diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 67f18b15..d299e238 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Package: wk
 Title: Lightweight Well-Known Geometry Parsing
 Version: 0.7.3.9000
-Authors@R: 
+Authors@R:
     c(
       person(given = "Dewey",
              family = "Dunnington",
@@ -12,23 +12,27 @@ Authors@R:
               family = "Pebesma",
               role = c("aut"),
               email = "edzer.pebesma@uni-muenster.de",
-              comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0001-8049-7069"))
+              comment = c(ORCID = "0000-0001-8049-7069")),
+      person(given = "Anthony",
+             family = "North",
+             email = "anthony.jl.north@gmail.com",
+             role = c("ctb"))
     )
 Maintainer: Dewey Dunnington <dewey@fishandwhistle.net>
 Description: Provides a minimal R and C++ API for parsing
   well-known binary and well-known text representation of
-  geometries to and from R-native formats. 
+  geometries to and from R-native formats.
   Well-known binary is compact
   and fast to parse; well-known text is human-readable
   and is useful for writing tests. These formats are
-  useful in R only if the information they contain can be 
-  accessed in R, for which high-performance functions 
+  useful in R only if the information they contain can be
+  accessed in R, for which high-performance functions
   are provided here.
 License: MIT + file LICENSE
 Encoding: UTF-8
 Roxygen: list(markdown = TRUE)
 RoxygenNote: 7.2.3
-Suggests: 
+Suggests:
     testthat (>= 3.0.0),
     vctrs (>= 0.3.0),
     sf,
@@ -37,6 +41,6 @@ Suggests:
 URL: https://paleolimbot.github.io/wk/, https://github.com/paleolimbot/wk
 BugReports: https://github.com/paleolimbot/wk/issues
 Config/testthat/edition: 3
-Depends: 
+Depends:
     R (>= 2.10)
 LazyData: true
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 4460f599..dc4b9829 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -465,6 +465,7 @@ export(wk_void)
 export(wk_void_handler)
 export(wk_writer)
 export(wkb)
+export(wkb_to_hex)
 export(wkb_translate_wkb)
 export(wkb_translate_wkt)
 export(wkb_writer)
diff --git a/R/pkg-vctrs.R b/R/pkg-vctrs.R
index b41048e5..1cc1564c 100644
--- a/R/pkg-vctrs.R
+++ b/R/pkg-vctrs.R
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ vec_proxy.wk_wkb <- function(x, ...) {
   unclass(x)
 }
 
+vec_proxy_equal.wk_wkb <- function(x, ...) {
+  wkb_to_hex(x)
+}
+
 vec_restore.wk_wkb <- function(x, to, ...) {
   crs_out <- attr(to, "crs", exact = TRUE) %||% attr(x, "crs", exact = TRUE)
   geodesic_out <- attr(to, "geodesic", exact = TRUE) %||% attr(x, "geodesic", exact = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/wkb.R b/R/wkb.R
index 18d366e5..aaceaa89 100644
--- a/R/wkb.R
+++ b/R/wkb.R
@@ -148,3 +148,19 @@ format.wk_wkb <- function(x, ...) {
 as.character.wk_wkb <- function(x, ...) {
   format(x, ...)
