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Best Surf Booties of 2023

JUMP TO: XCEL 7MM DRYLOCK / PATAGONIA R5 / PATAGONIA R4 / RIP CURL FLASHBOMB 5MM / O’NEILL PSYCHO TECH / VISSLA SEVEN SEAS 3MM / O’NEILL SUPERFREAK TROPICAL / VISSLA SEVEN SEAS 2MM / BUYING ADVICE

The Short Version

The Long Version

Wearing a pair of booties might rile-up the purist hard charger somewhere deep inside of you, and yet, rocking a pair of booties can make the difference between a safe session and a pair of stitches.

While most surfers see a pair of booties as an opportunity to keep your feet warm in cold water, many might not realize that wearing booties is a staple in places throughout southeast Asia including Indonesia and the Mentawais.

 

Booties are a necessity in cold climates to keep you surfing better and safer for longer, and they are also useful in warmer conditions where you might have to deal with coral, rocks or other hazards.

 

So whether you’re planning to follow in the footsteps of Chris Burkard or Kepa Acero, a pair of booties should make their way into your board bag.

Keep reading to discover the best surf booties for any and all conditions! We’ve broken it down for you by expected water temp, so you can find the best surf booties to match your sticky bumps.

If you love reading this review of the best surf booties, then you'll likely love reading some of our other gear review pages:

Need To Know What To Look Out For?

From the reefs of the tropics to the frigid temps of the arctic, surf booties can serve a few purposes.

Unsure about some of the details and what to look out for based on your needs? Then be sure to check out our buying advice.

BEST COLD WATER SURF BOOTIES

WATER TEMP RATING: 32° - 38° F / 0° - 3° C

THICKNESS: 7mm

TOE STYLE: Round

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

XCEL is a longstanding competitor in the surfing wetsuit industry, innovating some of the first chest zip wetsuits (a near staple in the experienced surfing community).

So rest assured that their 7mm thick XCEL Drylock Celliant booties are more than guaranteed to keep your toes snug as a bug, even if you're surfing in Sheboygan…

 
 

Outfitted with all the bells and whistles, these booties are built from 100% XCEL-innovated Channel Flex neoprene. They have sealed seams and ergo straps to keep cold water out, and durable soles for tracking through the snow or crawling across barnacle-encrusted rocks.

For frigid temps, these cold water XCEL booties are without a doubt one of our top picks.

WATER TEMP RATING: 32° - 38° F / 0° - 3° C

THICKNESS: 7mm

TOE STYLE: Round

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

Patagonia is a trailblazer in the outdoor industry, not only in designing dependable products but also modeling sustainability in the manufacturing industry.

While Patagonia began as a climbing focused company, Yvonne Chouinard – Patagonia founder and author of “Let My People Go Surfing” – is a renowned wave rider and has shepherded his company into the surf community over the last decade.

The Patagonia R5 Yulex Round Toe Bootie is a product that perfectly embodies both of these aspects of the company. Yulex is a plant-based natural rubber alternative that Patagonia has championed into the surfing community. Sustainable, durable, and comfortable, Yulex is not only likely to be long lasting and flexible, but leaves a positive impact on the planet.

At 7mm thick, these R5 booties are build for frigid temps. And did we mention the thermal lining?! Taking notes from their time in the backcountry, Patagonia uses a combined polyester and spandex thermal “microgrid” to keep out moisture and keep in heat.  You might as well be throwing on a waterproof pair of UGG’s.

If you’re trying to keep your feet warm in just about any climate, and stoked on keeping our oceans clean, these are the booties for you!

BEST COOL WATER SURF BOOTIES

WATER TEMP RATING: 38° - 48° F / 3° - 9° C

THICKNESS: 5mm

TOE STYLE: Round

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

Another plant-based, sustainable and durable bootie from Patagonia. The R4 Yulex Round Toe Bootie is 5mm thick, making it suited to slightly less extreme cold than the 7mm Patagonia R5 bootie mentioned above.

Patagonia is known for leading their customers into remote and rough environments so you can expect these 5mm booties to keep you warm and comfy through the winter in most locations on the globe. That being said, if your surf commute includes snow, scroll up to the 7mm counterpart.

