There is not a whole lot to say about gloves and booties. They go on your hands and feet. Ok there is a bit more to it than that. I haven’t worn gloves in a long time and I remember the old style neoprene type that were half finger length. Booties have always been something that I’ve worn in the winter when it’s cold while I was surfing. I didn’t like wearing booties while foiling because my feet would slip around in them as I tried to shift my weight. I learned to just suffer with the cold in order to have the ability to put my foot down properly on my foil board. I recently was looking for some gloves to see if I could increase my power in order to get into the waves a little sooner. While I was searching the internet I found these Darkfin gloves. I was looking through their website and then discovered that they also make some booties. These are new discoveries for me. If you are like me, booties are nice to have on your feet to keep you warmer and to protect your feet. The problem is when you are up on foil they are terrible. They make it hard to feel the board and even harder to adjust your foot. These booties solve those issues. The gloves are for paddling and not for warmth.
The gloves are made of the same 1 mm rubber. The great thing about these gloves is that they’re designed for a paddle stroke. The way they connect the webbing to the fingers is towards the dorsum or back of your hand and this allows the water to catch in between your fingers and then accelerate between your fingers. The first time I used these gloves my shoulders were sore at the end of the session. They require more power with each stroke and really help you accelerate rapidly when paddling for wave. These gloves like the booties are nearly impossible to get on when your hands are dry. I found that it was best to actually put them on with my hand underwater and they would slide in nicely. I have used the full finger as well as the half finger gloves. I like the half finger gloves for the increased feel of gripping things, but the full finger gloves definitely give you the most power with each stroke. The gloves are designed to fit you snugly. The website has a chart that you can print out and measure hand against. I would recommend that when you do that measurement that you take the exact or slightly smaller size to fit your hand. I initially got a medium and the glove did fit me, but it felt a little bit too loose and when I got the next size down, I was much happier. Once you get the glove on in the water it feels much looser than when you first put it.
These are the same 1 mm rubber as the gloves that wrap around your foot. They do not provide much protection from rocks, but they do blunt the sensation enough to make it easier to walk out in the surf with them on. The best thing about these is that when you are up on foil you can feel your feet. You can roll your foot a little to put some forward pressure and what you are doing translates to the board. When I would wear regular booties my foot would just slide sideways in the bootie instead of relating the pressure to the board. The other great thing about these is that if you want to take them off you can just shove them in your suit since they are so thin. I used them to walk over some reef in Hawaii and I was able to just shove them in the shoulder area of my wetsuit top and then foil normally, but on the way in I would just slip them on and be able to walk over reef without killing my feet. Also I had protection from the hot pavement on my walk back to the hotel. They are good to have on a trip and pack light. Size wise I am a size 9 shoe and wear the 8-9 size. They still feel a little loose in the water. Go small. They say to put them on with water or some sort of lubricant and that is true. Trying to put them on your dry feet is an act of frustration, but they will slip on in the water easy. These booties will not keep your feet warm, but they do give you an extra layer of warmth in the cold. I would not use them in freezing water, but in Southern California winter water they did help.
Overall Impression
I think that Darkfin makes a great product. The gloves are a nice addition to have. They work great in big waves and when the surf is small. It is nice to have some extra power to get into waves on either end of the spectrum. I think the best application for the gloves for foiling will be in downwind foiling with the new longer prone downwind boards. I see that some of the guys are using plastic paddle type hand paddles, but the Darkfin gloves fit you better and give you a better power stroke. They also don’t look so odd as the big plastic hand-paddles. The booties are great for the mild protection you may need walking out over rocks or reef. They allow you to feel the board like your feet naturally would. They also are easy to get on and off in the water and allow you to store them while foiling in your suit and then you can put them on again when you’re ready to go in. They do provide a slight amount of protection against the cold but are not designed to help you in really cold water. Both products are worth having in your car when you hit the beach.