"Fred Klingener" wrote in message
...
"Robert11" wrote in message
...
. . .
b. My No. 1 Question: Which makes more sense for me in a cold water
environment:
boots that are totally waterproof (with I presume wool sock underneath),
or the skin divers wet neoprene approach ?

The answer is that there is no answer.

If I have (rare) certainty that I'm not going to swim or step into a hole
while managing or tracking the boat, I'll wear rubber boots and wool
socks.
As a practical matter this usually only happens on day trips in the sun.

I use NRS wet boots (with thickness to match the season and latitude) the
rest of the time and deal with the discomfort. I haven't tried zoomy
products like GoreTex socks, but I don't have high hopes for them. Having
comfortable, insulated rubber camp boots helps a lot.


....stuff deleted

Having cold feet isn't a life or death issue, for the most part, though it
is a comfort issue. I've found that I can walk barefoot (uncomfortably, I
might add) into water that has floating ice in it. Given my druthers, I'd
wear my diving booties in such conditions. I've used booties for kayaking,
but on a multi-day trip, this leads to rather negative foot conditions (at
least in my case). I don't like the rubber boots, though many seem to prefer
them. Neoprene socks are ok since they are more easily removed and dry
quicker than booties, but the same foot issues remain. Wool or polypro socks
under some type of shoe (cloth deck shoes, for example) are more
comfortable, for me, than most other options.

Rick