More than staying warm and comfortable, but you’ll be working to protect our oceans and outdoor spaces!

WATER TEMP RATING: 38° - 48° F / 3° - 9° C

THICKNESS: 5mm

TOE STYLE: Round

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

A brand formed through the collaborative minds of surfers from Southern California, Australia, and France, Rip Curl is a trusted brand in the surfing community whether you're looking for the best booties, wetsuit, stomp pads, or attire.

The Rip Curl Flashbomb 5mm Round Toe Booties are no different in that they're comfortable, durable, and warm.

Slightly sleeker than some of the other booties you’ll find on this list, and made with a super slim (0.8mm) sole, these are likely to form-fit to your foot making it easy to walk over uneven terrain both in and out of the water. You can’t go wrong with 5mm either!

BEST WARM WATER SURF BOOTIES

WATER TEMP RATING: 49 - 58° F / 9 - 14° C

THICKNESS: 3mm

TOE STYLE: Split

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

The true innovator in wetsuit design, O’niell has been putting out wetsuits for surfing and diving since the 60’s.

Jack O’niell, the famous Santa Cruz resident designed these suits specifically for the purpose of staying in the water to surf better and longer in the frigid waters of northern California.

The Psycho Tech 3/2mm Booties are made with O’niell’s signature technobutter exterior and interior for maximum stretch, warmth, and comfort. One of the few pairs of booties on this list with an O-ring seal, you know you’re dealing with a high level of sophistication!

Designed for warm water comfort and cool water safety, these booties are also perfect for cruising over sharp rocks or reef without a care. These might just be the best booties for you!

TEMP RATING: 49 - 58° F / 9 - 14° C

THICKNESS: 3mm

TOE STYLE: Split

ZIPPER: No

ANKLE STRAP: No

A newer brand on the scene, Vissla represents the environmentally focused creative side of surfing that we’ve seen blossom through the 2010’s. Sharing the spirit of the old-school surf community with a modern flare, Vissla produces surprisingly comfortable, efficient, and environmentally friendly wetsuits.

3mm is a tough thickness to really lay your finger on, like the difference between warm and cool water wax. So these Vissla Seven Seas 3mm Booties are ideal for a low tide at Trestles…

 
 

Or exploring a new break in your local community, where the water temp calls for a wetsuit and you’d be fine surfing sans-booties, if it weren’t for that gnarly bottom. Nobody wants an urchin spine in the heal!

Outfitted with flexible neoprene, thermal lining, and strapless compression panels, these are likely to form-fit to your foot without the additional ankle strap but may occasionally get a bit waterlogged.

Overall, these might be the best booties for warm water surfers – if you are certain you’ll still be rocking a wetsuit to prevent water-logging.

BEST TROPICAL SURF BOOTIES

O’neill Superfreak Tropical Wetsuit Boot

TEMP RATING: 58 - 72° F / 9 - 14° C

THICKNESS: 2mm

TOE STYLE: Split or Round

ZIPPER: (drawstring)

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

While these booties might be reminiscent of the water shoes your mom made you wear in the 90’s, the O'neill Superfreak Tropical Wetsuit Boot is hands down the best bootie for exploring tropical environments.

Low top, durable, and comfortable, these booties are designed specifically for keeping you safe in harsh environments. A general staple in anyone’s bag heading to Indo, you might just want to add these to your list for your next trip to Mexico, Central America, or even Hawaii.

While these may look a little goofy with your trunks on, you’ll be stoked to keep your feet free of reef debris. A great tool not just for protecting you from the reef, these booties can keep you safe in all kinds of environments while keeping you in the water surfing longer, faster, and better.

TEMP RATING: 58 - 72° F / 9 - 14° C

THICKNESS: 2mm

TOE STYLE: Split

ZIPPER: (drawstring)

ANKLE STRAP: Yes

Another ideal pair of booties for exploring tropical environments, the Seven Seas 2mm Reef Booties from Vissla are thin, durable, and designed for safety.

Famously marketed as… “for when the water is warm and friendly, but the seafloor isn’t”… it couldn’t be said any better!

Known for making gear that is low profile, comfortable, and “steezy” (to steal a word from skiing) these Vissla booties are calm, cool, and collected, just like you want to be regardless of where you’re surfing.

