I'm wondering if anyone has substituted dive gear for surf gear, booties in particular. They seem a hell of a lot cheaper, never thought to try them. I know they have solid soles and a side zipper, but are half the cost in some cases online. My biggest expense in surfing is winter gear. I'm lucky to get 2 seasons out of booties and gloves, and have gone out with mismatched gear many times to stretch my dollar. I have a shed full of winter crap that smells like pickled cabbage, time to clean house and contribute to the economy.
What?? Have you no sense of fashion?? You cannot wear mismatched gloves!!! What are Paris, Toronto, and London fashion houses going to say?? It's just too horrible !!! Humor aside, boots with side zippers--never tried them, but ALWAYS wanted to. Not because of lower cost, but just because of ease of removal after 2-3 hours in frigid waters, standing/sitting at the back end of the Outback, struggling to get booties off, freezing my tush off. Maybe I will someday, manik, maybe I will.......
Get your money up, invest in solid equipment, and take care of it. I spent 500 4 years ago for whole winter suit gloves boots etc..still going strong
My dive boots are big and bulky compared to my surfing boots in the same size. They're only designed to swim in, inside a dive fin. Surfing boots are designed for mobility and sensitivity. I hate boots... it's the worst part of winter surfing, IMO. I'll sometimes step on my toe and trip myself up on takeoffs.
Gloves are worse for me--hate them!! The one thing that trips me up is the leash as it sometimes coils around both ankles . Bail out time!!
So? Buy a new pair of boots every 2 years. I mean they cost around $70 for a good pair. ($35/year). If you think that's expensive try skiing for a day.
If so, don't tell the world that--we already have enough morons surfing......make them go skiing, which, as we all know, is very inexpensive, and the coolest sport ever, don't we?/ And for the summer, what can be cooler and less expensive than hiking, more hiking, and even more hiking. And besides, the ocean is full of sharks with big scraggly teeth.
What I learned from SCUBA diving years ago is to take of your gear, and it will take care of you...last longer too. It's pretty basic: Rinse out gear, inside and out, with fresh water, after each use. Hang up to drip dry. Don't make a habit of urinating in the suit. (There's actually been "pros and cons" threads on on this topic) Use a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar on booties and gloves, let soak for an hour or so to help control the bad odor. An electric boot dryer can be used for both. Now that I'm surfing, one of the first thing I notice is whether or not another surfer is wearing dive boots... ; ) I don't mind wearing boots with soles. I have tender tootsies. I still recall the sea urchins, barnacles & mussels, and jagged rocks in Calif...sometimes even rusty metal. Wearing gloves I don't particularly like...but it's better than freezing. As the season cools, I go to a thicker full suit, adding boots, hood, and finally gloves...in that order.
I have a pair of Xcel Drylock gloves XL 5mm and 3mm in excellent condition if you are looking to purchase some gear
I prefer to pay conservative prices. Unless a store is liberal with their sales. But, if the sale is liberal on a conservative price then you get the bi-partisan bargain!
I know a dude who wears boots with zippers. Don't know if they are dive boots or what. Some brand i never heard of. But they look nice. Seemed pretty similar to excel/rip curl/oniel yada yada. Just with a zipper instead. Pretty sure he said he got them on wetsuit warehouse.
I agree with you Barry, I'm curious about the zipper for easy in, easy out. My booties always start to rip in the back above the heel from trying to muscle it off before hypothermia sets in after a long session. I do rinse my gear, first thing I do when I get home. I just seem to go through a lot of booties and gloves. The cheapest booties at the local shop were 80 bucks, those same booties were under 60 a couple of years ago, that had me looking online and checking out dive boots. Even Dicks Sporting goods had 5 mil dive boots under 50 bucks. Anyways, I am a cheap bastard (but not that cheap Zero), I pinch pennies to spend on travel, or the local strip joints(those girls need to eat too). If I try the booties and they work out, I will post
A squirt of non-chlorine hot tub sanitizer (biguanide based) in a bucket of water will de-sink any booty... or bootie.
1) if your ripping your booties getting in and out, your doing it wrong. Don't get me wrong. I get it. It's a pain when your numb. But yeah, your doing it wrong. 2) going through booties or gloves and even wetsuites in a season or two is pretty normal. Is all that stuff expensive? Yeah. But if you surf allot you'll wear them out quicker. I wish they were cheaper too. But it is what it is. Just cough up the cash or quit surfing. If you find something cheap that works, good on you. But i do question the quality. There's deals out there but i generally believe you get what you pay for. The ripcurls and oniel and excels have been here forever and all makes quality products. Gotta pay to play
