Footwear

Interested in this as well. I suspect there are plain old cheap options out there without "sailing markup".

I'm subscribed to this as well. I know that those vibram fivefinger shoes work well but they look really goofy! And they are kind of expensive.

I use Keen sandals. I love the rigid sole of the sandals when standing on my wings or the elevated tramp rail of a H16. They also cover and protect your feet and toes.

It's interesting to me that you like the rigid sole. I was thinking that i wanted a flexible sole to be able to grip around the rail on my H16.

When I wear my wetsuit booties my arches get tired and sore if on the wire very long. One advantage of the H18 wings over a 16 is the tramp wraps around the edge so you get better traction, unless you carpet the 16. I grew up sailing a 16, so I have a lot of time on both. I also have size 15 feet, so it might be my big feet don't work well with the skinny rails.

I like the Zhik ZKGs. They are very sticky and flexbile, they also drain water very quickly. The only thing that I don't like about them is that they tend to come untied easily. They also do not last very long wearing them on paved surfaces.

I saw the Zhik ZKG's. They are so cool! At that price I think I would only wear them around the boat though. I would probably get gruff from guys when I race on their J/24's for wearing what looks like street shoes on their decks. Damn multihull sailors... 😎

I go to Khols and get the 5 finger water shoes. At the end of the summer , they sell them for $15 . I think my wife had a coupon so I got 4 pairs for around $10 each. They last a season. Fantastic for trapping, very comfortable, they don't roll around your feet like neoprene booties. If I need to wear a dry suit, I grab my old tennis shoes , they work great. I live in the desert though, so they dry out pretty fast, ie, don't rot.

PurdueZach wrote: I saw the Zhik ZKG's. They are so cool! At that price I think I would only wear them around the boat though. I would probably get gruff from guys when I race on their J/24's for wearing what looks like street shoes on their decks. Damn multihull sailors... 😎

I mostly only wear mine while the sails are up. You can often find certain sizes on eBay deeply discounted.

after my Gill low-top boots fell apart for the 3rd time, i went with these sperry son-r shoes. they drain well and support and protect my feet, and don't telegraph rocks and gravel thru the soles.

http://www.sperrytopsider.com/en/son-r-sounder-sneaker/11146M.html?dwvar_11146M_color=0308320#cgid=men-shoes-water-sports&start=26
j

5 finger wet shoes looked/felt great, then when i used them realized a line could potentially get caught up between the toes!!

I wear a pair of Fila Skele-toes. They have a harder bottom than the Vibrams but this is not a bad thing most of the time.

nofearofflying wrote: 5 finger wet shoes looked/felt great, then when i used them realized a line could potentially get caught up between the toes!!

I intentionally tuck lines between toes especially when on the wire solo. Keeps them in reach.

5 finger shoes here also... Quite often I also have the traveler sheet or even the tiller stuck between my toes.. It is almost like having another set of hands..

Just make sure you get the ones with the Velcro strap over the top.. The slip on ones with the elastic will get ripped right off should your foot hit the water the very first time you wear them.

Love my five finger boat shoes.
I keep a granola bar by my little toe for later- haven't quite build up the flexibility to get it to my mouth, though...
As I get older, I am having trouble keeping the traveler line taught with my big toe, so I am looking at a Harken MicroCleat and wondering if #8 SS screws will hold the cleat to my distal phalanges (see http://www.drwolgin.com/Pages/footankleanat.aspx ).
I may have to move it further in and add a backing plate under the ball of my foot for strength.
I like having lip balm and a small tube of sun screen between the other toes.
It's as if I have a Bat Belt on my foot.
Anyone tried adapting a small Weber Kettle? 😉

Klozhald , what are you drinking!? And does the wife know?7

barefoot is my favorite for sure. only sucks when you fly off the deck in a peter-pan, or Indiana Jonesing-it while looking at the transoms

In the colder water months i wear full size dive boots with a zipper - thick

in warmer water i am currently wearing a $80 pair of water shoes (Sperry H20 Escape) that let water out and don't let much sand in (and no rocks or tiny shells that are everywhere here)

I had blisters in the past with Sperry gear, and again last weekend with these new ones but i will tough it out (and try to not walk through the muck and get foot infections again).

http://www.sperrytopsider.com/en/h2o-escape-bungee-sneaker/10689M.html?dwvar_10689M_color=1145516#cgid=men-shoes-water-sports&start=2

I used to wear the shorty dive boots in warmer waters but they don't let water out and make bad things happen to my feet - so i dont wear them any more

dhennessy wrote: What is your favorite sailing footwear for when you are on the wire?
Thanks,
Dan

Edited by MN3 on May 01, 2014 - 05:29 PM.

HAHA!

azcat wrote: Klozhald , what are you drinking!? And does the wife know?7

azcat wrote: Klozhald , what are you drinking!? And does the wife know?7

Of course not.
She's only on this forum once in a while, and I told her my screen name was azcat.
Is that bad?

klozhald wrote: [quote=azcat]Klozhald , what are you drinking!? And does the wife know?7

Of course not.
She's only on this forum once in a while, and I told her my screen name was azcat.
Is that bad?

Mine is never on here. I'll make sure it is(a bad thing)

I just received a couple pair of 6 mm neoprene booties from Divers Supply HQ, Macon, GA, for $20 /pr. Made in
Taiwan of course, but look reasonable, Velcro to keep zipper up, thinnish though grippy looking soles. Probably wear out about the time they get really stinky. Off to try 'em out, high teens breeze, 80 degrees and sunny, oh boy!!!