BUYING ADVICE FOR SURF BOOTIES

Why Booties?

While you may have just picked up surfing over the past few decades, we stand of the shoulders of the surfers who came before us.

Surfing is a sport that has existed seemingly for thousands of years and spanned cultures around the globe.

As surfing has progressed and grown into a global culture, we’ve seen countless innovation in surfing gear and equipment. Every innovation has been focused on surfing waves longer, faster, better, and safer. In fact the first pair of board shorts was invented to keep you free of splinters (where the sun don’t shine)!

As part of this evolution booties have appeared as a way to insulate your feet — not only from the potentially frigid water temps in colder climates, but also the unforgiving wrath of reef debris or rocks in warmer climates.

They provide you with additional peace of mind in situations where discomfort or injury might have been possible, allowing you to concentrate on the task you set out for — catching waves.

Materials

Wetsuits and booties have historically been made primarily of neoprene. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber product made from either refined crude oil or limestone.

As surfers, divers, fishermen, or fisherwomen for that matter, we rely on natural resources for our chosen forms of recreation and thus should be inspired to protect said resources. Neoprene production relies heavily on non-renewable resources and while it will keep you warm in the winter, is likely to contribute to rising global temperatures.

Some of the bootie manufacturers on this list are leading the way in sustainable innovation for the outdoor recreation industry and setting a standard for not only enjoying the outdoors, but protecting them as well.

Sustainable alternatives like Yulex, made popular by Patagonia, are finding their way into more potential manufacturers around the globe. But not without the purchasing power of consumers like you and me!

Bottom line, materials may not influence comfort - all the more reason to consider sustainability when purchasing your gear.

Thickness and Temperature Ratings

It can be tough to pick out your first wetsuit, or first pair of booties for that matter. It isn’t made any easier by the fact that temperature ratings can be daunting and confusing.

We’ve tried to make it easy here by breaking down the surf boots like your sticky bumps: tropical, warm, cool, and cold.

But even that might throw you off a bit. Temperature ratings for surf boots are a bit like sleeping bags – a bootie’s temperature rating is designed to guarantee survival and lack of frostbite, but comfort is a bit more subjective.

A quick and easy trick though… your surf boots should match the thickness of your wetsuit. So if you’re rocking a spring suit, you definitely won’t need 7mm booties!

Toe Styles

This again is much more subjective than scientific. If you’re not big on split-toed flip-flops, or you can’t stand a round-toed slipper, the toe style of your boots may be a big selling point. If not, plan on picking a pair that works for you.

It’s worth noting that for really cold temps, a round toe bootie will provide slightly better insulation than an equivalent split toe. So many 7mm models of bootie will only come in a round toe version, whilst warmer water booties will often have a round toe and a split toe model.

Ankle and Shin Straps

An ankle strap, more than anything, is meant for comfort but can also provide some stability when walking on uncertain terrain.

A shin strap can prepare you for a flood, if you’re planning on sporting your booties with trunks.

An “O-ring seal” — like found on the O’neill Psycho Tech 3/2mm Booties reviewed above — can sometimes be found in place of a standard shin strap. This is a simple standard rubber ring that forms to the shape of your calf to keep out extra water.

Caring for your Booties

After each use, be sure to desalinate your booties in room temperature water. If “high top” roll the tops of your booties down and rest them with the soles facing upward to dry. If “low top”, follow the same routine and be sure to dry after every use.

This will keep your gear from growing mold or falling apart. If you’re not already following this routine with your wetsuit, you can start today!

Expert tip: be sure to hang up your suit with a plastic hanger and if you can, duck tape two hangers together.

Finally, if you don’t have one already, get a rubbermaid tub to keep your gear in, and don’t leave it in your car!  Each time that you surf, keep your i’s dotted and t’s crossed by keeping your gear in a safe place that’s not too hot and not too cold.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There are a lot of authorities out there on surf gear and finding the best booties can be tough. But hopefully you found this round up review useful.

Each of the brands listed above are reliable, and have a variety of models that you can explore for your ideal conditions, needs, and comfort.

Of course don’t forget to get out and surf! What are you waiting for?!  Grab your board, your suit, and booties and head for the ocean!

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