I bought a cheap pair of neoprene booties/shoes from a surf shop. I had them out this past weekend and found that standing in the sun in the black neoprene shoes, that my feet felt like they were burning.
Can I paint the neoprene? Or otherwise change/lighten the color of them?
Neoprene Booties
I bought a pair at REI for about $25 and had the same problem. I cut the tops off to make them almost slipper size and that helped with the heat a lot. If you need the full size to work with dry-pants, then this won’t help, but if you just need foot protection for wading, then it works.
Can you spell
sandals? (think I spelled it correctly) Tevas or such.
Haven’t found a sandal I liked.
I haven’t tried many, mostly due to my wide feet.
I like the booties, just not the heat from the sun on the black neo. It’s truly the top of my foot - right above my toes that feels like it’s burning.
It’s just the black in general.
These are about ankle high - which I rather like. It’s just the top of my foot, right behind my toes. The sun beats down on there and it gets burny/uncomfortable.
Plus, I’d rather not cut them to be able to wear them into spring/fall.
If they are cheap, you can certainly
see how painting works. It might damage the neoprene and may reduce the elasticity of that part of the shoe.
Standing in the water might help as might facing away from the sun letting your legs shade your foot.
Or you might step up to a thicker shoe which will provide more insulation for heat and cold. If it heats your foot up that quickly, it’s not likely a good insulating shoe to start with and may be too thin for winter use.
jim
Good input
They’re definitely cheap. Standing in the water, they’re fine - but, we have paper work and stuff to go over before we head for the water. I’m chuckling, but it never even dawned on me to turn around and let my legs do the shading.
I’m not planning on wearing these into winter. Last year I got away in spring/fall with a cheap pair of neoprene socks that I had someone make for me. They were nice and kept my feet warm, but they just didn’t offer any sole protection.
How about Crocs or a knock-off?
Pretty wide,flexible,and good water shoes.
Be careful of some Teevas
Teevas that have neoprene and fabric—like the Omnium—are marketed as water sandals but they take a very long time to dry—mine take 48 hours indoors.
My $8 Walmart crocs are very comfortable and take a couple of minutes to dry. They protect your feet against the foot pedals. They might not be that great on slippery rocks. But my Chota Mukluks, although I love them for cold weather and cold water, are pretty bad on slippery rocks also.
Sandals get rocks in them = pain.
I can’t stand to paddle rocky/gravely streams wearing sandals.
Was never able to find crocs that fit right - most of them would also get rocks in them.
I just deal with the hot, 6" neoprene booties all summer and leave them outside in the sun to dry and destink.
The old Teva Protons had mesh uppers
– Last Updated: Aug-17-09 7:53 PM EST –
I liked my first pair so much I bought two more pairs when they went on sale later. I figured it was a sign that Teva was changing the style for the next year, and they did. No more mesh in the new Proton. I am using a pair of the newer style this year; they are not as nice as the airy mesh version. (Really glad I stocked up.)
Warmers made a similar booty, though it had thinner soles. Worth looking around to see if you can find a pair of these, or even a leftover pair of the mesh Protons.
Have you tried cheap mesh water shoes?
I like them better than sandals for warm weather paddling. They’ll last a year or two depending on use. I’ve bought them at Target for about $7 or $8. Mine have a removable liner, they dry fairly quickly, and the sole is not too thick. I wouldn’t wear them to scramble over rocks, but for shore and water use, they’ve done quite well and are light and comfortable. -wd
Keep them wet?
That should cut back on the overheating issue.
Of course they are hot
They are made of wet suit material. the reason you wear a wet suit is to stay warm. You would not wear a wet suit is 90 degree weather. You would over heat. Same with the boots.
It’s summer
It’s summer, of course they are hot!
Try LL Bean’s Summer Sneakers. Best summer paddling footwear I’ve found yet.
I tried that at first.
Sesame Place - very cheap (but expensively priced - bastages!). My biggest issue is I have extremely wussy feet - I felt everything that I walked over.
Yanoer, exactly same here (nm)
.
Wish I could.
But we have a fair amount of time spent at our shed doing paper work and gear assignment AND I’m too lazy to change shoes. (grin)
@ice & @brian…
It’s not general warm that I have issue with. They’re fine in the shade. It’s just the sun beating down on them.
And, Brian - I’ve tried the LL Bean sneakers - they rub my feet wrong, right above the toes.
White spats
That’s what George Raft and I used to wear back in the day.
You could also pull thin white socks over the booties. Walmart has a kevlar-spectra sock that should stand up under routine portages.