What's the best warm weather water foot protection available?
If you're like us, you want as much board & strap feel & grip as possible, but also want foot protection in case your spot's ingress/egress is rough or there's a chance you'll have to eject somewhere less than ideal for bare feet.
We've tried most of the booties out there, the thickest to the thinnest, and some are pretty good. But a few years ago we saw a friend wearing something totally different. FYF socks. Of course we zoomed-in & asked what are those? Socks made of Dyneema to protect your feet & replace booties we were told.
Back then they were kickstarter only, so we ordered some & waited like 8 weeks for them to arrive from the UK. When we got our hands on them, they looked kind strange, wide & flat and a bit stiff. We were skeptical. Are these going to fit well? Are they going to stretch enough to get on & off but not too much that they fall off or move around? How well will they protect our feet? Are they going to last?
Well fast forward about 3 years & we love them! Yes they fit well. Yes they stretch & move enough to get on & off. No they don't stretch so that they get loose and move or come off, even during the hardest bails. Yes they protect our feet from just about the gnarliest conditions out there.
We're had to emergency land on super sharp reefs, on aggressive shell beaches, deep mucky marshes, and much more and they've always held up and protected our feet. We’ve used them kiteboarding with straps, kitesurfing strapless, on a hydrofoil, SUP, kayaking, sailing, surfing, windsurfing, snorkeling, free diving, & just straight-up exploring where we want foot protection but not excess bulk & heat.
There was one instance where we did get some foot injuries. In the Caribbean we ended up walking in on a reef loaded with sea urchins. Loaded. Low tide and breaking waves, we had no choice but to carefully walk in. No matter how careful, urchin spines did end up in feet. We're fairly confident that w/o FYF socks on the damage would've been much worse, and we also believe 1mm rubber booties would've let spines through as well, b/c we've done it.
To FYF's defense, they make it clear that their socks don't protect against needle-type punctures, and given the nature of the Dyneema weave, it makes sense. How could they? So we don't see the sea urchin incident as a failure at all, and we know we faired better than if we had bare feet, and similar to if we had rubber booties.
How do they feel? That's where they really shine. They feel amazing. Really. Once you're in the water any awkwardness instantly goes away. They find a way to mold to the shape of your foot, and stay there. They don't get heavy, they don't bloat of fill up, they don't slide or bunch. In some cases the texture even adds grip over bare feet.
When you're done a session most users hang out with them still on. They don't look dorky. They don't feel like anything. They don't hold water and funk your feet up. Unlike with rubber booties, unless it's super cold, the first thing you want to do is take the booties off.
So yes, we love our FYF socks. For watersports where you want minimal bulk protection, especially in warm climates, these are it.
We also want to mention that they have first class customer service. We had an abnormal wear issue on one pair. We contacted them, got a pleasant human response, and with minimal back and forth they sent us a replacement pair. Our wear issue was on an early kickstarter pair, and we believe their current product to be improved & have seen no similar issues.
We're not sponsored or supported by this brand in any way, we simply see & use so much gear, as do our pro athletes, that we like to share about good products so that others can up their game & not be held back by suboptimal gear. Feel free to let us know any questions or comments below.
Adventure Well.