Last season I was hoping that Simms would come out with a sandal with their Vibram Streamtread sole. Guess what ?? ( I have a previous model of a Simms wading sandal and it has been good wet wading footwear. It did have one major flaw - velcro closures. I never lost a sandal while wading, but the possibility was always a concern. The new Streamtread Sandal has a laced closure which should prove to be very secure. )
Ordered a pair yesterday, with a 25% discount on the occasion of Simms’ annual turkey sandwich day at The Grizzly Hackle in Missoula. The sandal version also accepts the studs used on the boots.
Not to start another discussion of felt vs. whatever, but I have heard really good things about the Simms wading boots with these soles, and am eager to give the sandals a go.
Just a couple months out !!
John
P.S. Don’t know if an oversized Streamtread Sandal would work as wading footwear with waders, but it is worth considering. I have used oversized Teva sandals with waders occasionally, and that is a very satisfactory option when the temps are decent and the streambed is not too difficult. Lots easier hiking in with that set up, and lots easier on the more expensive gear that doesn’t get beat up on trails.
I read somewhere sandals are problematic with gravels entering the sole and are hard to dislodge. Last year I bought a pair of Cabela’s “loafer” type because of this concern and they did OK for wet wading. I gather you havent had a problem with this?
With a more “open” design, it is easy enough to remove them simply by lifting and shaking your foot. The current Simms design is a bit more “closed” than I would prefer, but that should reduce the amount of larger material that can get in and I think the sizing will allow for thicker socks which eliminates a lot of the irritation caused by getting smaller materials inside.
Part of it gets down to whether you are a “tender foot” in the literal sense, and that is not meant negatively. I seem to tolerate stuff getting in my footwear, whether boots or sandals, better than a lot of folks do.
Guess I’ll know in a few months how the sandals work out. No matter what on that score, I’ll know whether I want to invest in the Simms Streamtread boots when I need to replace my current boots.
I’ve tried the Keen’s and some Teva’s that are darn near identical to the Simms. But they get full of junk and it starts to hurt with those small pebbles jabbing at your feet. There OK for just hopping into the river or on a boat ect… just not all day wading. If you already wear socks with slippers, well, that’s a different issue. But these Guard socks are meant to be warn with your wading boots. I wear there wet wading sock underneath like I would wear socks with a pair of waders. It’s kinda like wearing your waders but not, your in shorts and you have your boots for a sturdy platform to fish from. These have added all day comfort and support for those nice summer days. Combine these with some quick dry shorts and your in business. There also cheaper then 90$ to use with your existing equipment when it gets hott…
Cheap gym shoes have always been MY go to’s for wet wading. The sand and gravel that casuse INTENSE pain are merely my opportunity , much like wearing a hair shirt, to pay for SOME of my sins.
Those Simms sandals look very similar to the Keen sandals I’ve had for the past 5 years or so. If they are like mine, they do tend to come off somewhat easily when wading. I secure mine to my ankles with velcro tethers that I also use with flippers in my float tube.
I agree with what you say about the problem that Simms had with velcros straps – I’ve got a pair of them too. A couple years ago they beefed up the velcro by using industrial strength velcro, which was an improvement over their prior models, but I don’t understand why they simply didn’t go to quick release plactic buckles.
I wet wade 8 months out of 12 and just use my regular wading shoes with a set-up like Lucky88. I never quite understood why some folks feel compelled to wear different footwear than they do when they are not wet wading. Sandals are for Romans, not fisherman.
I want the same support, stability and protection when wading, every time I go fishing. I can see the advantage to a lighter shoe for long hikes out but if I don’t feel like wearing my clunky boots for a hike over 3 miles, I just bring along an old pair of proper hiking shoes and hide them in the brush and pick them up on the way out. Most of the time I just deal with it.
I think you’d understand if you came to MT and fished with me in my drift boat on a hot, summer day. As they say “Rome wasn’t built in a day” but I think we could show you in less than a day why sandals might be an attractive alternative to your normal “non-Roman” wading attire.
I used to use old tennis shoes also to wet wade, but the wet wading shoes I use now have 2 advantages - Sole not as slippery as tennis shoes and the second - Way less stink! The second reason may be the most important if you ask the Mrs…
Also, I love my Patagonia wading boots, but they are just too hot when the 90 degree plus days hit in July and August…
I guess I am confused about wet wading in hot weather in Montana & Virginia. Where I come from, wading means you are IN the water, not in a boat and wet wading means your feet get wet as does most of the rest of you.
Where I live, in summer that means fishing in 95+ degrees of stinkin’ heat with 90% humidity in water that is hopefully less than 70 degrees, usually around 62. When I’m in the water wet wading under those conditions I can fish all day no matter how hot it gets and do so regularly often covering miles. When I get out of the water with wet feet, wet pants, wet socks, wet neoprene booties and soaking wet wading shoes the wetness keeps me cool through evaporation.
