booties... for your feet!

I have two pairs that I specifically bought for surfing places with lots of rocks in the water. One pair just goes up to the ankles. The is a split for just the big toe, kind of like mittens. It has two straps two secure them to your feet. I've haven't worn them surfing yet.

The other pair I have worn a lot are the Xcel 1.5mm Round Toe Reefwalker Boot. These are easy to put on, but do feel a bit loose and I think powerful wave could steal 'em. Water gets in them and they probably do very little to keep your feet warm. Well, maybe a little if the ground is really cold and you have a long walk.

I've had the split toe in the past and liked it more than the round toe.  I'm seeing booties now that have an internal split for the toe but the outside of the bootie is rounded so you don't catch your leash.   I don't remember ever catching my leash by accident, but I will grab it with my toes sometimes when paddeling to pull it up going through some salad.  I guess I always thought of the split toe as being a balancing thing.  But they plug it like its an insulation thing.   Don't know how isolating your toes would keep them warmer.... ???  Wearing a tall boot with a snug top inside your suit would seem like the best way to keep them from getting flushed a lot.   The straps on the feet suposedly help with keeping them from ballooning... Does anyone have experience with the soft sole booties? I don't.   They're supposed to help you feel the board more, but to me it sounds kinda flimsy.  I'd take them off at the water and put them on at the water but I would hate to tear them up runing around on my board.... I guess I don't tear my feet up... maybe I'm being paranoid.

yeah i thought that the split toe was for better balance. i mean that is what the big toe is for anyway.

when you say soft sole do you mean it's just neoprene and no rubber? like fin socks for bodyboarding?
i can't imagine that would work good for surfing.

and yeah seawolf that is what i hated most about booties. they grip too much.
when i used to ride a short board i'd move my feet around a lot. when i wore booties i had a hard time doing that.

I bought my first pair of booties last winter, a pair of XCEL Infiniti split-toe booties.  They're pretty damned nice, keep my feet nice and toasty, but the more surfing I do in them, the more I'm realizing how thick the soles are.  I have barely any feel for the board, and both times I've gone surfing with them on, I've felt like I was learning how to surf all over again.

I suppose I'll get used to it as times goes by, but it's still super awkward for me, and it's absolutely frustrating when you wipe out on a perfect wave because you couldn't adjust in time to make a decent bottom turn or cutback.