wading boots

[Rusty Garoutte]

Kansas City’s QB, Trent Green KO’ed at the moment so I want to ask a question.

[bryan hulse]

Rusty,

I’ve owned some Simms, Bean’s Aquastealth, better Orvis boots, and presently working through a pair of Chotas, but I’ve got to say my all time favorites for fit and comfort were a $40 pair of Orvis packable boots. The nylon uppers were supple enough that they could be comfortably cinched around ankles and negate the need for gaiters. The soles were durable enough to protect the bottoms of my feet from rocks, but forgiving in that they would conform enough to bottom contours that I always felt stable. They were light on my feet and in a pack, easy to hike in–just all-around good boots. I got four good years out of them and ceremoniously burned them at the conclusion of a trip in to Hazel Creek.

As for the others the Chotas have been good boots, reasonably comfortable and I like the teflon-like felt they use for the soles. I have the STLs and have used the removable cleats for trips to bigger water where they have proved themselves on several occasions. Unlike several of the other posters on the board I did not care for the Aquastealth soles. They were much better than felt out of the water and on muddy or silty bottoms, fine for pebbly riverbeds, but I had no confidence in them over cobbled stones or boulder strewn bottoms similar to those found in the Smokeys–not a lot of traction there. Simms are boots for pragmatists–simple, reliable–practical. They were good for three seasons but not so easy on the feet that I felt compelled to buy another pair. The other Orvis boots I owned were comfortable but the felt began seperating from the soles after one season.

It would be a pain in the behind, but if fit is your biggest concern I’d take your waders and whatever socks you wear under them for a test drive. Most waders are built to accomodate a range of body sizes and feet; wearing your stuff would give you the most accurate picture of how little or much room the boots will need to offer.

Something I did this year, and I’m glad I did, was buy another pair of boots for wet wading. Much more “sure-footedness” and more comfortable than wearing the clown shoes that are my wader boots.

Bryan

[Rusty Garoutte]

Thanks for the reply Bryan.  

Before I posted this topic, I was surfing the web, I was looking for wading boots and actually wrote down the Chota STL as a possible replacement.  The price seems to be in line too.  Having not owned any other boots than the ones I have, I was wanting to get more input on comfort levels, if there are any, and the way they hold up.  I will probably put these on my wish list for Christmas.  

[Zach Matthews]

Personally, I think wading boots are one area where retailers could really improve their offerings.

[anonymous]

I have to premise this with – despite the fact I do 99% of my fishing

[john switow]

If they have them where you look; try on a pair of the simms L2, very supportive and confortable.

[none]

I have used three boots the past 15 years or so: Simms Freestone.

I still can’t find other waders that fits this bill like the Freestone does:
* good ankle support
* roomy toe area
* tough as h*ll / durable

The Freestones are quite heavy though, but still nothing has come close.

Zach is right: there has been very few improvements in the wading boots section of the industry. Besides the Aqua soles, there hasn’t been much change. The older Simms ‘ski boots’ from the late 80’s were the only attempts to make a new boots. I never had those so I don’t know if they were good or not. I think Simms’ new G3 boots comes a bit close to those older ‘ski boots’?

I tried the Simms L2 boots in the shop but they are too narrow for me. And there is hardly any toe room and my toes will get ‘finger crossed’ in them and that HURTS!

The Patagona boots look great but if they are indeed vulnerale, then I’ll leave them at the stores. I did try them on once and I noticed there is hardly any ankle support (=padding).

So every time I again ended up with a new pair of Freestones.

[Ian Crabtree]

I’ve owned four different pairs of Patagonia boots in the past three years. They’re about as durable as a wet piece of paper. Every time I return the boots for replacement I include a note asking Patagonia to start sewing the felt on rather than using glue. I just killed my last pair of Patagonia boots and I won’t be sending them back for replacement again. I’m done with them for good.

The Simms L2s were hands down the most uncomfortable boots I’ve ever worn when I tried them out for a few days this summer, so that removed my most likely replacement candidate. Shopping for durable and light wading boots is an exercise in frustration. The freestone is too heavy for long range hike-ins. Anyone had a look at the new G3 wading boots?

[Cameron Mortenson]

I’ve had a pair of River Treads with Aquastealth for the past six or seven years.

[Joel Thompson]

I bought a new pair of the Simms boots this year that are made by Keen and absolutely love them. They are nice and light and have great support. And the thing that I like most about them is they dry out fairly quick. I am a guide and I am in and out of the raft a lot with clients so my boots take a beating during the summer. So far I have nothing but good to say about these boots. I think they retail for around a hundred bucks. If you are a guide you can pick them up on a pro deal for about half that price.

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