How to choose your surf booties

Choosing your surf booties or surf shoes is an important matter to consider if you surf in cold waters or rocky bottoms. Making a poor choice in terms of features or size can render our neoprene booties useless.

Surf booties serve a dual purpose, protecting us from impact against rocks and keeping us warm. There are high-top booties, low-top booties, and varying thicknesses.

We are going to explain here how to choose your surf booties based on several points

According to size:

Choosing the right size for your surf booties is as important and similar to choosing your wetsuit. The booties should always fit very snugly on your feet. If there is any slack, when you enter the water, that space will fill up with water, rendering the booties useless.

The first time you try them on should be like putting on a wetsuit—it may be difficult at first, but eventually, they will fit. This doesn’t mean that you should choose several sizes smaller than your own or forcefully stretch the material, as it could tear.

Therefore, we always recommend referring to the size guide provided by each bootie brand to choose the correct size.

A common mistake that many people make is that when they first see a bootie, they think it is too small because it appears noticeably smaller compared to their foot. This is completely normal since the bootie stretches like a sock or a wetsuit. It’s crucial not to fall into this misconception.

According to thickness:

Choosing a surf bootie based on its thickness will mainly depend on the water temperature where you will be surfing. It’s clear that if you surf in warm climates, you will need a bootie with a thickness of 1mm or a maximum of 2mm and a short cuff.

On the other hand, if you surf in cold climates with water temperatures of 13ºC or below, it would be advisable to use a bootie with a thickness of 3mm to 5mm and a high boot for better cold protection. This also depends on each individual and how sensitive they are to the cold.

According to its use:

Depending on the use we are going to give to the booties, we will need different ones. It will depend on whether you surf rocky waves, sandy waves, cold or warm locations…

If you are going to use them solely and exclusively to protect your feet from rocks, coral, or any impact, we recommend using thinner ones, 2mm or less in thickness, and low-cut, as there is no need to cover the ankle as much.

But if the objective is protection against the cold, booties with a thickness of 3-5mm and high socks will be used for better insulation.

Toes together / separated: There are two types of booties in this aspect. They can be booties with the toes together inside. But there is also the model with the big toe separated from the rest to have greater stability by being able to have independent toes. They are called round toe and split toe.

Round toe is when the bootie is integrated, and all the toes are together as if it were a shoe.
Split toe is when the big toe is separated from the rest. It can be completely separated or be a closed bootie with the toe separated internally.

Which one is better? It will depend a lot on personal preference. As a general rule, we can say that booties with separated toes offer a greater sense of stability and better feel with the surfboard. However, booties with the toes together are easier to put on and provide more warmth since all the toes are together.

Type of Fastening:

Like everything else, there are various types of closures and fastenings on booties. They can be like a simple sock without Velcro, have a Velcro closure on the instep for better grip, and some even have double closure on the instep and ankle to prevent the possible entry of water. Of course, the better the condition and features of the booties, the higher the price.

Things to consider:

When using booties, keep in mind that the rubber sole provides much more grip than your foot, so at times you may feel like your foot is stuck to the surfboard. Therefore, you don’t need to apply as much wax to the board if you’re going to surf with booties.

Since it is neoprene, we always have to take care of it just like our wetsuit. After finishing our surf session, it is ideal to rinse them with fresh water or use a neoprene cleaner and let them dry, as salt can damage and weaken the material.

After this explanation, we hope it has helped you in choosing the right surf booties.