 }
+
+
+#' Convert well-known binary to hex
+#'
+#' @param x A [wkb()] vector
+#'
+#' @return A hex encoded [wkb()] vector
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' x <- as_wkb(xyz(1:5, 6:10, 11:15))
+#' wkb_to_hex(x)
+#'
+wkb_to_hex <- function(x) {
+  .Call(wk_c_wkb_to_hex, as_wkb(x))
+}
diff --git a/R/zzz.R b/R/zzz.R
index 1093f9cb..08d2c127 100644
--- a/R/zzz.R
+++ b/R/zzz.R
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@
   s3_register("sf::st_bbox", "wk_grd")
   s3_register("sf::st_crs", "wk_grd")
   s3_register("sf::st_crs<-", "wk_grd")
+
+  # wkb vec_proxy_equal
+  s3_register("vctrs::vec_proxy_equal", "wk_wkb")
 }
 
 .onUnload <- function (libpath) {
diff --git a/man/wk-package.Rd b/man/wk-package.Rd
index d70bebb6..7ff96e7a 100644
--- a/man/wk-package.Rd
+++ b/man/wk-package.Rd
@@ -25,5 +25,10 @@ Authors:
   \item Edzer Pebesma \email{edzer.pebesma@uni-muenster.de} (\href{https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8049-7069}{ORCID})
 }
 
+Other contributors:
+\itemize{
+  \item Anthony North \email{anthony.jl.north@gmail.com} [contributor]
+}
+
 }
 \keyword{internal}
diff --git a/man/wkb_to_hex.Rd b/man/wkb_to_hex.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..11272f6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/wkb_to_hex.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/wkb.R
+\name{wkb_to_hex}
+\alias{wkb_to_hex}
+\title{Convert well-known binary to hex}
+\usage{
+wkb_to_hex(x)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{x}{A \code{\link[=wkb]{wkb()}} vector}
+}
+\value{
+A hex encoded \code{\link[=wkb]{wkb()}} vector
+}
+\description{
+Convert well-known binary to hex
+}
+\examples{
+x <- as_wkb(xyz(1:5, 6:10, 11:15))
+wkb_to_hex(x)
+
+}
diff --git a/src/init.c b/src/init.c
index 3c6ddbc1..ca49861d 100644
--- a/src/init.c
+++ b/src/init.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ SEXP wk_c_trans_set_new(SEXP xy, SEXP use_z, SEXP use_m);
 SEXP wk_c_trans_filter_new(SEXP handler_xptr, SEXP trans_xptr);
 SEXP wk_c_wkb_is_na(SEXP geom);
 SEXP wk_c_wkb_is_raw_or_null(SEXP geom);
+SEXP wk_c_wkb_to_hex(SEXP geom);
 SEXP wk_c_vertex_filter_new(SEXP handler_xptr, SEXP add_details);
 SEXP wk_c_handler_void_new(void);
 SEXP wk_c_handler_addr(SEXP xptr);
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ static const R_CallMethodDef CallEntries[] = {
   {"wk_c_trans_filter_new", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_trans_filter_new, 2},
   {"wk_c_wkb_is_na", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_wkb_is_na, 1},
   {"wk_c_wkb_is_raw_or_null", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_wkb_is_raw_or_null, 1},
+  {"wk_c_wkb_to_hex", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_wkb_to_hex, 1},
   {"wk_c_vertex_filter_new", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_vertex_filter_new, 2},
   {"wk_c_handler_void_new", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_handler_void_new, 0},
   {"wk_c_handler_addr", (DL_FUNC) &wk_c_handler_addr, 1},
diff --git a/src/vctr.c b/src/vctr.c
index 6ae9deb1..a7daa895 100644
--- a/src/vctr.c
+++ b/src/vctr.c
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 #include <R.h>
 #include <Rinternals.h>
 
+#define MAX(a, b) (((a) > (b)) ? (a) : (b))
+
 SEXP wk_c_wkb_is_na(SEXP geom) {
   R_xlen_t size = Rf_xlength(geom);
   SEXP result = PROTECT(Rf_allocVector(LGLSXP, size));
@@ -28,3 +30,53 @@ SEXP wk_c_wkb_is_raw_or_null(SEXP geom) {
   UNPROTECT(1);
   return result;
 }
+
+static R_xlen_t wk_max_length(const SEXP geom) {
+  const R_xlen_t size = Rf_xlength(geom);
+  R_xlen_t max = 0;
+
+  for (R_xlen_t i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+    max = MAX(max, Rf_xlength(VECTOR_ELT(geom, i)));
+  }
