I bought my Solite Custom Pro 3mm booties at the end of September and really enjoyed them, until the grippy material became smooth on both of them in the front and rear at the beginning of March.

I am not specifically blaming the booties, since I sup'd or sup surfed in them nearly every day, except for 10 or so days when I had to use 5mm booties due to the really cold air temps.

My average daily session is around 1.5 hours, so taking all of that into account, if one was surfing, then I can see how they would last multiple seasons / years. But I hardly ever sit down, so I am on my feet for around 90% of a session.

Are there any booties that can survive the abuse of SUP surfing, or is there a way to make them grippy again?

Sikaflex marine in dots or lines may work

justaddwater said..
Seb ,I only surf over reef,so I only get 1 season out of mine ,that has been consistent over the last 5 years,I might try the resole thing though ,that you suggested

I am not sure that there is a way to resole, hence my question. I cannot see how it can be done without destroying the booty.

My local reefs are slab and I try to not stand on them. This, I assume, is mostly from standing and shuffling around on the grippy deck pad. Could be a little bit from walking to the beach from the car and back too, but those are normally short distances for me.

slsurf said..
Back when I wore booties I would go thru 2 pairs a year, and barely squeak a year out of a wetsuit. Thats pretty typical for someone in the water a lot in my opinion, you should just accept these are a wear item and find the cheapest option that works. I preferred xcel.

I no longer wear booties, I think they are terrible for sup and cause a lot of foot strain and balance issues. I also stopped wearing them for windsurf but only due to risk of injury. I did like them for surfing and there are some days and places where you have no choice due to extreme cold or extra sharp tropical or lava reef walking.

Thanks for the insights. It's always nice to hear that "it's not just me".

I would love to not wear booties, but I grew up surfing where the water is currently 26 C and it's autumn there. Now I live where spring has just started and the water is currently 8 C and the air temperature has been ranging from -3 to 10 in the last few months. I mostly do dawn patrols, so I hit the lower ends of that spectrum in the mornings regularly and sometimes the ground feels so cold that it's sore to walk on without booties. You know there is a problem when ice starts forming on your paddle after a session.

I didn't realise this was a problem until I bought some new new booties and the grip was so much better, I just thought it was a better brand, then looked at my old ones and realised they had worn smooth.

colas said..
Note that the best grip I had with boots is with the Wetty, which have a totally slick sole... but in pure latex.
They may not be the most durable, but a good grip can be achieved with a slick sole.
Also they are so supple that they are as easy to remove as socks, hyper cool with numb fingers after winter sessions.

www.wettywetsuit.com/gb/32-surf-boots

And Noel Salas was really impressed with them:

Thanks for this recommendation - intriguing designs. In the mean time my new Vans booties have arrived. Once I have worn those out I am going to try these.

A simple solution that works well. Grab some superglue. Apply dots or lines wherever sole is smooth then a generous sprinkle of sand. Leave till glue is fully dry - needless to say.

Jeroensurf said..
I tried Wetties and they don,t last that longer as Atan.
They are bassicly an neoprene sock dipped in latex. Wetties ads an layer of kevlar, but as you are standing on neoprene you simply wear them out from the inside before the surface is gone.

I spend a lot of time in the water as well and live in the Netherlands-Northern Europe so from nov till now we need an hooded suit etc.2 sets of winterboots a year is quite normal for me as well. I always have 2 suits per season so I can grab always a dry one and only my summersuits last longer as 2 years. As SLsurf wrote: it's wear and tear gear and if you use it that frequent it won,t last.....but you will have heaps of fun being so much in the water .

I used socks in the previous winter and they simply wore through, but at least they were still grippy, despite the holes.
I hear you, however I had hoped more expensive booties would last longer, especially since there is nothing else wrong with them. Oh well, it is what it is.

I have had these low cost reef shoes for many years.
Neo Sport
Surf and paddle with them

They never fall off and don't have velcro straps..... keep me warm in the shoulder seasons.
Probably don't make them anymore, so you can't have mine!

Super grippy, even on new boards with no wax or pad

Slab said..
I wax the deckpad in the main standing areas..always have done..best grip.

Sounds sensible, but I've always hated dealing with wax back when I was prone surfing and I don't want to go back to that.

Gorgo said..
Is the actual grip less, or is it just the texture that's worn off?

I use my booties for years and years. The texture wears off but the grip is fine.

I am slipping off my board on these in challenging conditions and my front foot has completely slid off a few times during aggressive turns. This did not use to happen with these booties and it's not happening with my newer Patagonias, or my brand new Vans.

It feels pretty much like you have wet sand on your sneakers and are trying to surf skate. This is not something I recommend by the way, since it's how I fractured my hand last year.

slsurf said..
Phew thats cold, below 10 I'd probably be in booties also. Sometimes I strap sandals to my waist for rocky environments without booties if I have to walk a long way.

It's not all bad. I no longer have to worry about jelly fish and blue bottles and the cold tends to keep the crowds down too.