Shoes?

[treeboy]

Hey,
Its geting kinda cold around here now and ment to be the coldest winter for ages. I hate wearing normal surf booties when i'm riding and its even worse now ive seen the light and gone strapless.
Ive been thinking about going down the neoprene socks and trainers route, like wakeskaters. Just wondering if anyone has much experience of riding a skim like this? Gonna loose alot of 'feeling' of the board i guess but cant feel much in boots anyway.
Should i splash out some cash and get proper wakeskate trainer or just drill some hols in the bottom of a cheap pair
Cheers guys

Its either that or getting full closetoe bindings anf heading to the darkside

[mattv]

I always were water shoes as we have lots and lots of coral. Just today I got into a very large patch and the wind died so I had to walk out, luckily I had on my shoes. I will take a pic and post.

mattv
http://www.kitesurfinfo.com

[chanson]

If you have pads on your skim then I think the shoes feel a little werid. It seems like you are too far off the deck..
But if you have grip tape, or just wax Iit works fine..

I use booties on the skim when we winch around here b/c my skim has tons of pads all over it...
Gman swears by his shoes, skim and surf, but he's a wax guy...Not sure about the cold water though...pretty sure he swithes to booties...

Our buddy Gene was rocking the neoprene socks with some Chuckie taylors last weekend...His skim has grip tape.

For the wakeskate I have an older pair of Reef shoes that have no laces, just slip on's with an inner sock thing...
Yes, I drilled holes in the bottom to drain out the water.. Works just fine.
I would say that officially the shoes that have mesh sides work the best for draining the water out.

[treeboy]

Thanks for the replies, think i will give a pair ago and see how it goes-might try to get my bros skim as he is on wax not pads.
Chanson are you winching into shore break or the flat?-we are planning on getting a winch and hadn't really thought about using the skim.
cheers

[chanson]

treeboy,

We have done both. Although we haven't gotten our coast spot dialed in yet.. But there is unlimited potential.!!

Yes, the skim on the winch is sick.. You don't have to go as fast, and it's great to hit sliders and hone your skim skills...
We sometimes go in a river with current, so you can plane even easier!!

[treeboy]

Sweet photo!
Definately inspired on the winch trip-better start saving or building

[Lonny]

That is a super cool shot. The lighting and surrounding scenery definitely give it a fall/cold water feel. Plus what could be cooler than getting pulled by a winch on a home made slider on your skim. NICE!

[treeboy]

Finally got round to giving the trainers ago today, a year on! I think its the way forward feels way better than booties for sure. Just need some neoprene socks and im good to go for the winter.