I started windsurfing in 75' and have always gone barefoot. But now....?? kicked foil water starting. It was my second time out and got a few 20ish second flights without crashing when this happened. Gonna be a week or 2 before I can get back at it. Pretty cool sensation floating over the chop. Looking forward to the learning curve.

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just perfect

DO NOT WATERSTART !
Beginers at wind foil shouldn't not even think about it. I still avoid waterstart, and it require to have thought about it : do not paddle but gently feel for your foil with your front foot, either step on the fuse or push the mast with front foot to control the board.
Beginers should NOT waterstart.

6u1d0 said..
DO NOT WATERSTART !
Beginers at wind foil shouldn't not even think about it. I still avoid waterstart, and it require to have thought about it : do not paddle but gently feel for your foil with your front foot, either step on the fuse or push the mast with front foot to control the board.
Beginers should NOT waterstart.

That advice might be a little restrictive, but (very) generally for a beginner if you're waterstarting, the sail is probably too big for the conditions (assuming a floaty board and a high lift freefoil).
Having said that, I wear Ripcurl 3mm Flashbomb booties, which are flexible and generally warm enough for Tasmanian conditions. Split toe, and soft/ thin soles feel pretty natural, but I wear out a pair in less than a year. About $100 a pair well worth it.
Cheers, Mort

I buy a pair of these almost every year - they will protect you a little and you still have a nice tight fit.

O'Neill Superfreak tropical split toe booties with arch strap long and lasting sole, 2 mm thick, thickness is important in a split toe boot, since the big toe pocket is snug fitting. Have some 3 mm split toe booties and have to tape both big toes to prevent irritation on the sides, and after 2 hrs they can start to hurt anyway. Can wear the Superfreak 2 mm booties all day without any irritation.

Also, be careful to not over tighten the velcro arch strap, especially on 2 mm booties, too tight and the sole will want to crease across the underside of the arch, which is uncomfortable since you stand on the crease. And I always wear compression pants to protect my legs from the foil, even with them managed to hit the rear wing and scrap my shin, would have been worse without. But then stuck a long strip of 2" wide black Gorilla tape along the shins of the pants as extra protection, has stayed on in salt water.

O'Neill Superfreak Tropical 2mm Booties work well too. I almost always waterstart and these have helped with the inadvertent brushes with sharp things. They are super grippy and that is helpful since I don't use footstraps now.

Beware that the grip may make coming out of the footstraps more difficult which could result in a bad knee or ankle injury. As everyone recommends.....keep your straps extremely loose.


us.oneill.com/products/4124-002-sprfrk-trpcl-st-bt