Converse Chucks

[Trace Malinowski]

I haven't been cave diving in the past 4 years since getting bent in the St. Lawrence River so I haven't seen the latest fashion trends in cave diving, but what was the deal with women wearing Converse sneakers instead of wetsuit boots? I used to see shoe laces just begging to get snagged on a line arrow. Are they still doing that? Why? I mean even a White's Fusion drysuit that required a rock boot would be made cave-friendly with wetsuit boots minus laces. It seemed like a cave diving no-no to have laces, yet the trend seemed to be spreading.

 

[Searcaigh]

Replace the laces with bungee, isn't that what Poseidon did?

 

[Baydoun]

I'm not a cave diver, but i do wear a pair of chucks with my drysuit, its more of a temporary solution until i get rock boots. they work surprisingly well and its easy tuck the laces in behind the tongue. definitely not a long term solution tho, especially for diving where snagging is a possibility.

 

[kaylee_ann]

They may remove the laces

 

[Rayk]

Thats what i use, elastic and can be tucked away securely. 2-3 USD from AliExpress.

 

[Bobby]

My wife dives Chucks, the reason is that she has very narrow feet and the dry suit boots available are too wide. She has been cave diving for 13 years and has never had an issue with the laces. BTW, rock boots and other dry suit boots also have laces, the Pinnacle boots that I wear (very wide feet) have laces.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I had a student who wore rock boots in a cave class. He tucked the laces. During a lights-out gas-sharing exit through Peanut Tunnel, his rock boot became snagged on a line arrow with no help from me. There the team was caught and confused.

Divers don't realize how often technical and cave diving instructors see impossible things happen. I saw a diver, the third guy in a team, unclip his SPG to view it and return it to his left hip D-ring. But the spring inside the bolt snap (it was stainless steel) didn't close the gate on the snap. It remained on the ring until it didn't. Would you believe the snap slipped off the ring, allowed the SPG to dangle, then the snap contacted the guideline where the gate snapped shut? The diver reached a tie point where he discovered he was clipped to the line. He thought I did it to him until we watched the video. Everyone was amazed how a bolt snap did that all by itself. That was an open-water intro to tech class, but it would have happened in a cave just the same.

I realize that the chances of finding oneself out of gas or in the dark are slim when divers practice as management and carry the required number of lights, but when diving in close proximity to a line in tight caves or restrictions, I can't see how bungee is much more of a solution. Sidemount instructors must see a lot more crazy stuff than those of us in doubles.

I thought cave divers had a mindset of imagining the extremely improbable and correcting it without opening the door unnecessarily. It seems to me that rock boots and sneakers have no business in cave diving.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I thought cave divers had a mindset of imagining the extremely improbable and correcting it without opening the door unnecessarily. It seems to me that rock boots and sneakers have no business in cave diving.

So what do you suggest? Wetsuit booties? A few people on here (some cave divers even) suggest these;

NRS Paddle Wetshoes - Men's | REI Co-op

Warm and comfortable, the Paddle Wetshoes have zippered side entry that is easy to put on over bare feet or dry suit socks, making them an excellent choice for kayaking, paddle boarding and canoeing.

www.rei.com

I am not a cave diver, so I have no dog in the race. But I can't understand the need for converses in any form for diving as the booties I just linked are inexpensive, have better thermal properties, and no laces?

Maybe converses are just a fashion statement?

 

[Baydoun]

I am not a cave diver, so I have no dog in the race. But I can't understand the need for converses in any form for diving as the booties I just linked are inexpensive, have better thermal properties, and no laces?

Maybe converses are just a fashion statement?

In my case, my wetsuit booties did not fit the neoprene socks on my drysuit, and i already had an old pair of slightly too big converse in the closet, but you're right, i would not go out and buy a pair of converse on purpose as dive boots

 

[Marie13]

I know a number of people who use Chucks as rock boots. Cheaper than rock boots and the toe cap is much more streamlined than the DUI rock boots. I used them myself at one time. Used thin bungee and a cord lock for laces. Worked pretty well.