Last week at Pensacola I got a pretty good oyster shell cut kiting barefoot, so heading to the lake this weekend, I wanted a little more protection than my aquasocks booties had. (they are great for feel, but the soles are thin. I had never worn anything like Fila skeletoes before, but the soles looked thick and significant and I was hoping for a barefoot feel.

They worked great. I rode twin tip straped and a surfboard without a traction pad and had no grip issues (it did have a little wax on it). I have had several different types of booties and water shoes over the years, and this is the thickest sole with the best barefoot feel I have had. I have no brad affiliation here, but if you work for Fila, feel free to send me some free shoes for the plug.

huu so they just copied and pasted FiveFingers shoes? the good thing is that Fila are less expensive but with no Vibram soles.

I have both 5 fingers & merril trail glove that I use for various non-kiting stuff.
I would think the vibram is a little tough if you want really good feel thru your feet
.... But definitely no oyster cuts wearing them

Have a good friend that all ways wears the Vibram 5's and he did get a really nasty cut while wearing them. Do they offer better protection than your average booty or sock yes. Do they stop you from being cut no.

I used to wear the 5 fingers KSO, but they didn't do a good job of keeping stuff out of the shoes. Switched to oneil and have no problems. Thin enough for feel yet thick enough for protection. Lots of oyster beds here in Florida. Having feet protection is a smart choice. When I see folks suffer bad cuts I can't understand. Booties will keep you on the water. Btw, I wear Kevlar palm waterski gloves also. Put a hand down on an oyster bed once and still have a nice scar for it. Hence the gloves.