Wading Boots

[Bamboozle]

I have a pair of the Bean's Aquastealh as well. Only found them suitable for a limited number of places that I know VERY well however...

I bough some of the Aquastealth material and had a custom pair of Russell wading shoes made for the Letort and other places where I mostly fish from the bank, but need waders to keep my arse and feet dry in the muck.

Back when I had those shoes made, there were no other options except felt which is a waste for those kind of streams.

I still have the shoes and they do work well for their intended purpose.

 

[afishinado]

dryflyguy wrote:
Timmy,

I got size 12 foot tractors also (wear size 11 shoe)
They seem to be a bit wider than other wading boots I've worn.
And were kinda loose fitting, even with a thick sock.
So , I put in another insole to take up the space. And they're fine.
Still better to have them a little big larger, than too tight.
And they'll likely shrink a bit after the first year or two - like all the other boots I've tried.

I've had no problems with the original laces. They're just like the ones on my old patagonia light weight boots. Been using them for 3 years now, and haven't had any breaks yet.

I wear Simms waders. They're the only ones that last for me

Just a heads-up on wader boot sizing. I worked in a fly shop and fit a whole bunch of people with waders and boots. I always recommended that the person try on the boots with the waders they will wear with the boot. Plus the thickness of the socks should always be factored in, especially if you do a lot of cold weather fishing with thick socks.

But a lot of us now buy things on-line without being able to try them on. The one thing I observed consistently is if the wader booties were close to the same size as a person's foot, the same size boot will generally fit. In other words, if the waders list the bootie sizing range as 10-12, the waders have a size 12 bootie!...lol. So the person with a size 10 foot wearing a size 12 bootie would almost always need to go to the next larger size wading shoe (size 11) to accommodate the extra material of the larger bootie. Conversely, with the same pair of waders, if the person had a size 12 foot and the bootie fit perfectly, they would likely fit well in a size 12 wading boot.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule based on how long and wide the wading boots model is made or the thickness of the wader bootie, but as a general rule, the above works when buying wading boots without trying them on.

Lastly, as others have noted, a little bigger is better than too tight. Putting on heavier socks or adding an extra or thicker insole insert can make up for a little extra space in the bootie.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Has anyone tried the Hodgman H5 H-Lock Wade Boot?

 

[guidedbywire]

I bought a pair of Korkers K-5 Bombers at the beginning of the year, based in part on its reputation as being a tank of a boot. On their fourth time out, one of the lace eyelets popped off, but not while hiking or wading or even lacing them up... it busted while I was lifting them out of the trunk of my car (!).

Fortunately, Korkers customer service agreed to send me a replacement newer model without much fuss. Remains to be seen how well these will perform.

 

[bigjohn58]

guidedbywire wrote:
I bought a pair of Korkers K-5 Bombers at the beginning of the year, based in part on its reputation as being a tank of a boot. On their fourth time out, one of the lace eyelets popped off, but not while hiking or wading or even lacing them up... it busted while I was lifting them out of the trunk of my car (!).

Fortunately, Korkers customer service agreed to send me a replacement newer model without much fuss. Remains to be seen how well these will perform.

Where did you find Korker K5 Bombers? Those boots were garbage and discontinued! Same issue happened with my K5 Bombers BUT Korkers also replaced mine with just a photo of the boot and upgraded me to the Wraptrs. I couldn't be more happy with the Wraptrs! Great customer service from Korkers and you do not have to send in the damaged product. They replaced mine by just having me take photos and emailing the photos to them. So much easier then Simms!

 

[guidedbywire]

Yeah, I'm getting the Darkhorse model sent as replacement. I bought the K-5s on closeout sale through some fly shop's Amazon storefront.

 

[timmyt]

Anyone who is looking for the old Patagonia foot tractors that are being phazed out, steepandcheap.com has them in sizes 9,10, 11, 12 at least for 167. These are the same boots that dryflyguy and myself bought

Steepandcheap.com is backcountry outlet website, its totally legit, i have bought several things from them in the past

 

[franklin]

I thought Simms got out of felt a few years ago but I see a felt soled model on their web site.

 

[sgrim]

Is anyone familiar with Simms' Tributary model boots?
I'm in need of a mid-season replacement that won't break the bank.