>>968154>warm water and sandthe warmer waters makes the skin on your feet soft. sand gets in between. ever spent a day in the surf walking a few miles up and down a beach dragging fish up the sand you'll realize why afterwards. sand will chafe your feet to the point that you cant even walk at the end of the day. the socks prevent that from happening. the better socks also have thin neoprene bottoms to pad from pebbles.