Well I pulled out the winter booties and had my first session on my strapless board.Cant say that im impressed with the lack off feel I have under foot for my board.I wished I hadn't put deck pads on the board,just wax.Any one got any good ideas for dealing with this,apart from putting straps back on??

+1 for ditch the booties. The water is not even cold yet anyway, you might be in some strife for July and August. Otherwise you could try waxing your pads.

wax the bottom of your booties?

i love boots on a board, I have greater feel and unparalleled amounts of grip.

Booties give much better grip than bare feet. I've never understood the lack of feel complaint. Exactly what are you feeling with the soles of your feet that you need to feel to be able to ride a kiteboard? Are you reading the board bumps as Braille?

just how do skateboarders manage lol

flemboyant said..

I wear skateshoes on a surfboard.. try it. you wont go back

Crocs work better for me.

haha I did a scientific test of this today on a waxed board, and I can confirm booties are cheating! cheating never felt so good...
I even reapplied the softest of wax which would melt at the thought of sun, and booties were still the go. I think I'll keep wearing them til I'm back in board shorts

That's it, im going to try waxing the soles of my booties.Will imform all on the outcome.cheers all for the feed back....

Hey Peter.Are they your winter booties???If so what brand are they and where did you get them from ???They sound like what im after..cheers

Two points -
1. Try the 1mm or 1.5mm booties, they thinner they are the more feel you have. The thinner ones seem also to have a thinner rubber sole so the effect is two fold. A bali style boot will feeel better but will be colder. The ones I have bought for Gnaraloo low tide and Sumbawa are definitely are OK in good size waves.(but will never be as good as bare feet).
2. I saw about a year ago in a kite mag that someone (UK based) was developing a kevlar sock stylee boot to deal with this exact problem. I have searched the web a couple of times since and never found the product for sale. Having gotten stitches in both feet from fin gashes and plenty of cuts from the G Spot and S spot i really wanted to try these. If anyone finds them please put up a post. they would also be of assistence when getting back into the water with a cut

gazman2 said..

Hey Peter.Are they your winter booties???If so what brand are they and where did you get them from ???They sound like what im after..cheers

I got the Quicksilver Neo Goo 2m Ignite Booties from their shop in Melbourne for $60 http://www.quiksilver.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12735130

Nice and warm and great feel (being 2mm) compared to my previous pair. The sole is quite flexible too, you can feel stones through it while walking.

There doesn't seem to be huge range of "winter booties" in Australia compared to the US, but the thicker ones they have would probably have inferior feel.

doonut said...
Vibram 5 fingers, gloves for feet type things for toes not fingers?

I wore a pair of these whilst kiting in Peru, more for getting in And out of the water not for the water temp