+
+  return max;
+}
+
+static void wk_bin_to_hex(char* dst, const unsigned char* src, const R_xlen_t n) {
+  static const char hex[16] = "0123456789abcdef";
+
+  for (R_xlen_t i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+    const unsigned char byte = src[i];
+    dst[2 * i] = hex[(byte >> 4) & 0xf];
+    dst[2 * i + 1] = hex[byte & 0xf];
+  }
+
+  dst[2 * n] = '\0';
+}
+
+SEXP wk_c_wkb_to_hex(const SEXP geom) {
+  const R_xlen_t size = Rf_xlength(geom);
+  SEXP result = PROTECT(Rf_allocVector(STRSXP, size));
+
+  const R_xlen_t buf_size = wk_max_length(geom) * 2 + 1;
+  SEXP buf_shelter = PROTECT(Rf_allocVector(RAWSXP, buf_size));
+  char* buf = (char*)RAW(buf_shelter);
+
+  for (R_xlen_t i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+    if (((i + 1) % 1000) == 0) R_CheckUserInterrupt();
+
+    const SEXP item = VECTOR_ELT(geom, i);
+    const R_xlen_t item_len = Rf_xlength(item);
+
+    if (item == R_NilValue) {
+      SET_STRING_ELT(result, i, NA_STRING);
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    wk_bin_to_hex(buf, RAW(item), item_len);
+    SET_STRING_ELT(result, i, Rf_mkChar(buf));
+  }
+
+  UNPROTECT(2);
+  return result;
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-wkb.R b/tests/testthat/test-wkb.R
index 80c447e6..778dd41f 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test-wkb.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-wkb.R
@@ -108,3 +108,65 @@ test_that("examples as wkb roundtrip", {
     )
   }
 })
+
+test_that("wk_c_wkb_to_hex works", {
+  list_of_raw <- list(as.raw(0:255), raw(0), NULL)
+  expect_identical(
+    .Call(wk_c_wkb_to_hex, list_of_raw),
+    c(paste(sprintf("%02x", 0:255), collapse = ""), "", NA_character_)
+  )
+})
+
+test_that("wkb_to_hex works", {
+  features <- wkt(c("POINT (0 0)", "LINESTRING (1 1, 2 2)", "POLYGON EMPTY", NA))
+
+  # little endian
+  wkb_little <- wk_handle(features, wkb_writer(endian = 1))
+  hex_little <- c(
+    "010100000000000000000000000000000000000000",
+    "010200000002000000000000000000f03f000000000000f03f00000000000000400000000000000040",
+    "010300000000000000",
+    NA_character_
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(wkb_to_hex(wkb_little), hex_little)
+
+  # big endian
+  wkb_big <- wk_handle(features, wkb_writer(endian = 0))
+  hex_big <- c(
+    "000000000100000000000000000000000000000000",
+    "0000000002000000023ff00000000000003ff000000000000040000000000000004000000000000000",
+    "000000000300000000",
+    NA_character_
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(wkb_to_hex(wkb_big), hex_big)
+})
+
+test_that("vec_equal(wkb) works", {
+  points <- wkt(c("POINT (1 1)", "POINT (2 2)", "POINT (3 3)"))
+
+  # little endian
+  wkb_little <- wk_handle(points, wkb_writer(endian = 1))
+  hex_little <- c(
+    "0101000000000000000000f03f000000000000f03f",
+    "010100000000000000000000400000000000000040",
+    "010100000000000000000008400000000000000840"
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_proxy_equal(wkb_little), hex_little)
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_equal(wkb_little, wkb_little), c(TRUE, TRUE, TRUE))
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_equal(wkb_little[1], wkb_little[2]), FALSE)
+
+  # big endian
+  wkb_big <- wk_handle(points, wkb_writer(endian = 0))
+  hex_big <- c(
+    "00000000013ff00000000000003ff0000000000000",
+    "000000000140000000000000004000000000000000",
+    "000000000140080000000000004008000000000000"
+  )
+
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_proxy_equal(wkb_big), hex_big)
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_equal(wkb_big, wkb_big), c(TRUE, TRUE, TRUE))
+  expect_equal(vctrs::vec_equal(wkb_big[1], wkb_big[2]), FALSE)
+})