Shore diving question...booties?

[DustyC]

You guys are scaring me. I am headed to Bonaire in June. I have open healed fins with dive booties (not so sturdy rubber soles). I put on a pair of very low profile crossfit shoes to simulate some of the thick soled shoes discussed above. The shoes do not fit in my fins very well (there is plenty of room with my dive booties). Do other folks dive with "regular booties" or buy a pair of "bonaire shoes and fins"?

i wouldn't dive Bonaire with anything less than a vibram sole, or heavy duty dive boots. The iron shore can be sharp. Especially at Oil Slick. @Akubli wore standard sole booties on our first trip. For 1 dive. Learned that lesson fast.

 

[BazzazR1]

You guys are scaring me. I am headed to Bonaire in June. I have open healed fins with dive booties (not so sturdy rubber soles). I put on a pair of very low profile crossfit shoes to simulate some of the thick soled shoes discussed above. The shoes do not fit in my fins very well (there is plenty of room with my dive booties). Do other folks dive with "regular booties" or buy a pair of "bonaire shoes and fins"?

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Bonaire, did mostly shore dives including Oil Slick, La Dania's Leap, Hilma and so forth..
I own these booties; Seac Sub Basic HD 5mm Boots and they were perfectly adequate, will be using them again this june on Bonaire.

 

[oldschoolto]

I'll take video of me kitted up walking around on the iron shore of oil slick with my soft rubber soles...

Jim...

 

[diver0008]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Bonaire, did mostly shore dives including Oil Slick, La Dania's Leap, Hilma and so forth..
I own these booties; Seac Sub Basic HD 5mm Boots and they were perfectly adequate, will be using them again this june on Bonaire.

My old car seemed perfectly adequate. Then I got a new one and realized what a heap it actually was.

 

[tursiops]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Bonaire, did mostly shore dives including Oil Slick, La Dania's Leap, Hilma and so forth..
I own these booties; Seac Sub Basic HD 5mm Boots and they were perfectly adequate, will be using them again this june on Bonaire.

From the link: "The Seac Basic HD 5mm Boots are a flexible sole dive boot"
This is enough to tell me the linked booties are not adequate.

 

[DustyC]

I'll take video of me kitted up walking around on the iron shore of oil slick with my soft rubber soles...

Jim...

i thought my bunkers from 1998 were adequate too. The ones i retired out of in February showed me what junk they were. You may get away with it, but that doesn't mean it's the best option.

 

[Damselfish]

Obviously snorkeling fins with socks won't work most places in Bonaire other than hotel docks and such, unless she does the Tevas to the water thing and straps them someplace while snorkeling, maybe to an empty weight belt if she's not wearing some kind of vest. So this has gone on for pages but is there any idea if the person in question is willing to return what she got and get something else? If not there's little point. All you can do is tell her to bring sturdy waterproof sandals so she can do the swap thing, and she can sit out any sites that don't work for her.

While it seems more people are fans of heavy soled boots, I agree lighter soled tropical booties can be a viable option, even if they probably won't last as long. Being able to feel your way more and finesse it a bit can work well. This may be even more true for someone snorkeling rather than heading across the ironshore with heavy gear. Maybe a little less comfortable than heavier soles, but I tend to think this can work better and be safer than the sandal option, with less likelihood of tripping or trashing your toes.

 

[boat sju]

If jorgie hasn't bailed out of this thread yet I'd suggest getting the sturdiest boots you can get comfortably into your fins. I wouldn't want to by new fins prior to Bonaire - that's asking for trouble all it's own.

My booties are similar to what tursiops, divad, and Jim are talking about. They're fine. You've got to be careful either way. I've seen people with some really sturdy boots doing some really stupid things at entries and exits.

 

[BazzazR1]

From the link: "The Seac Basic HD 5mm Boots are a flexible sole dive boot"
This is enough to tell me the linked booties are not adequate.

Maybe for some they're not

I've done 51 shore dives on Bonaire on bare feet, and the last 26 I did on the above mentioned booties, they were perfectly adequate for me.

 

[BazzazR1]

My old car seemed perfectly adequate. Then I got a new one and realized what a heap it actually was.

I get what you're saying, but if there's no pain or discomfort what is there to improve upon?