Fly Fishing Forum banner

"Wading" Thoughts On A Rainy Day

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Paxton 
#1 ·
Two days a torrential rain and a throbbing knee, thanks to the weather and too many years of use and abuse has led me to thinking the following: Why can't the wader manufacturers develop a boot foot wader that uses a "flats boot" instead of the 10lb/per boot anchors they utilize now?
It would appear to me that many saltwater FF's, who "run" up and down the beach and haul legs through 18 inches of water on the flats for hours and miles on end, would love a light weight option for their waders.
Have tried stocking foot waders with tie on boots.....those resulted in lumps of sand in the boot......one could use stocking foot with sandals and guarantee the quick wear out of the wader.......one could be like our predigious "Iron Man" and go leg naked, but most of us are not that tough.......so why not a boot foot waders using a flats bootie boot????? If you agree, write your congresssman now! :)
It would seem that even those of us who are not "knee impaired" would be interested in this option just to be able to walk all day and not tire, nor have to pop ibupropin, run after busting surf side fish and to be able to look forward to climbing the 69 steps to the parking lot (that one is a reach), after Rip Ryders return drop off. :smokin: Well...back to the Ben-Gay.
Ron
 
#2 ·
Ron -

I have fortunately stumbled upon an ideal boot that lets me use my breathable bootfoot waders for fishing streams out west as well as the flats, best of both worlds. I can go for days sometimes weeks without accumulating sand in them on the flats and I don't even need to remove them from my waders between trips unless the surf was real high on the backside. But these surf boots are no longer made and the vendor will not reveal the source so I can pursue the product independently to be modified to be ideal for the flats. So the clock is ticking until this pair and my back-ups are worn out.

I actually spoke with a major wader manufacturer about this very problem. He appreciated the feedback but with so much of the market outside of the salty guy's realm I don't think he will invest in a new design anytime soon.

I suppose we can judge from the reaction in line and rod companies that the striper and surf fly market is growing quickly thanks to the striper, on both coasts and coho, kings and cutts on the pacific. The salty seatrout and seabass anglers in Europe would probably appreciate the attention too. I think it's a real market for a company to enter, but I don't think the companies are convinced just yet.

I hope they do enter into it, a boot foot integrated flats shoe breathable.

I'll keep an eye open at the Denver Trade Show.
 
#4 ·
At the annual Oris tent sale a couple years back, I bougth a pair of Redington bootfoot beathables (for a song!) that have boots that are more comfortable & light than any "street shoes" I own. They were all out of felt sole, so I got the Lug sole. I have almost killed myself a couple time using these waders on the N. Shore Rocks, so I don't use them for rock fishing anymore. The bad news is that these waders were on "close out" sale, which probably means that they do not make them anymore?
 
#6 ·
Glad I'm not the only one...maybe we need a petition to a company. A few days ago, I was in Boston and stopped at the Orvis shop. I checked out their lace up sneaker boots....to be honest, in my opinion, they aren't significantly lighter....of course the lace up option would make them more comfortable, but the price tag of $375 for a boot that is propably only a pound lighter means to me...they are not there yet. I spoke with the store manager and he said that Orvis developers were actually " looking " into a integrated flats boot type wader, due to many comments received from "the salt guys".
Juro...I will look up the Chota reference....thanks. Juro....time for Atlantis waders! :)
Ron
 
#7 ·
I'll be sending my Silverlabel Hiking boot waders back to Orvis at the end of the season. Leaking somewhere in the boot. I'm thinking of upgrading to the new Tailwater waders. They look like a great compromise between the bootfoot and stockingfoot for the beach.
 
#8 ·
Ron -

One of the initial goals of this site was to be heard in the industry, although when I mentioned it back then people thought I had been drinking. Now, with thousands of members worldwide and new signups every day, it's not so far fetched.

When Sean gets back from vacation we should think about putting a request for quotation together. I would suggest Patagonia, Mr.Chouinard is an avid outdoorsman and is a stickler for the best gear out there IMHO. Patagonia is big on flats gear and also makes some of the best waders on the market as well, so perhaps we will be able to bend his ear on this topic.

Worth a shot anyway! :cool:
 
#9 ·
I would welcome the opprtunity to be part of that! One only has to watch other FF's lugging their feet all day to see that if the buzz was put in their ears, there would be plently of demand for the improvement. I think that given the option, most of us would "bite on it" and upgrade.
Ron
 
#10 ·
Beans has the Aquastealth wading shoe that has been great for me. Good support, they don't let much sand in and no felt. They work great on grass, sand, mud gravel streams and the flats. When I do the Iron man thing I use a thick pair of socks to make up for the neoprene feet of my waders and they are very comfortable flats shoe. They are the best all around shoe I've found. I just can't drag the weight of most of the boot foot waders out there. Until a pair with the Aquastealth soles that weighs like stocking foot I'll stick with these.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top