reef walkers

Low-cut rubber booties with hard rubber soles and thin, sometimes-ventilated uppers; designed for walking over shallow inshore coral- or urchin-covered reefs, and to protect the surfer's feet during a wipeout. Reef walkers—a generic name— were introduced in the mid-1980s, as the sharp- bottom breaks in Indonesia, Tahiti, and Fiji became popular. See also: booties....