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WATERSKI MagazineAsk a running back what traits would make him an immediate football star and he'd probably say strength, quickness or vision. Any gymnast would kill for better explosiveness and balance. For barefooters the answer is simple – feet the size of a Sasquatch.
Barefoot Worlds overall bronze medalist Lane “Dawg” Bowers has said, “If I had size 15 triple-E's, I could do anything I wanted on the water.”
He might have something there. The more surface area you have underfoot, the easier it is to get on plane and stay there. Working off the same basic premise, slalom manufacturers are heavy into building wider skis. But the concept actually isn't new. In fact, the idea of an enlarged surface area underfoot has its roots in barefooting. It was back in the mid-1980s when former world overall barefoot champion Mike Seipel developed the first attachable oversized soles for training. He called them Foot Skis.
“They were a teaching aid to help people learn new barefoot tricks at lower speeds,” says Seipel. “Falls would be less painful and you'd be able to build muscle memory by doing tricks more slowly.”
Not since the barefoot boom was introduced several years earlier had a piece of equipment come along that so simplified everything from barefoot starts to tricks. Shortly thereafter, Jaskis hit the market. They further simplified training, and they even became an event among themselves for show skiers.
It took a decade for more competition to emerge in this market, but the available types of product on the shelf recently doubled, thanks to Bowers and world overall barefoot champion Ron Scarpa.
Scarpa, who helped create the original Jaskis in 1987, explains: “The materials that went into the Jaskis were costly, so we took years to find a less expensive way to make Barefoot Trainers.”
Ironically, Scarpa's Barefoot Trainers and Bowers' Dawgpaws were released within weeks of each other. Their barefoot shoes, like Jaskis and Seipel's Foot Skis, have proven to work near miracles for water walkers. But there are noticeable differences between the four products.
* Foot Skis consist of a toe binding and a new stretchable foam-covered tube around the heel for comfort, all mounted to a plastic bottom.
* Scarpa's Barefoot Trainers are black booties made of an innovative rubberized plastic called Bowtex (which athletic shoe giant Nike is reportedly working with) molded onto large carbon-fiber plates. Says Scarpa, “We eliminated some of the bulky ankle support so skiers can develop proper flex and so they'll safely slip off if you catch a toe. Plus, the rubber doesn't get waterlogged.”
* Bowers' Dawgpaws, which also come in smaller Puppypaws for young footers, are white high-top shoes (similar to the Converse canvas models) attached to pliable bottom pads. Bowers says, “Ankle support is important, especially when people are trying to do something new.”
* The Jaskis are multicolored neon boots made of Evaphone and nylon stitched and molded onto polyurethane plates. According to Jaskis' Wayne Franklin, above all else the Jaskis are built for safe learning and experimentation.
Disparities aside, the concept behind all training shoes is simple: to turn aspiring footers into water wizards by giving them what nature didn't – monstrous feet. The early returns are in, and they're already working wonders.
