Patent ID: 7814681

Claim:
A surf boot, comprising; a boot structure adapted to be worn on a foot, and at least one valve mounted on the boot, wherein the valve is a one-way type, adapted to pass fluid out of the boot through the valve in response to an overpressure created when the boot is stepped onto an external surface, wherein the valve comprises; a first part, comprising; a perimeter element forming a walled opening, wherein the first part is adapted to mount to a material of the boot such that the perimeter element protrudes through the boot material providing a path from an interior of the boot to an exterior, a shelf element, disposed around the interior wall of the perimeter element adapted to allow a top surface of the shelf element to form a planar surface within the perimeter element, a crosspiece spanning the space within the shelf element forming spanned openings for fluid flow, disposed such that the top surface of the crosspiece is nearly co-planar with the top surface of the shelf, and; a second part disposed to mate with the first part to form a clamp holding the valve to the boot material while substantially maintaining the openings defined by the structure of the first part, and; a flexible membrane, sized and shaped to substantially overlap the shelf element, wherein the membrane is adapted to mount to the crosspiece elements in a manner such that when pressure within the boot is higher than external pressure, the membrane will lift up off the shelf and allow fluid flow through the openings, and otherwise the membrane seals onto the planar surface formed by the shelf.