Quicksand Fans

I can tell you right now that shoes are a must. I can't tell you number of times I've cut the bottom of my foot while mudding, one time requiring stitches. I have a ratty old pair of tennis shoes that I wear. There doesn't seem to be any difference in suction between on or off. Be safe.
DJM

Real quicksand (actual sand particles through which water is passing): it can be a problem, and there is an element of "suction" -- but it depends on the shoe. Water booties seem like such a great idea in real quicksand, but they can slip off pretty easily and be lost forever (as happened during several of last year's shoots). In mud of many kinds, boots tend to come off pretty easily, but water shoes and sneakers can stay on.

I think foot protection is a must if you are out exploring the wilds, for various substances can contain bits of stick, shell, wood or whatever that can cut into your feet. I learned this the hard way -- I still have a scar in the tissue under my big toe of my left foot from an incident around 20 years ago. If you are playing in your own mudpits you are less likely to run into problems.

Harder to escape, but more fun to sink - if you're a quicksand cosplayer (like me).

I can see it all now. Two thousand years in the future, archeologists have been utterly baffled after digging up large caches of mixed boots, sandals, high heels, and others sorts of ancient footwear, always in locations believed to have been swampy in the past. Then, after decades of arguing over all sorts of hypotheses, an undergraduate finds the truth after discovering this thread in an archive stored on a device believed to have been called a finger-drive.

OK, I'll take my medicine now.

Yea don't wear regular shoes. I'm pretty sure why quicksand and bogs became such a folklore monster is because people before the modern era had these really clumsy and heavy cloths which just dragged them down. Not to mention the leather boots or wooden shoes. And then additional risk factors like tools, utilites and equipment they were using by that time. Like having a sturdy work knife or swords hilted to your belt, which just gives you an extra weight disadvantage...

Wadingshoes or scuba shoes seems great imo. I have also seen pictures of people using these wading/hiking shoes that have "toe slots" at the front, they seem great!

My own experience by not wearing shoes is when i was walking barefoot around an marshy/mire/bog which i saw had this reed-grass growing everywhere. I didn't really feel or think much about it then but when i came home i saw i had plenty of small cuts all over my feet.

Absolutely yes. Waders, hip boots, knee high rubber boots create the most suction. They have oversized soles on them. So I don’t wear them, as I sink in tidal mud. I don’t want to become a permanent fixture, but only exposed during low tide. When I still want to create a lot of suction, but it still be manageable, I wear leather work boots or hiking boots. When I want less suction, I wear dive booties. I never wear low top shoes such as sneakers when mudding because the suction can pull them right off your feet. That’s a big problem here, especially if you entered the mud banks from the shore, because there’s lots of oyster shells between the mud banks and shore line. They’re like razor blades, so you want shoes that can’t be pulled off your feet. Of course, there’s a disadvantage as well, if you ever really get stuck, you can’t pull your feet out of your boots either. Being barefoot creates the least amount of suction, by far.