Just came back from Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler with a pair of Simm’s River Sandals. They were on close out at $69.95, normally priced at $89.95.
Two things. First, this model, which has a felt sole, is being discontinued by Simms. I obviously haven’t tried it yet, but both Jimmy and Bruce Staples consider it a great wet wading sandal, which recommendation ought to be good enough for anyone who knows how to tie a fly onto a tippet. Second, Jimmy has a pretty good number of these sandals in sizes 7 to 13 in inventory and on close out.
If you are in the market for a wet wading sandal, it would be hard, if not impossible, to do better.
Here’s a link to Jimmy’s All Seasons Angler. They do take phone orders.
And here is one place ( the Lochsa River ) I am definitely going to wet wade in these sandals, soon.
John
P.S. I have no connection to Jimmy’s other than being a fully satisfied customer for everything from fly tying materials to rods and reels to wading gear over the past six years. Even after I move to Missoula, I expect Jimmy’s to be part of my fly fishing experience on a regular basis.
Ok, thanks…and thanks for the heads up on the wading sandals…couple things from experience wet wading…I’ve cut my feet up on rocks a couple of times so went to sandals/boots/shoes that give better coverage…don’t want a staff infection because i won’t stop fishing even when bleeding from my foot…heh…
I’ve got a new wet wading outfit recently that consists of the cheapest hiking mid cut shoes i could find that seem grippy, some zip-off-leg hiking/flats wading pants and of course a long sleeve shirt and the requisite funny looking wide brimmed hat…and always a wading staff.
Let me say i’ve never had such freedom wading than with this setup. I always just wore good brand fast dry shorts and wading boots…expensive ones at that. After several days of wading with the new outfit, I’m sold and funny thing…i din’t really feel wet since i bloused the pant legs and there was barely any sand and no gravel in my hiking shoes (mid cut helps a lot). In fact, i got the impression my wet legs were actually warmer than the water temp…so may even try this in the winter…
Lastly, I’ve never contracted a leech in all my many years of wet wading…i don’t think they like me 'cause i’ve seen the buggers and they wiggle away from me frantically !
"Hi, Jimmy. I was over on the Little Lost yesterday. Took the Simms River Sandals with me. Took the worst fall I’ve had in years. Landed on my lower left back on a submerged rock … "
Jimmy’s face drops noticeably with a look of dismay and concern.
" … I guess I should have worn the sandals instead of leaving them in the truck ??"
Jimmy’s face breaks into a wide grin.
The Little Lost is a place that requires more hiking in rough conditions than wading, so I opted for my wading / hiking shoes rather than the Simms sandals. Need to strike a balance on which gear to use and keep your balance when wading so you don’t take a spill like I did.
John
George - thanks for the hijack. Your wet wading outfit sounds very much like mine, except for the long sleeve shirt and the wading staff. Hiking shoes do fine for me in most places, but there are a few creeks that I fish that have exceptionally slick rocks and I think “gearing up” to them is appropriate.
Well the military style bloused zipleg flats shorts/pants have me sold. Fished
about 3.5 hours today for smallies and i went out of my way to get sand and
fine gravel inside my midcut hikers. Hardly a crumb in there.
Another thing i forgot to mention is that i wear neoprene wading boot booties
but no socks. Hikers were a bit tight with the socks and booties so thought i’d
give just the booties a try. Very comfortable ! Can’t say how long the neoprene booties will
last but who cares with new found foot comfort. I even tried part of ‘that gravel bar’ trail with
that setup and it was fine though i don’t think i’d want to do five miles. Short hikes, in and
out of the river is fine though.
Yeah, the long sleeve sun block shirt is a must and the wading staff has been a must have
for a long long time now. Too many spills. Funny thing about these Coleman hikers…they’re fairly
sticky and a couple scrubs on a mossy slick rock makes it passable. I get older, I learn, I go slower,
I catch more fish, I don’t spend much time ‘healing’ from outings anymore ! They aren’t Pit River
capable though but that’s bowling balls covered with carpsnot like goo…but the Coleman’s work fine
in the North, South and mainstem Umpqua, even now when things are so mossed up. Ok, I’ve talked too much !
Wade fished a little creek east of Idaho Falls yesterday for several hours. This is a creek that has a quite jumbled and very slick streambed. I thought it would be a good test for the Simms River Sandal.
The River Sandal passed with flying colors. Wading this creek has never been so easy. Besides feeling very secure with the great grip, the sandals are also very comfortable. And plenty of protection in some pretty rough conditions, both instream and bushwacking.
Its only one time out, but based on their performance yesterday, I highly recommend these sandals. As of Saturday, Jimmy still had a good number of them on close out.
“Two things. First, this model, which has a felt sole, is being discontinued by Simms”
John Scott posted this and agreed, from what I’ve read, Simms is going to discontinue boots, bootfoot waders and sandals with felt soles because they feel they contribute to the spread of fish viruses.
So, this is a good deal for those wanting felt sole sandals at closeout price.
Lots of us still want felt sole wader boots and sandals, Simms take note, because rubber cleat sole waders slip and slide and are extremely scary on mossy rocks in the salt, like at Montauk or any North Shore, Long Island, NY and other saltwater beaches. Rubber soles just CANNOT grip the shore rocks, period. Fishermen just CAN’T stand up with rubber cleated boots in the surf if they’re fishing on TOP of rocks.
