Not that I will get any slack from my eastern triathletes but the water in southern CA is starting to chill down, soon to hit 60 and below. While swimming the other day (squid lid on), after the initial shock, it was OK. But my tootsies were getting a bit cold. Do any of my cold water comrads swim with booties, like the ones surfers use. I tend to drag my legs when I swim in the ocean.
Watch out when running in the snow back there!!!
Thanks for the help!
Steve
A couple of people have mentioned swimming with booties and I think it might be difficult.
Most wetsuit booties have some kind of stiffish sole that holds your foot in a 90 degree, standing orientation. I think they were designed for other watersport use, such as jet skiing, SCUBA or rafting. when you try to point your toes to swim it sort of doesn’t work, the sole of the bootie want to keep your foot at 90 degrees to your ankle- like when you stand normally.
There are a couple companies that make a (about) 2mm neoprene 2 sided sock intended for use inside cycling shoes. They are like socks in that they have no real sole. That might work better.
In the military we had these little neoprene shoe/boot thingies we could wear inside our swim fins and then still run in once you got into an airplane or on land or a slippery steel deck. They worked awesome. I think Teva made them. Nike also makes some kind of thing like that which may offer some insulation.
I am hoping to do Alcatraz next year, so this question is timely. My understanding is that booties are considered the same as a wet suit, so that they would be legal so long as they didn’t exceed 5 mm thickness.
As a Florida boy, putting some rubber around my tootsies before I jump into SF Bay sounds like a good plan.
Is this legal and what would work best? Where could I find them?
I tried to use some wetsuit booties for a very shallow river swim a couple years ago which involved a hundred meter or so run in the middle of it, b/c I was worried about cutting my feet. I bought them small so they would be tight, a size 8, and I wear a size 12. As soon as I tried to swim with them, I felt like I had ankle weights on, literally like several pairs of wet socks. It’s possible that there are some that are more swimming specific though.
You can also poor hot/warm water down your wetsuit before entering the water. The warm water should keep the initial cold water out… I did this at treasure island(SF bay) and it worked great for my body (56 degree water) I didn’t feel a thing… Except my hands and feet freezing off =(
Art, I’ll try booties and see how they work. The water here is between 57 and 60, not real cold, warmer than up north. One thing I can surely vouch for is a squid lid. I have a mega mellon and lose much heat from it! I feel way more comfie with it on. How about some northern ca swimers, do you folks wear booties when you swim off Santa Cruz?
Have you tried using “Seal Skins”? They are waterproof socks that are made of a neoprene material. Kind of thin, but still better than nothing. I use them XC skiing in case I drop through thin cover into a stream in the backcountry, soaking my socks and freezing my feet. I got mine at REI. They work pretty well but I’ve never tried swimming in them.
Cheers, Karma in SF
For the record I did get some surf booties. They have a split toe so are like flip flops, there is bootie between yout big and 1st toe. They also have a strap around the ankle and lower calf. They do not take on water. In a race they might be tough to get off
I have some neoprene socks that I got from Pro Motion in Hood River OR and I don’t even notice them when swimming. My piggies are nice and toasty when I’m done. My open water swims are done in the mighty Columbia River where the water is around 52 degrees when we start our open water swims. Brrrr…
The guys at ProMotion are great and I bet they could have a pair to you by this week.
Mmm. I like the idea of nice warm feet. And hey, in case your hands get cold too, how about a pair of these:
I am also doing Alcatraz and looking for a foot cover. This months “Inside Triathlon” buyers guide shows a Blue Seventy Swim Sock for $22. I went to the web site blueseventy.com but could not locate the sock. Have any of you found this sock or tried it?
I live in Canada and have swum with booties - no problem. They do not have stiff soles, but are just made from flexible material similar to wetsuit. I think that I got mine fron Quintana Roo - can’t quite remeber. Tip, to stop them filling with water, make sure that the tops of the booties go UNDER the bottom of the legs of your wetsuit.
Saw the same thing in Inside Tri, anybody finds them & tries them needs to post their thoughts.
I regularly do open water swims with a pair of aqua socks…but they aren’t meant for keeping my feet warm. I wear them so I don’t have to worry about gashing my foot open on something on the bottom or the lake…and because it’s better to step on the bottom of a squishy lake bed with (essentially) a pair of shoes than it is barefoot (ewwww).
Here is a link to a surfer bootie page, The split toe keeps less volume to collect water, the higher bootie goesunder your wet suit. The strap and tight fit really keeps lots of water out. I also bought mine 1 size small. They do work very well. It is a strange sensation not feeling the water on your feet when you swim though
I am doing alcatraz and I think I will wear my booties. It might take 30 sec to get them off but I won’t have numb feet! and I am such a cold water wus! so instead of 3:30:00 I will do a 3:30 30!
http://www.boardco.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1522&cat=O'Neill+Booties
I’ve posted on this subject before due to a nasty puncture wound to my arch suffered at the Alcatraz swim exit. At a minimum go for a thin neoprene sock; both the REI available ones or the new swim specific ones (Blue?) would be good.
A thin soled Aqua sock type thing would add some foot protection for the hidden sharps that inhabit many open water beaches and jetties. Gots to protect the feet if you want to run strong.
Numb hands are a given though for me. Very hard to do a good catch when your fingers won’t work 