Stockingfoot waders rubbing thin?

[Bocianka1]

So i was looking for the pin holes in neoprene stockingfoot portion of my breathable waders on my left foot that plagued me last winter. When i glance at my right foot and notice a spot where the neoprene is rubbing right through. I'm guessing the spot where my ankle rubs against my outer boot.


Neoprene stocking foot wader

I noticed a shiny spot on my left boot where it is showing signs of beginning to rub. Is this normal? Is it a sign my boots are to small, or laced too tight?

Any ideas on how to patch a spot that large on neoprene? I don't know if it leaks from that spot, but i need to put a patch on it it just to prevent further damage at the very least.

any suggestions?

 

[PennKev]

What brand are these and how old are they?

Did the waders come with any repair materials?

All that aside, a scrap piece of neoprene glued over the worn area using aquaseal will probably extend their life. You might be able to find a piece of neoprene from a discarded pair of waders, gloves, or even a beer koozie. A copious amount of aquaseal without a patch may work OK too.

The only time I've ever had a hole wear through a pair of neoprene boot foots was on a set of Columbia breathable waders and it happened on the second day of use and on both feat. Yeah the waders didn't make it past two days. They were returned for a refund.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've had that happen to me before in the heel area.
It wasn't completely worn through and leaking yet. The outer fabric of the neoprene was just rubbed away
I aqua sealed both sides. And it did keep it water tight

Glueing on another piece of neoprene would make for an uncomfortable lump IMO.

If these are Simms waders, you can send them back and have the bootie replaced

 

[sgrim]

I just noticed the same on a pair of Redingtons. They haven't leaked yet but I was wondering about how to seal it up. I was considering a liberal coat of FlexSeal (the rubber spray stuff advertised on TV).

 

[salvelinus]

I had that happen to my Chota Hippies. Rubbed a hole in the ankle. It was the wading shoe that was defective and causing the rubbing. Chota replaced the Hippies and the STL Plus shoes. No problems now.

 

[Bamboozle]

salvelinus wrote:
I had that happen to my Chota Hippies. Rubbed a hole in the ankle. It was the wading shoe that was defective and causing the rubbing. Chota replaced the Hippies and the STL Plus shoes. No problems now.

I'd be interested in hearing what the shoe defect was as I have been wearing STL Plus shoes for years and never had any issues.

One of the biggest reasons I favor Chota STL's is they are soft in the ankle area and not stiff and un-flexing like some of the ski-boot like shoes out there that barely bend.

I could see an overly stiff type of shoe as being the cause of bootie wear.

 

[salvelinus]

The way the right boot was constructed caused a ridge along a seam on the right side of the boot. I wore them a few times and my lateral malleolus became bloody each time, and eventually wore through the neoprene of my Hippies. When I examined them I could see the liner in the boot was abraded. I could feel the ridge through the liner. I sent pics to Chota and they agreed it was not right and sent me new shoes and Hippies. The left boot was fine.

 

[outsider]

Good that Chota stands behind their product.

 

[Bamboozle]

Chota is a good company. I've spent many hours discussing stuff with them over the phone.

Thanks for the info Sal.

 

[Bocianka1]

Well, I ended up filling the hole with UV wader repair. It's what i had.
They have some mositure in the boot after i used them, but not terrible. Hopefully the repair will help prevent further rubbing. i am guessing the rubbing spot must be related to my boots, but there's nothing obvious about it. They were a clearance pair of boots and they are showing their age much worse than my waders. I'm willing to put up with a moist foot for awhile to stretch the life on my waders so i'll see how they hold up this winter.

My waders came with a patch kit, but it only includes material for the breathable material and one piece for seam repair. They're cabela's brand, probably 2-3 years old. Nothing for repairing the neoprene.

Thanks for all the advice gentlemen.

 

[jifigz]

That is pretty much what always happens to my waders regardless of brand. I just use aquaseal and it lasts a good while longer and then starts leaking somewhere else.

 

[Dave_W]

Shoe Goo works well for such repairs as well.

 

[salvelinus]

Is there such a thing as a wetsuit repair kit? They're neoprene aren't they? Scuba divers must get holes in theirs.

 

[dryflyguy]

aqua seal says that it's good for repairing wet suits

 

[Swattie87]

To help clear the waders of any fault in this situation, this isn't the result of defective or cheap waders. There's probably nothing wrong with the wading boots either. This is the result of some combination of the anatomy of the users foot and the boot creating an uneven hot spot for rubbing/wear on the wader bootie.

I had this happen once. Had a pair of WJ waist highs that were good for two years with no issues in the booties, paired with at least two different wading boots. My current set of boots was on their last legs and before a big trip, I bought a new pair just in case my current pair completely failed while on that trip. I wore the new ones one time beforehand to break them in and in one day's fishing I had rubbed holes in the identical spot in both wader booties. (Right on the ball of my ankles. My booties looked identical to those in the OP.) The seams on the waders were used up and starting to leak anyway, so I just called it a total loss and pitched them and didn't try to repair the booties.

Returned the wading boots. Cabelas house line, I forget the model...one of their Ultralights I think. I don't think there was anything actually wrong with them, they just didn't pair well with my foot for whatever reason. In theory, this could be a sizing issue, but everything seemed to fit ok for me. Haven't had it happen with any wader/boot combination before, or since.