SO, if you feel, like me, that you would feel safer with felts, and you like Simms products, you’d be advised to check out the post above, which is a good deal.
BTW, other fishing websites are still selling felts so, obviously, Simms isn’t the only spot to purchase them, even if on sale.
Hope this helps for those choosing felts vs. rubber cleated.
It should be noted that Simms has come out with a new Vibram sole, which will accept studs, which a couple guys have told me are as good and maybe better than felt, at least for their purposes fishing rivers, but maybe not as good for your needs.
The sandals are not yet available in the new Vibram studdable sole. Maybe next year from what I have heard from some Simms retailers. If they were available, I might well have opted for those sandals at a higher price than for the felt soled sandals on close out at a very attractive price ??
The new sole looks impressive, and has received a couple strong recommendations from guys I trust. I guess my own take on it, without trying it, is that Vibram has set the standard for boot / shoe / sandals soles for a looooooonnnnng time and Simms has been a leader in their field for about as long - so if they collaborated closely for quite some time to find a replacement for felt, it will most likely prove a great product.
Couple questions John, do you where anything with the sandals? Also do you have a link to a picture of the Simms River Sandal? I’ve become interested. I fished with my aforementioned outfit for 7 hours today with retired as of Friday friend across the river here and i have to say, if i could do this in sandals, I would. Even though my setup is about the most perfect way to wet wade that I’ve found so far, I’d welcome a better way.
I know it would cause me to flyfish more…and the only drawback i can think of is the cold water of winter. I’m happy with my neoprenes and felt sole or even my ‘bots dots’ wading boots but what if i could somehow wet wade even in winter…wearing river sandals…i think that would wreak havoc on the local steelhead population not to mention whatever i could scare up in the winter surf nearby. Great thread John, thank you !
I’ve thought about getting another pair, two sizes larger, to wear with my waders during the winter. Probably would have to add socks, some fleece, and maybe a jacket and gloves for the winter fishing. BUT felt and snow really don’t do very well together. And winter fishing in this neck of the woods means snow, sometimes quite a bit of it, and for some distance to and from fishable water.
The winter thing is one place the new studdable Vibram soles will really outshine felt products, except in FLA, parts of CA, TX and some other places that don’t have such lovely places to go that time of year.
Well yer different, aren’t you John…prolly the only flyfisher i know that
wears anything but wading boots or river sandals ! All seriousness aside
though, you don’t wear socks or neprene booties with the sandals then ?
Thanks for the link John, those are lookin’ good…i may break down since
you suggest they offer good protection while wading in rough stuff.
Jacket and gloves in the winter…yes John, yer on a roll here…oh boy…
again all seriousness aside, good idea on the ‘two sizes larger’ sandals
for winter wading with the neoprenes. I’ll be staying tuned for developments
in that area. Thanks again John.
No socks. Never did it and still don’t when hiking in Tevas and won’t do it wearing wading sandals.
A couple stories about sandals, and socks.
I was hiking to the summit of Wheeler Peak ( 13,063’ ) in Great Basin National Park a few years ago ( '98 or 9 ) wearing Tevas without socks. Nice summer day. A very pretty, tall young lady from Denver was on her way down.
“Would you like to borrow my boots ?”
“Why ? Are your feet hot ?”
After talking to me for about ten minutes to satisfy herself that I was not some looney character who was bent on self destruction, she finally announced that it was okay for me to proceed to the summit. Such a considerate and kind young woman.
Lori, a perrennial college student who happened to be attending UNLV around year ‘00 at age 29 or thereabouts, joined a group from our mountaineer club that I was leading to the summit of Hayford Peak ( 9915’ ), high point of the Sheep Range north of Vegas. Hayford is a long day - fifteen plus miles and over 4,000’ elevation gain off trail. The worst part of it is the first, and last, three or so miles are walking in a desert wash of loose rock ( gravel ) that is roughly the consistency of soft beach sand. What fun !! Nine hours on the move for the faster people in the group.
Well, Lori wore Tevas. With socks. After descending a couple miles from the summit, Lori asked me to stop for a break. When she took her sandals and socks off, it was not a pretty sight. Much raw meat and a little loose skin left on the soles of her feet. We patched her up best we could and tried to make it as easy as possible for her the rest of the way down. That poor kid learned a lesson about sandals and socks that day. Very tough lesson.
John
P.S. I understand that it is not possible to hijack your own thread ?? If I am wrong about that, feel free to let me know.
Let me help with this Hijack thing John. I wonder if you’ve ever seen this website? Thought you might be interested. http://www.summitpost.org/
I can’t do it anymore, but I like to keep tabs on those who can.
That is one of my favorite websites for the outdoors. Haven’t been on it for the last several months, but spend a lot of time there during the winter researching places or reliving some that I’ve seen through others’ reports on their outings.
Interesting stories John, you may well be starting a revolution and who
knows, the ‘act of wearing socks’ could go the way of the foot operated
grinding wheel.
Well, since i’ve started wearing the neoprene booties with the midcut
hikers for wet wading, i’ve noticed my feet feel better after the fishing.
Yesterday saw about 8.5 to 9 hours wearing the above mentioned combo
and it almost seems beneficial to my feets ! As a result, i may never
wear socks again. Interesting some of the things we don’t do anymore
once we reach our ‘Golden Years’.
