Wading Shoes

[KCRIVERRAT]

Yep, I've seen Chief wear his high-tops and I can't remember him takin' them off to empty them. What I use now does collect gravel, that small, sandy crap you sink into is a bitch. Bought'em at Bass Pro for $40. They quik-dry though which is nice. I wanna say the brand is River Runners?

In the old days when wearing old sneakers (low-top) I'd wear a pair of socks with'em. I'd buy a six-pack of the ankle high socks and roll them over the top of my tennis shoes. Hardly got a stone in them. Wash'em and use them for floating only. Unless you're from Arkansas...

[flytyer57]

A recent thread at RS has me once again scouring the earth for the ideal wet-wading shoe. I've been looking at a number of options, and just can't find the end-all absolutely perfect shoe...so I'm gonna have to settle.

yada yada yada... cliped

Don't get felt soles. Help stop the spread of didymo and other invasive organisms that get into the felt and go for a ride to the next stream.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know about the crap getting into the material of the shoes themselves. But the material isn't as porous as the felt soles.

[eric1978]

Don't get felt soles. Help stop the spread of didymo and other invasive organisms that get into the felt and go for a ride to the next stream.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know about the crap getting into the material of the shoes themselves. But the material isn't as porous as the felt soles.

I don't fish any of the streams with didymo...and if I did, I would sterilize them afterward. The thought of cracking my head open on a stream when I'm wading by myself, or just pulling a groin muscle slipping on greased cannonballs (which I've done) is enough to make me really want felt. Safety first, right?

[FlyFishinFool]

I know you can get them on wading boots, but does anyone offer studs for wading shoes? That might provide the better traction without using felt soles.

[crawfly]

My link

[eric1978]

My link

Yeah, I already have a pair of wading boots.

[ollie]

Friend of mine always wears a pair of paddling boots. The ones with neoprene and a solid foot sole. He claims they never get any rocks in them. I think they are a pair of NRS.

[crawfly]

Yeah, I already have a pair of wading boots.

Yeah, I know. Just my opinion of the perfect ones.

My first pair just blew out entirely after 25+ yrs. (3 sets of felts)

Used both wet wading and with waders.

They outlived every other boot I bought over that time frame which were only used with waders.

They are easily the lightest felted boot that has ever been made and were built to last. Bad thing as it turns out because Danner no longer makes them.

Good news for me is I purchased a 17 y.o. pr. (original felts) that are like new from private sale. Cost incl. shp. 21.75.

The old pair never let gravel in until the tongue separated from the toe-box about a year 1/2 ago. I countered that by using a pr. of heavy hiking socks over lgt. weight ankle socks. Whatever fine got in, after that, I didn't know was there until I took them off.

It's just my opinion based on experience. If I got that pair I'd pull the studs.

If I fished didymo rivers I'd use a different boot and save these for good fishing. But that's just me.

[eric1978]

My wading boots and wet socks are great for wet wading when talking about gravel protection, support, non-slippage, etc...but they're heavy and uncomfortable to walk multiple miles up and downstream with. Wearing them with waders is another story...I can go all day in them, then. But for wet wading, not so great.

[sportshop]

try a pair of wrestling shoes they are high top and a pretty good sole