The Tusa Imprex Dive Slippers are designed to be worn as short booties for use with adjustable fins. These great shoes offer so much more than just that though, I've found them ideal for many other watersports, and not just diving.

** Availability **

The retail for around £24, and are available in many online watersports shops, including Simply Scuba, Watersports Warehouse and Diveline. They come in 10 size options, ranging from size 36 up to size 49.

** My experience **

As a diver who uses full foot fins I ordered these dive slippers purely to use getting to and from a boat on urchin and cone-shell infested shores. I did a little research pre-purchase (of course!) and found that more often than not dive slippers fall to pieces after a few seasons use and the soles are often too thin to offer decent protection or durability. The Tusa Imprex Dive Slippers were specifically advertised to have one of the most durable soles available and be hard-wearing. I have found them to have lived up to both these promises.

Upon receiving my slippers I was very pleased with the overall look of them. They are nice and low so they finish just below the ankle cuffs of my wetsuit, avoiding the usual 'cankle' effect of full length booties. Of course this means that they are not as warm as traditional booties. They are perfectly fine for tropical waters but I think they'd be a bit chilly for anything colder. Their small size and low weight also makes them great for packing up and taking away on holidays.

The sizing seems spot on to me. I ordered the same as my shoe size and they fitted perfectly.

The sole is fantastically made. It is about a centimetre thick and made of a tough rubber material. When trudging over pebbly beaches I can barely feel the uneven ground beneath my feet. The grey and red sole is also injection moulded with a high grip tread. This makes these slippers suitable for many other watersports than diving. I've used them for windsurfing and find they grip to the board very well. They're also great for kayaking and just for generally moving around on boats, basically any situation where slipping over is not too desirable.

The tough rubber sole extends upwards at the rear of the foot. This is designed to offer protection against rubbing from adjustable fin straps. I don't wear these for many actual dives but I have worn them on occasion with a borrowed pair of adjustable fins. In this circumstance I've found them to be very comfortable indeed, with no pressure or rubbing. They also offer enough grip onto the fin strap, so you can be sure your fins won't slip around during the dive.

The neoprene upper is much thicker than I expected, it must be around 3mm. This means that after a year of use they haven't got any tears or holes in them, which is more than I can say for most dive shoes I see on other peoples feet! They take a little while longer to dry out than many other dive booties, because they are that bit thicker. But they keep my feet nice and warm because of the thickness (the exposed area between my slippers and wetsuit ankle cuffs does get very cold). They're also extremely comfortable - naturally being stretchy they accommodated wide feet such as my own with no problems. The stitching is all very good quality, and the glued soles are not coming away from the neoprene upper at all. All in all these dive shoes look as good as the day I bought them.

** My recommendations **

I'd specifically recommend the Tusa Imprex Dive Slippers for warm-water divers and snorkelers who plan on participating in other watersports as well, such as windsurfing or kayaking.

I don't hesitate in giving the Tusa Imprex Dive Slippers the full five stars. I've found the overall quality, value for money and performance to be superb.

This review is also posted on Ciao under my username sbeach000