One vote for the Korkers. Probably one of my best fishing purchases. I have 2 bad knees and these have made my fishing so much easier. The soles have held up very well adn have only replaced 2 studs so far.
One vote for the Korkers. Probably one of my best fishing purchases. I have 2 bad knees and these have made my fishing so much easier. The soles have held up very well adn have only replaced 2 studs so far.
In my experience:
Grub Creek boots fall apart and the plastic shim in them cut a hole in my waderboot.
Simms guide boots shrink so much when they dry that you'll have to get them wet to get them back on
Simms lightweight, I think now called the L2, are pretty sweet. Have lots of support and don't shrink. Have held up well over two seasons and I'd buy another pair.
Patagonia boots seem to wear fast but I never had a pair
I don't think there's really a place for studs and the Simms aquastealth are interesting but I still think felt is the only way to go unless it's winter or there's lots of slippery muck.
Hi Dave,
I too, am in Denver and was pleased to move from the Simms Freestone to the Lightweights last year. Mine were the studded aquastealths and I removed the studs after several weeks (I spend a fair share of time in boats) and have been very happy with them. I thought I would use my felt soled free stones more but alas they just remain in my garage. In fact the aquastealths have exceeded my expectations both in the water and on the trail. Good luck in your decision and just make sure you like the feel of them on your foot.
--Shiba
Everyone has their own opinions on wading boots and I'll just have to add mine to the list. I fish quite a bit averaging about 3 days a week, more during steelhead season, and have gone through multiple pairs of boots in the past few years. I've had 3 pairs of Chota STL boots and found them to be very comfortable but their durability is definitely lacking. My first pair wore out in under a year as both heels seperated from the soles. My fishing partner also had this happen to his first pair of Chota's. The second pair seemed to last a little bit longer but once again the heels seperated from the soles after about 14 months. I realize I fish a lot and steelheading is, I think, sometimes tougher on boots but I bought a third pair anyway because they are so comfortable. Once again, they held up for about a year and that was it. So, last year I bought the Simms guide boots with cleats and absolutely love them. They grip just as good as the Chota's but so far they are taking the abuse very well, especially the felt. Oh, I forgot to mention that all of my quick laces on the chotas broke and I replaced them with hiking boot laces treated with Nikwax. Overall the chotas are great if your not fishing multiple days every week, but the Simms have just held up for me better. Just my $.02.
I have Chota STL's as well and they have held up pretty good although the soles need replacing. I have discovered that if you wear the soles down too much, if you replace the studs they will stick out too far. I purchased a pair of replacement soles but not for the studded version. This weekend I am going punch out the holes required and replace them. Hopefully my local shoemaker can then stitch them as well. If it turns out OK it will have cost me about $14 for the soles, $6 for new studs, $10 for glue, and the same for the shoemaker, not too bad.
In regards to the heels falling off; this happened to me too. Fortunately it happened while I was taking a break and not in the stream. I took a page from my Russell wading shoes and re-glued the Chota heel and took four ?? stainless steel flat head sheet metal screws and screwed the heels into the soles; end of problem. I have replaced the laces a few times but that?s the nature of shock cord.
I personally am from the old school that thinks that you should be able to either replace your soles and heels when they wear out or send them back for replacing. It sucks to have to spend $100 + for wading shoes and replace them once a year. Unfortunately nobody offers that in a modern shoe that I like. I own quite a few pairs of wading shoes so mine last pretty long. I also take good care of them, cleaning the shoe and soles after each trip.
For that reason I also own two pair of Russell wading shoes. They are twice the price of any other shoe but are custom made so they will fit your foot perfectly. They are available with true wool felt which grips WAY better than synthetic felt and they offer Korker?s studs. I know too that if you send them a pair of Auqa Stealth soles they will build you a pair of shoes with them on, they did it for me. They also offer a re-felting service which will run you less than a new pair of most any other shoe.
The down side is that because they are made of quality leather they do require some care after use. Cleaning and dressing of the leather when dry is all I do for years of use. If you are the type that just throws your wading equipment in the trunk, forget it. But if you are like me and looks at the investment in wading equipment the same as I do my rods and reels and takes care of stuff; Russell?s may be worth the investment.
[url=http://www.russellmoccasin.com/shoes_wading/wading_russell.html:56ccc]http://www.russellmoccasin.com/shoes_wading/wading_russell.html[/url:56ccc]
[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 26 March 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 26 March 2005).]
I had the same problem with my CHOTA STL's, the heel fell off after a year of use.
JOHN
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