Gill Sailing Boots: Edge 2.0 vs Aero 2.0, Which Pair Should You Buy?

You are standing in a cold car park in February with a kit bag at your feet, and the only real question is which boots you pull on. Gill sailing boots have been a default choice in UK dinghy parks for years, and the range has just been updated with the Edge 2.0 and the Aero 2.0. Both are neoprene, both are built for dinghy sailing, and both landed with us this week.

The trouble is that almost every page about Gill sailing boots online is a shop shelf. You get two products side by side, a spec list each, and no help at all deciding between them. So here is the honest version, based on what our customers actually buy and what they tell us afterwards.

The short answer

Buy the Edge 2.0 if you race, hike hard, or sail most weeks of the year. Buy the Aero 2.0 if you cruise, coach, sail casually, or simply want boots you can get into quickly.

There is £10 between them. Edge 2.0 is £90, Aero 2.0 is £80. That is small enough that budget should not decide this for you. Fit and the way you sail should.

Prices correct at the point of publishing.

The Edge has always been our better seller of the two, and it sells to a particular sort of sailor: the one who is out on the water most weekends, who races, and who spends a lot of time on the toe straps.

Two things make it that boot. The first is the lace closure. You can tune the tension across the whole foot rather than accepting whatever a zip gives you, then lock it down with the wide adjustable ankle strap over the top. Get that right and there is no heel lift when you load up on the straps.

The second is the sole. The Edge 2.0 uses Gill's stiffest outsole, and that matters in two places. On the toe straps it spreads the load across your whole foot instead of concentrating it on one painful bar. Off the water it protects you from the ground. If you launch off shingle, or your club slipway is more stone than concrete, a stiff sole is the difference between walking down to the water and picking your way down to the water. That is a common complaint from sailors, and it is the single most useful change in this update.

The upper is 4mm double-lined neoprene with glued and blindstitched seams, so it is a millimetre thinner than the Aero. In practice that trade is warmth for feel, and you can close the gap with a pair of neoprene sailing socks.

The Aero 2.0 is the boot for everything that is not hard racing. A YKK zip runs down the side, so you can get in and out fast, even with cold hands and a drysuit already on. If you have ever tried to lace boots in a February car park, you will understand why that sells.

It is also the warmer of the two, with a 5mm double-lined neoprene upper. For cruising, coaching from a support boat, or long days where you are not moving much, that extra millimetre is worth having.

Underfoot the sole is medium-stiff rather than rigid. You get more flex and more comfort for walking, launching and moving around the boat, and less of the solid platform that hard hiking asks for. Gill has also reworked the rear ankle construction on this version, which adds support and lets the boot move more naturally with your foot.

One honest note: like most new rubber soles, the Aero 2.0 can feel slippery for the first few outings until the surface scuffs in. That settles quickly, but it is worth knowing on your first sail rather than finding out on a wet foredeck.

Strip everything else away and the choice between these two Gill sailing boots comes down to how they fasten.

Choose lace if you want fine control over the fit, or you have wider feet. This is the point that gets missed in most product descriptions. A lace closure opens up across the bridge in a way a zip cannot, so if you have ever found sailing boots tight across the top of the foot, the Edge 2.0 is the one to try.

Choose zip if you value speed and simplicity. Beginners, parents getting kids afloat, and anyone sailing after work will get more out of the Aero 2.0 than they will out of a fit system they never fine tune anyway.

Boat class matters far less here than people expect. We sell both to ILCA, Topper, RS Aero and catamaran sailors. It is not what you sail, it is how you sail it.

The main question we get about Gill sailing boots is sizing, and the honest answer is that the previous model ran slightly small. Plenty of sailors sized up by one.

The 2.0 boots have only just arrived with us, so we have not yet confirmed whether Gill has changed the fit. If you are between sizes, or you plan to wear thick socks underneath, get in touch before you order and we will tell you what we are seeing. Both boots run from size 39 to 49.

Two things go out in the same order as sailing boots more than anything else, and both are worth adding.

Sailing socks. Neoprene socks add warmth and stop the neoprene rubbing on a long day. They are particularly worth it with the Edge 2.0, since they close most of the warmth gap to the 5mm Aero while keeping the laced fit you bought the boot for.

Sailing gloves. Cold hands cost you more control than cold feet do. If you are buying boots for winter sailing, sort your hands out at the same time.

We have not personally worn every boot we sell, so we will not pretend otherwise. What we can tell you is what comes back to us from customers, and the feedback on Gill boots is consistent: they last, and sailors feel they got their money's worth.

That is a large part of why Gill sits where it does in the market. The pricing is sensible for what you get, and when a boot at £80 or £90 lasts several seasons, it becomes an easy recommendation.

If you race, hike, or sail often, buy the Edge 2.0 at £90. The stiff sole and the laced fit are built for exactly that, and the extra tenner buys you a boot that suits how you sail rather than one you merely tolerate.

If you cruise, coach, sail casually, or are buying your first proper pair, buy the Aero 2.0 at £80. It is warmer, it is quicker to get on, and it is more comfortable to walk in.

Both are in stock now at Sailing Chandlery in black, sizes 39 to 49. Order today and we will get them dispatched fast, because boots are no use to anyone sitting in a warehouse while the forecast is good.

Still not sure? Send us a message. We sail, we sell these boots every week, and we would rather help you get the right pair first time.