Reactor Reef Boot (Black/Coal)

This review is my attempt to bring some clarity to the sizing for these (O'Neill Reactor Reef Boot). First of all, be aware that the sizing is listed in men's sizes. Before I get deeper into the sizing, I want to address the issues I have with the current reviews as a whole (BTW, I appreciate all of them):1. Gender - Many of the reviews state to size up or down, but most people don't state their gender. Because women's shoe sizes are typically a full size larger then men's, stating to size up or down without stating gender is arbitrary.2. Shoe Size - A lot of the reviewers compared these to their typical shoe size, but this is a very subjective statement because shoe sizing itself is very subjective. For example, in my experience, basketball shoes run a bit tighter than running shoes, but different brands of [same size] running shoes fit differently as well. I'm not sure if this is because of the different materials used, design, or a lack of standardization.3. Fit - Many of the reviews stated that they "fit good", but that is also a subjective statement based on one's preferred fit, thus not overly helpful by itself.Ok, now on to the sizing details. This is only an estimation based on my own measurements, but since the seller and/or Amazon has not provided this information, you'll have to take my word for it. I first ordered these for my wife, who normally wears a women's size 7 1/2 - 8. Because she will be using these with snorkeling fins, they needed to be nice and snug, and since there aren't half sizes, I opted to size down. Now, because these are listed in men's sizes, I order a size 6, which is equivalent to a women's 7. For reference, her bare foot is 9" from the tip of her big toe to the back of her heel. The size 6 (women's 7) reef shoes measure 9 1/2" on the outside. I didn't measure the inside, but roughly estimate 1/4" for material, which leaves 1/4" at the toe. She said it fits nice and snug, but not too tight, no slipping at the heel and just a little room at the toe.For myself, I had it in my mind that I wear size 14 (because I mostly do), so I ordered a 14 for myself. BTW, i'm a man if you haven't figured that out yet. When I got them, I tried them on and they were too big, which was really confusing because I wear a 14....at least I thought I did. Well, I do, but like I stated above, shoe sizing is very subjective. I immediately went and looked at all of my shoes and about half of them are size 13, the other half 14. All of them are Nike or Adidas and I could not determine any consistency based on brand, type, or material. I decided to measure my foot to get to the bottom of this, which confused me even more because my foot measured almost exactly 12" (11 15/16" to be perfectly exact). So why don't I wear a size 12 if my foot measures 12"??? Well, that's another story and I don't even really understand it....Google it if you really need to know. The size 14 reef shoes measure 12 1/2" on the outside. I know what you're thinking...if my wife's reef shoe measured 1/2" bigger than her foot and it fit snug, then how were mine too big??? Well, I don't have an answer for that....like I said, this all based on measurements taken at different times with a tape measure, so it's not 100% accurate. This is also where personal preference comes into play. I'm hoping you can take what i've stated here and make an educated decision. Anyway, so I exchanged the 14 for a 13 and that fits much better. They are very snug, but I wouldn't want them any tighter as my toe is pretty darn close to the front tip. The nice thing is that the neoprene allows a good amount of flexibility, which I think i'm taking advantage of, but this is much better than the 14 for my needs. The outside measurement of the size 13 is 12 1/8", so you can see that I don't have much room to spare, yet I think they will be just fine.Based on the measurements taken from my wife's size 6 and my 13 and 14, i've come up with a rough estimate of the sizing:Note: This is the external measurement...the internal measurement will be slightly less.Size 6: 9 1/2"Size 7: 9 7/8"Size 8: 10 1/4"Size 9: 10 5/8"Size 10: 11"Size 11: 11 3/8"Size 12: 11 3/4"Size 13: 12 1/8"Size 14: 12 1/2"I hope this helps...good luck!

I do Physical Therapy in the swimming pool twice a week. The bottom of the pool is rough, so I wanted something to protect my feet. I tried several different brands of swim socks and under-fin liners. All of those are thin and comfortable, but they get holes at the seams fairly quickly. These have soft neoprene uppers and a firm rubber sole. The sole is durable enough that it can stand the rough pool floor. I’ve even worn them in the hot sand at the beach. They do a good job of protecting your feet. The rubber sole is thick enough to mitigate the heat from the hot sand. I threw away all the others. These are keepers.

I used to buy the cheap reef walkers for the longest time but the padding on those wore out quickly. In addition the top mesh would allow beach sand to enter the shoe. These are the right thickness and tightness to keep the junk out with no flop or constrictions. For hiking these are great to slip into to enjoy a cool stream. It actually takes a few minute before the water will penetrate the shoe. I like how it has just the right amount of heel coverage to prevent abrasion and prevent slip off.

Never had reef booties, but now use these every time I go into the ocean, keeps my feet warm in the cooler months. Will not go into the ocean without them, does not matter what the ocean floor is like, just glide over it. A must have! Especially for body surfers, like me!

I had read reviews that the shoes were undersized. I ordered my normal shoe size and they fit perfect. I like how the sole wraps up slightly on the side. I felt that gave my foot better protection from the coral

I got the product today and tried them on. I wear a 10 1/2 and ordered an 11 based on the reviews that the sizes run true. I have about 1/2" in the toe area which allows my foot to slide a little bit when I walk around. A 10 would have caused my toes to be crammed in the ends and would have been very uncomfortable for any length of time. If the company would offer half sizes a 10 1/2 would be a perfect fit. So for those that wear full sizes, order your size and you will be happy. For those of us that wear half sizes we just have to put up with them either being too tight or a little too big. I chose the little too big. I just hope I don't regret this decision when I get on the reef and discover that once they get wet that they are too loose. The quality seems great and they are very comfortable. If they came in half sizes I would have given them a 5 star rating. But since they don't come in half sizes I consider this a large flaw.

We have a cottage on a inland lake where muck can be an issue. Water shoes are a must in order to make swimming and boating a more pleasant experience. In the past I would pick up an inexpensive pair of water shoes in the $10 - $15 range. But they never lasted more than one season. Insoles would quickly work loose, the mesh uppers allowed sand and muck into the shoe, which made them quite uncomfortable in extended wear situations. So this summer I looked for something better, and decided on the O'Neill reef boot. So far, so good!I wear a size 13 shoe, so I went with a 13 reef shoe. The toe box is roomy while the fit is sung around the ankle, as it should be. There's no insole to come loose, which is a huge plus. The soles are thicker than on your typical inexpensive water shoe, making them better to wear when on shore. The closed toe and full Neoprene upper keep sand and muck out far, far better than the mesh upper water shoes I used in the past. I wholly expect to get more than one season out of these shoes, saving me money in the long run.For my needs, the O'Neill reef shoes have been a huge upgrade over the typical water shoe/aqua sock I wore in the past.

I bought these for a surfing trip and they definitely served their purpose and protected my feet from getting torn up by the reef.The only "snag" is that I found they fit much lower than what they may appear in the pictures. So for me, they wrapped under my ankle and after several days started to really rub and cause soreness.Friends of mine had booties that went above the ankle and didn't have any problems. So next time I would likely buy those.However, if you're just using them for a quick trip, you may not have the same problem. We were in them all day every day for a week so I think that likely led to some of it as well.

Excellent for walking on the beach, prevents the sand from getting entering, fits like a glove and it’s light weight. Would highly recommend.