Simms G4 Wading Boots

[John Rhoades]

I got a new pair of of these wading boots earlier this week and used them for 2 days on the West Branch of the Delaware River, and thought I'd give my impressions of these boots for anyone contemplating buying a pair. (Retail price $220.00) I got them primarily for the new Vibram sole that Simms has put on these boots.

First, here's the overview of these boots from Simms:
This is the hardest working boot that Simms offers. The G4 utilizes leather and Schoeller? fabric technology.

• Schoeller?-dynatec high performance abrasion-resistant mesh panels with Nanosphere? finish
• Bellowed leather tongue allows for easy-on, easy-off
• Molded toe and heel counters eliminate toe box collapse and provide a better fitting boot
• PU one-piece midsole
• Minimum exposed stitching for increased durability and less opportunity for "hitchhikers"
• Fully neoprene lined with closed-cell foam for minimal water absorption
• Rubber rand for superior durability & and internal 3D ankle stabilizer
• Contoured speed lacing system with roller guide eyelet for friction-free adjustment & high quality, non-corrosive hardware
• Offered in men's whole sizes: 7-14 EEE
• Features CleanStream? technology along with our new StreamTread traction sole with Vibram? Idrogrip? 360 traction lug sole

The West Branch is a very easy stream to wade, particulary at the water levels that we had there this week - around 900cfs on Tuesday and about 650cfs yesterday. However, wherever I walked and waded, which included waist deep water, and a few miles up and down the river, the vabram sole stuck to rocks like it was glued there. I've never had better footing with any other wading boots and that includes wading boots with felts, felts with spikes and vibram with spikes. Although I also got a set of the removable metal spikes for the boots, I'm unsure whether I'll be using them. Now, I'm anxious to try these boots out on some more challenging rivers to see how they perform.

Another thing that I liked is they are a very rigid boot, which contribues to sure footing when wading on an uneven rocky stream bottom, and I never feet that uncomfortable feeling of a rock poking on the bootom of my foot that I get with some other wading boots. Plus they have a thick, cushioned neoprene interior and are very easier to put on and take off. I could easily put them on when both the boots and my waders were dry which is something I could not do with my older Simms wading boots. And, their speed laces made it a snap to lace and tie, as well as to take them off.

Their downside, however, was that as a result of all the rigidity and heavy padding inside the boot, they were hard to lace snugly around my ankles (even though I was wearing just one pair of wool socks on underneath) and that made them somewhat uncomfortable to walk in for any distance. They slipped a bit up and down around my ankles when I walked which was somewhat uncomfortable. Plus, I also got more gravel inside the boots than I normally get, even with the gravel guards that are built into my Simms waders. I think Simms went a bit overbaord on the thick padding inside these boots, and as a result they aren't large enough go all the way around my ankle when I laced them up. I don't have partilarly large ankles so this may be an even bigger concern for other people.

I'd give these boots an overall "B" rating - but I'd probably still buy another pair if I were in the market.

As an aside, on Tuesday afternoon the West Branch had the heaviest hatch of BWOs, Paraleps and Hendricksons that I've ever seen on any river. The entire surface of the river was almost completely covered with flies from early afternoon until almost 5:00pm. They were so thick at times that there were large balls of fly masses floating down the river, and you could scoop them up by the handfull. The weather chaged constantly all day from rain to sleet to hail to full sunshine, and with incessant wind of up to 35mph the entire day, it was interesting to say the least! With so many bugs, the fishing was fantastic, but the catching was difficult, however we were able to land several fish - all quite large (even by Delaware standards) so it was a most enjoyable day.

John

[Bamboozle]

While Simms brags the G4: "Features CleanStream technology along with our new StreamTread traction sole with Vibram Idrogrip 360 traction lug sole"; the West Branch of the Delaware has an acknowledged Didymo problem. I know you realize this already but for those that don't, due diligence regarding cleaning and drying completely doesn't go away with those shoes.

Another knock I have to shoes like that is the stiff uppers you complained about. I discovered a long time ago that if you do a lot of fishing from a kneeling or crouched position, you'll HATE shoes with a stiff upper.

You just saved me $220!

[Bluegill222]

Thanks for the review, John.

Good point Bamboozle, we can't and shouldn't confuse "being easier to clean" with "not needing to". Just because the nasties can't hitchhike as easily on the new boots doesn't mean they can't at all.

[fishin' fool]

I have a pair of Simms boots with the same Vibram sole that you just purchased. While I wouldn't say that they allow my boot to stick to the rocks or that they're as good as felt with studs, they work better than I thought they would. I have only one suggestion for you and your desire to try them out on rivers that are tougher to wade, STUDS. I can say from personal experience that on rivers with bowling ball rocks and any slickness to them you will definately want a set of the carbide studs installed in the boot, especially if you are accustomed to felt. The vibram soles simply do not provide the same level of traction.

[John Rhoades]

I have a pair of Simms boots with the same Vibram sole that you just purchased. While I wouldn't say that they allow my boot to stick to the rocks or that they're as good as felt with studs, they work better than I thought they would. I have only one suggestion for you and your desire to try them out on rivers that are tougher to wade, STUDS. I can say from personal experience that on rivers with bowling ball rocks and any slickness to them you will definately want a set of the carbide studs installed in the boot, especially if you are accustomed to felt. The vibram soles simply do not provide the same level of traction.

As I mentioned, I'm not sure I'll be putting studs in these boots because I have already have other pairs of boots with studs in them. However, I should also have mentioned that a rather nice feature of the G4's is (Simms claims) you can repeatedly insert and remove studs from the soles of these boots. The Vibram is elastic enough that it fills in the holes when the studs are removed, and provides enough grip to hold them in place when they are reinserted. So, you should be able to use these boots with or without studs whenever or whereever you wish. (Since I haven't done this myself though, I'd like to see this done in actual fishing conditions over a period of time to see how long they would hold up doing this, and how many studs you might loose over time.)