I have a pair of Dreaks but have used them maybe 5 times. I prefer/keep on practicing barefoot (socks) which gives me a better playing feel. Footwear does result in more punch/volume though (which doesn't matter for me).
I tried out slippers once and surprisingly, they worked really well (with a double pedal - I'm practicing a lot of doublebass). I also tried my running shoes (Asics) - they didn't work for me at all. Maybe I could get accustomed to them but I don't want to spend time on that so barefoot will do for me. I guess when playing the slide technique, the combination of pedal plate surface/grip and footwear/barefoot (socks) grip has to "match", but the slide technique seems too hard for me to learn so I'm ignoring it (instead, heel up and especially heel toe works great for me).
I haven't dared to try combat boots but today my footweights (2x 5 lbs) have arrived so for home practicing, I guess footweights will be my "footwear" for 50% of my doublebass practice (Gene Hoglan inspired).
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UPDATE
I just tried out the Dreaks again - the previous time I used them is months ago. My impression of using Dreaks vs. barefoot (in addition to the above):
Footwear...
= produces more even volume (kind of 'compression' effect)
= has a narrower sweet spot - barefoot is more forgiving (especially heel-toe)
= has an ankle stabilisation effect - great for my weak left foot (my left foot tends to make some lateral/weird movement due to a lack of strength, my right foot never does this)
= makes heel-up easier (more control, more power)
= With heel-toe, I have less feel in my fastest ranges (up to 270 bpm) although footwear makes no difference in achieving the same speed
= Lastly, due to my tiny ankles, I can't tighten my footweights (I have them for a few days now) enough so they slip onto my ankles, limiting ankle motion. With footwear, the footweights will stay above the Drakes so they don't limit ankle motion.
I'll definitely give footwear a new chance. My heel-up speed is stuck at 240 bpm for months (that's why I've been concentrating on heel-toe which started to really work). Let's see...
I also practice some hihat (incl. splash sounds). I guess footwork won't be of a benefit on the hihat, I want/need more freedom and feel so with hihat I'll stick to barefoot.