Atan Madi Split Toe Wetsuit Shoe
Split toe surf shoe
Rubber dipped construction for super barefoot feeling.
Atan's size their shoes and boots T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 which equates to the following euro sizes
T00= 34-35 Euro
T0 = 36-37 Euro
T1 = 38-39 Euro
T2 = 40-41 Euro
T3 = 42-43 Euro
T4 = 44-45 Euro
T5 = 46-47 Euro
T6 = 48-49 Euro
T7 = 50-51 Euro
Dan's Review:
I've used the Madi shoe, alongside various others, for a couple of summers now and they are probably the best shoe for strapless kiting out there. You get lots of grip on the wax or pads from the stick rubber soles and you have plenty of tactile feed back left, which is great. The downside to a thin sole is that you can feel the shingle a bit more through them, but it's much more comfortable than bare feet.
The construction is like a glued and blindstitched neoprene sock thats been dipped in rubber. This makes the shoe really soft and comfortable to wear. Under your foot they have used a thinner lining, so you keep as much board feel as possible. The separate toe on the Madi shoe helps to keep the shoe in place on your foot and prevents it from rolling over. It is slightly colder on your big toe than a round toe shoe, but I guess thats the price of performance (and looking cool). Split toe shoes are a bit of a marmite thing and if you can come to the shop to try some on, it's well worth doing so. If you don't dig the separate toe, the Mistral is a similar construction with a traditional round toe.
The rubber on the soles of the Atans is quite soft. If you walk about lots in your wetsuit shoes these will wear out fairly quickly and you'd be better off with a cheaper more hard wearing pair. I don't think I would wear them if I was teaching kiting for instance. If you look after them and lay off hiking about in them, they will last for ages. A good slosh with some wetsuit shampoo, then drying them thoroughly, will keep them smelling sweet as well.
24-7 Rated Product.
