Maybe it’s because I am no longer 22 years old or maybe it’s really because I am a few pounds (really more than a few) overweight but I have a difficult time taking off my waders after a day on the water. Am I the only one? Are there any tips that make getting out of stocking foot waders less a pita?
I need a boot puller for waders, they fit my feet tight and then after being in them for hours and they are wet they are stuck on their like super glue, well if not super glue how about shrink wrapped plastic. It’s the off season here and I just took delivery of a new set of Patagonia Water Masters and I just tried them on and thought to myself their has to be a better way and my buds from FAOL know everything so let’s ask ANOTHER dumb question on line and prove how silly I am. :lol:
I also had problems with stocking foot waders – especially the type I have now. What I have started doing was pointing my toes down so the booy doesnt get caught on my heal – pulling both on the toe end and the heel as needed. Once I get the boot over the heel, then it comes off pretty easy. Still not easy but better than it was.
Real easy! Take those plastic grocery bags and put them over your feet and up your ankle. You can literally slip your stocking foots right off. If I don’t have too many layers of socks, sometimes the stocking foots come right off with the wading shoe. Be careful of using the white bags that have red printing on them, the red comes off and stains the inside of my waders and my socks. I stick with the blue bags from our local grocery stores. See there is a good use for those bags, even though they are “trashed” for not being “green”.
The other day while fishing I took off my wading boots and the 2-block hike from the river to the truck through the snow froze my boots to my waders so no problem - now, what am I going to do in July?:rolleyes:
I don’t have any good solutions, but I’m going to try the grocery bag method, sounds like a winner to me. The bad hip and ankle really make it hard to bend over anymore so anything helpful is of interest to me also.
Plastic grocery bags!! Who’d a thought??? We used to use bread bags on the kids so they could get snow boots on and off reasonably easily … that’d make it sooooo much easier with the waders! Thank you!
I knew that with all of the collective experience we have on this forum someone would have an idea that I didn’t think of. I don’t know why but I was thinking of something that you put over your socks that have a tab or something that you could grab and it would help peel them off. Now if I just invented such a thing there would be a market. Go a head and steel my idea and make it and I will buy it. Everyone knows that fly fisherman buy all kinds of goofy things. I’ve purchased 3 MonoMasters already - look that up if you don’t know what it is. Gizmos are us should be the fly fisher’s credo. :lol:
Still open to other ideas so keep them coming if you have another technique that works for you.
If you very carefully (VERY carefully) take the toe of your right foot, and stand on a fold at the heel of your left foot, and raise your left foot, the sockie foot will come off in one pull. Then, reverse the process (carefully step your toe from your left foot, on the fold at the heel of your right foot, and lift your right foot).Or if you can bribe your fishing partner, sit down, grab hold of something substantial, and have him/her pull both sockies at the same time. All done! It may cost you a beer, but well worth the investment!
Now I must admit that the favor is reciprocated when fishing with my wife. Its just when I am salmon fishing with the boys I feel like a 3rd grader asking one of my fishing partners to help me get dressed or the opposite of that in this situation with the waders. I just want to find an easy way to take care of it myself. I might call a few wader companies and ask them how they recomend it be done. Now that is about as original as reading the manual. :o
I ain’t as bendable as I once was either. My very good friend, Phil Heck, grabbed the heel of my waders and yanked when I was taking them off near the Madison one day and made life SO much easier. Now it goes without saying, when we fish together we help each other.
As Croaker would say, ‘Ain’t friends grand’?
I use garbage bags. I only wear neoprene’s though. but I started doing this recently when my wader started leaking but the fishing was too hot to take a day or two off and fix them. should have figured this out years ago.
Be sure to have your partner carefully pull off your waders. Dislocated mine, and that’s no fun at all! Of course, I fish by myself a lot, so other methods come in handy…
That Steve Molcsan is one smooth talking son of a gun.
I guess I’m going to have to try the bag thing, sounds easier than getting them started with my toes and standing on end of the wader. I would encourage everyone to do some flexibility and core strengthen exercises, 20 minutes a day makes a lot of difference. I started them because I never learned to enjou pinched nerves in my back.
I called Patagonia this morning and Simms. Talked to a couple of very nice reps at both companies. The Patagonia fellow spoke about their very high end wader as having a wool lining inside of the neoprene to not only help with insulation but ease of taking them off. He asked what type of sock I was wearing. I usually just wear a cotton sock. He said that the perspiration absorbing cotton and the moisture added to my difficulty taking off of my waders and suggested a hiking type, wool blend sock which should make getting the waders off easier.
I then called Simms. The rep was a very nice and helpful guy and he suggested as did Big Bad Wulff did to reach down inside the wader and break the suction seal around the ankle and allow some air to get in then they should come off easier.
So when the weather finally warms up enough to get out and fish I have a new strategy: new socks and a little air and hopefully this pita process will be a little bit easier.
Come to the Great Waters Show in St. Charles and try on some waders in the Simms booth. Ask for Colleen Trayser, she’s very well versed on the issue that you spoke of.
:rolleyes:
Just kidding, there are several benefits to fishing with my wife. 
