhow, using the word buttload several times already has distracted us from the other part of the human body we’re discussing. Feet. And what surfers should be comfortable with in terms of putting on them.
That’s cold man.
Straight off the bat; let’s assume your local spot is somewhere on the Atlantic seaboard. As we SA surfers know only too well, the water on the Weskus is colder than Putin’s poephol. Thus, surfers in that part of the country simply have no choice. Wear warm booties or risk losing one or two of their favourite toes to frostbite. On the West Coast, boots and hoodies are essentials. Nobody would wear a surf hoodie to look cool, believe you me.
So; cold water equals extra neoprene on more than just torso, arms and legs. In colder waters, you need additional rubbery black garments on your hands, head and obviously – your feet. Although, everyone has different levels of cold tolerance of course. Trident certainly has witnessed some surfers in more rubber than at an S & M convention while others blithely mission about in boardshorts while icebergs bob around in the water.
That’s sharp man.
Nonetheless, cold water is a big part of wearing booties. The other major factor is sharp reefs. And assumedly apart from the attendees at the above S & M convention, nobody – and we do mean nobody – can actually enjoy the rock dance which is so often part of surfing. On your paddle out to surf or post-surf coming back in, it’s like standing on a million lego blocks. Booties here are universally welcome. Yet, they may cause severe over-confidence. Sure, you can laugh at your bootie-less mates as they clamber awkwardly over rocks like lobotomised crabs, but booties won’t stop you from twisting an ankle or worse in those nasty ass holes in the reef.
So here we are. Booties are purely practical for two of surfing’s most significant issues: cold water and/or sharp rocks. So what about performance? Trident ain’t convinced about them at all, but that’s just us. This is due to the fact that once you’ve planted your feet on your board, they’re about as easy to remove as your clingy, codependent ex against whom you have a standing restraining order. Attempting to readjust your booted up feet after your initial takeoff is moeruva tricky.
Then of course, there are those surfers who swear by using booties. Indeed, many actually claim to prefer the superglue-like suction it creates once you’ve popped up on your surfboard. Which Trident feels, is a clue for a very old article right here; how to stick to your board.
What do you personally feel, folks? Are you a firm supporter of booties, or do you prefer your feet au natural, reef cuts and loss of sensation (and toes) in freezing water be damned? Tune us.
