Paddlewisers, I paddle barefoot. With my feet directly in contact with the pegs, I am more in tune with the vibrations of the hull, allowing me to feel every ripple of water as it laps against the boat and know before hand how the kayak is going to react. Just kidding about that last sentence! However, I do like the comfort of being barefoot, as long as I have a pad under my heels. There is nothing like having my feet able to breath and being able to wiggle my toes, not to mention the extra foot room. My entire Southern California Grand Slam was done barefoot. Most of the beaches I land on are sandy. I even land barefoot on beaches that have smooth rocks. However, when it comes to sea caves and rock gardens, and beaches with sharp rocks, I slip on some footwear on the water before going into these areas. Duane Strosaker *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 26 Aug 2002 22:57:50 -0700, Strosaker wrote: >I do like the comfort of being barefoot, as long as I have a pad under my heels. Likewise, as long as I can maintain comfort for the temperature. ;) -- steen --- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Duane wrote: - >However, when it comes to sea caves and rock gardens, >and beaches with sharp rocks, I slip on some footwear >on the water before going into these areas. G'day, And sadly if you're kayaking near a city theres the syringe problem, which necessitates footwear:~( All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
wrote: "I paddle barefoot. With my feet directly in contact with the pegs, I am more in tune with the vibrations of the hull, allowing me to feel every ripple of water as it laps against the boat and know before hand how the kayak is going to react. Just kidding about that last sentence! However, I do like the comfort of being barefoot, as long as I have a pad under my heels." Dang you must have tough feet! I went years and years barefoot against foam extensions on the front bulkhead but my new boat has pegs. I like footpegs well enough but I wear Chota river boots to pad my tender soles. I walk barefoot a lot but the pegs are just too much.Yea the Kenyans run barefoot marathons too, so what, I wasn't raised in Kenya. I don't like the water that Chotas invariably bring into the boat, or the smell. or the corpse like condition of my feet at the end of the day, but I haven't found anything better. I love sandals on flat rocky beaches, or after working out after work on my local lake. As far as paddling in them or walking tougher country , I suppose if you had the right boat they'd be fine, and a large portion of the world goes into some real nasty country wearing only sandals so it's experience not necessarily a design flaw. Unfortuanately my boat are too tight for sandals. Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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