What do people wear over attached dry suit socks?

[Dave B]

1. Just purchased the Kokatat Swift Entry hydrus dry suit. Plan a shakedown hike ( not float) to Zion Narrows in January. What do hikers wear over the thin attached socks?

[Luke Schmidt]

I think my friend Ben wore neoprene socks over them at one point. Good to think about because packrafters tend to be harder on their drysuits than other people.

[dirtbag]

You could go with something like this.. i have a pair. They are pretty good.

[dirtbag]

Those are good for walking and portaging also..

I mostly just use a pair of NRS neoprene boots, they are discontinued now, but they are pretty much same as the Freestyle ones.

[Philip Tschersich]

If you are going to be walking over mossy/algae covered rocks you probably want dedicated wading boots with sticky rubber, tungsten pins, or aluminum bars. If slippery rocks aren’t an issue, you can just wear any old non-waterproof light hiking boots you want. I like over-the-ankle ones to keep silt and sand out better. A relatively tight fabric weave helps in this regard too. My favorites are the (now sadly discontinued) Merrell Altalites:

I have also used Vasque Breeze (non GTX) and Salomon X Ultra Aero Mid (again, non-GTX). You just have to size them (up ~1/2 size) to accommodate the extra fabric layer of the drysuit sock.

[edvin mellergård]

The built-in socks deteriorate quite quickly and starts leaking :(

I started wearing neoprene socks after my first Kokatat socks started leaking after ~30 days on the river. That has helped alot. Thicker ones for day trips and thinner socks when I’m hiking with my packraft.

Then trail runners with sticky rubber to get good grip on wet rocks. If I’m on a trip where we’ll hang around alot in the camp I bring dry camp boots, some ul swimming shoes from aliexpress. If I want to go really lightweight I bring Exped VBL socks and wear my wet shoes in the evenings aswell.

[David Thomas]

I spend a decent amount of time in waders with attached neoprene socks.

I use my oldest pair of retired low-cut running / trail shoes with the insole taken out (for more volume).  I find they give me good traction, protect my feet from sharp or large rocks (easy to stub your toe when your feet are numb) and protect the neoprene from wear and tear.

Due to the back & forth of the tide, fish swimming by, etc; I double-knot the laces to keep them from working loose.

[Chad Lorenz]

NRS neoprene socks are the way to go, and they seriously extend the life of your drysuit feet. I also spend a fair bit of time hiking in mine during cold/wet weather, when I’m not wearing the drysuit. .5mm Hydroskin socks last me about 30 days of tough use, 2mm Wetsocks easily go twice as long before getting holes. I’ve experimented with thicker (I think they were called Expeditions?) but found I’d rather have thicker wool socks underneath the drysuit for warmth, and rely on the neoprene to extend the life of my drysuit. My feet don’t get blisters when hiking in them, but as always, YMMV. The hot new shoe in the whitewater guiding world is the LaSportiva TX Canyon if you’re in search of a capable hightop.

[Dave B]

Thanks all for replies. Think I’ll try a thinner pair of neo socks -2 mm – and see if they fit in my 5/10 canyoneering boots. But I fear I didn’t upsize night when I got them a few years back. Backup will be 5mm into a large very very worn pair of lone peaks. Thx all and I reread!

[Ben Brochu]

Glad to hear I’m still your friend ;). But yeah I’ve worn neoprene socks over drysuit booties for 10 years. Then Astral Brewer kayak shoes. Have never had a hole in a bootie. Also keeps the oversized booties from making hotspots and giving blisters.

[Dave B]

Again thanks all.  Tried booties. No way on trails. That lasted one very short portage. Dry suit and old pair of altra lone peaks were perfect for mid May boundary waters trip where I had to walk up current also in several sections. The structural sole made a huge difference on .75 mile muddy rocky portages.

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