XCel Infiniti Drylock 3mm booties

I love booties. Period. I never surf without ‘em. Like having warm feet. Like sticking to my board better. Like being able to run over the reef at Millers without cutting my feet to shreds.

Been test driving my new Xcel Infiniti Drylock booties for a few sessions now, so thought I’d throw up a review for fellow footwear lovers.

These puppies are legit. Hands down the best booties I’ve had on my feet so far. Booties can be bitches. They’re often a total hack to get on and off, and Xcel have solved this problem perfectly. No more too tight entry seal and busting your fingers trying to wiggle your foot in.

There’s this clever system called a Drylock entry. Basically it's an extra panel of stretchy neoprene at the top of the boot that's curved inward slightly making for a narrower, more watertight entry. 

The inside of that neoprene upper also has several tiny lines of non-slip traction that prevent it from sliding around on your leg.

No more annoying Velcro strap around the lower calf area to keep water out. Plus there’s this flipping clever lil pull tag on the heel – which lets you just grab and yank, so you can pull the bootie on super easy.

Easy in. Easy out. Big points for that.

The inside of the bootie has a ThermoBamboo lining which is fancy way of saying it’s a recycled fiber infused with bamboo charcoal (literally burnt up bamboo that's embedded into the fabric) which has natural anti-microbial characteristics. This means less bootie stink, and better heat retention. Warm ‘n fuzzy with no pong. Yeh……

Loving the toe set-up. The toe box is split so you get separation of your big toe from its 4 mates, but the sole itself isn’t split. That means you can’t get the leash caught between your toes. Major plus. Cos that happens often on normal split toe booties, and is annoying as hell – cos invariably happens on the best waves!

The sole has an interesting design, cos Xcel has gone for the right balance of not too much rubber that you stick like sh*t to a shoe, but just enough so you get lekker grip whilst still retaining plenty of feel for your board and flexibility. Yet they still offer enough protection to let you sprint over the reef without having to worry about sharp bits and mussels. Millers at low tide…no problem.

Kiff lil grippy piece of sole extends up on the outside of the forefoot, which probably helps heaps for sticking airs when you’re dragging the board with your front foot. I wouldn’t know. I can’t do airs. But Jakes says his Infinity Drylock's work kiff for airs. And Jakes does kiff airs. So we believe him!

The sole area on the inside forefoot has some grooves cut into it, which allows for more flexibility for those that like to move their feet about on the board.

The forefoot Velcro strap tightens the bootie up nicely round your midfoot area, so they feel super snug and supportive.

The bootie itself is warm as toast cos it’s quadruple-glued and blind-stitched seams means no water leaking in.

Construction is top class and it looks like the reinforced stress points will mean the bootie can take some abuse and not start falling apart on you. Built to last methinks.

To be honest, I'm pretty much sold on these Drylock booties. They are definitely the warmest, most watertight boots I've ever used. And a big plus is that they’re super easy to get on and off.

My one gripe would be for some unexplainable reason Xcel has an odd sizing system going on, where they only have even numbered sizes. So you get a size 8 and a size 10 for example, but they don’t make a 9. Weird. But you’ll most likely find a pair that fits just right anyway.

That strange anomaly aside, these things are as lekker as hot buttered toast with peanut butter. Go grab yourself a pair and be warm this winter. And if you’re a lightie – get em cos you can stick bigger airs!

Available at the Billabong shop in the Boardwalk and Surf Centre on the beachfront.