Footwear.

[Garbhan]

[Douchier]

I've used a wide variety of different things on my feet over the years:

I suggest that you just go for a pair of river-shoes.

They're designed to fit well in the boat, shed water well and grip terrain.

I have these I'm perfectly happy with how they perform and they weren't too expensive.

RE socks:

I'm sure that they all do the job they're designed to do perfectly well.
I've had the peak ones and the palm ones, I was happy with both, probably a bit happier with the peak.

With constant use you're probably going to wear holes in them in about 6 months or so regardless.
I'm on pair 6 or 7, but I use them for a lot of different things.

[Karen]

So I'd like to switch from my current slippy surf booties to some neoprene socks and cheap hiking boots.

Shoes as opposed to boots might work best as you need to be able to jam your feet into boats and so having a bit of flexibility at your ankles might be good.

[Eoghan]

old runners (the more outdoorsy ones) are what I've been using for the last few years and they work a treat...may be a bit cold if you don't have drypants though...

[Simon R.]

Nial your not extolling the virtue of a pair of converse?

[Matt]

[kmck]

I like gear so i bought ones that are fancy for no reason, and in my playboat I wear rodeo socks from nrs.

[Douchier]

Nial your not extolling the virtue of a pair of converse?

Ha! converse work pretty well!
I do specify converse as opposed to other runners/boots, they're a very different shape.
They're quite low profile, so they fit in boats as well as anything I've tried. They're very grippy on rock(lots of surface area on the soles). They're poor on soft ground (ie. most of ireland). They're impossible to untie when you come off the river and can't feel your fingers. If you've got neoprene socks and 10 old pairs of converse just lying about (which I sure do!) then they're certainly a cheap and cheerful option, but are by no means perfect.

In the end though, the river-shoes perform better. They're more solid, they drain better, they stay on my feet better, they work well on a variety of terrains and the ones I got fit very well in boats(this varies massively between different shoes though). Most importantly of  they're much better for doing bootie-beers.

[Simon R.]

thank you. That was just what I was looking for. An in depth, detailed and carefully considered paragraph on the pros and cons of a 10 year old pair of converse as river shoes. 

[Douchier]

Glad I could help