So why is a sandal going to make a difference? Does that little bit of extra weight make walking a few miles that much more difficult in the heat?? I can see it sitting in a boat if the shoes were dry but that’s easy to fix. Maybe because I’m a gear minimalist, don’t wear a vest and like to carry as little as possible or because heavy boots/shoes have been on my feet for eons, but I honestly don’t notice it. Besides, heat & humidity get to me no matter what I wear so I opt for the best footwear for all conditions and sandals wouldn’t cut it where I fish.
But if it floats your boat, (pardon the pun), march on Roman Legionaries!
I just like being comfortable, and sandals are more comfortable for me than boots, in most situations where really cold water and / or cold weather are not a factor in the decision.
From a practical point of view - 1# on your feet is equal to 5# on your back. So a minimalist wearing wet boots has the equivalent of 10# plus on his back compared to a wet wader in sandals.
John Rhoades’ experience may be more about drift boats, where sandals really do make a lot of sense. My experience is about wet wading everything from small creeks to fairly large rivers, where sandals really do make a lot of sense.
Old sneakers are fine if you are playing in a sand box. For the freestone creeks in this neck of the woods, your doctor will much appreciate your wearing them - it’ll help him make the next few payments on his new drift boat, if not pay for it outright.
That thing about support, stability, and protection ?? If you are a tenderfoot with weak ankles and poor balance, you might actually need boots. But my experience is that boots give very little additional support to your ankles, don’t really improve your balance, and certainly don’t lead to toughening up your feet. In other words, boots are for wienies.
I am not any tender foot. As a matter of fact compliments of a disease called diabetes there is every likely hood that my feet are substantially less sensitive to irritation from foreign objects than most others, with the exception of other diabetics, on the stream. Loss of sensation due to loss of circulation and nerve damage means I need maximum protection against even the slightest wound caused by foreign objects damage or in aviation lingo F.O.D.
As a diabetic and a soldier I check my feet at least twice daily with even the slightest scratch addressed immediately. Any type of open wading boot/shoe/sandal that allows foreign objects in is a bad idea for us diabetics out there. Use a closed shoe or boot with gravel guards.
Hey Bamboozle,
Come on up and we will wade some of these mountain spring fed streams here in Perry County. 90 degree heat + 99% humidity but wade in a 65 degree stream. You get a little shock when the water gets up around the crotch, the voice goes up a few octaves but in time things below the belt line will also go numb thus relieving any discomforts there.
Personally, I don’t like wading sandals if I’m going to be walking fo any distance because I almost always seem to get some irritating stones under my feet, and feel the need to stop to clean them out. So, if I’m walking any distance I prefer to wear my wading shoes with a pair of neoprene booties and gravel guards. But, I’ve fished with others that seem to be able to hike rather long distances in wading sandals.
When I’m fishing in my drift boat, or even better still from my cataraft, I’m getting into and out of the boat a number of times during the day. I get my feet wet when I launch and again at the take out, as well as anchoring and getting out to wade at some of the better places to fish. On a hot day, that’s when wading sandals really come into their own, as far as I’m concerned. A lot of the time when I’m in the boat I take my sandals off completely, and go barefoot.
With me it is mostly about side wall and toe protection, not so much ankle support. As a matter of fact I like as little ankle support as possible so I can crouch, squat and kneel comfortably without the stiff high top of a shoe with a lot of ankle support digging in. When I buy wading shoes I look for a hard heel counter, as well as stiff side-walls & a hard toe cap because many, many times, my foot ends up getting jambed or forced into gaps in rocks that aren’t nice round over-sized pebbles like you have in some places. I can tell you from experience that HURTS a lot if your wading shoe doesn’t have the right kind of protection in the right places.
Obviously a sandy bottomed stream or less rocky stream would be suitable for “beach wear” but in my rocky home waters, us weenies will stick with combat boots!
BTW - Maybe you members of the Caligae Clan should take those those Simms for a spin here.
Your should try the Codorus and wet wading, I was wet wading there once in August when the water was in the 40’s. All I can tell you is, the second that water hit my waist…
…I looked and sounded looked like somebody who would wear sandals.
I’m totally with you on this Bam! In Central Oregon we get into the 100’s but without the humidity! Thank Goodness! But wet wading all along the Deschutes with sandals is a really bad idea! Plus going ba11s deep on those really hot days makes for a great way to cool off once the voice drops back down from a shrill. Sandals are great for some boat fishing, but the on the lower D you can’t fish from a boat! Plus it’s really easy to bite it getting in and out constantly. If your just going for a “splash an giggle” float by all means be a Roman, heck, even wear your white socks with those sandals (weardo’s). Just don’t wear the studs with your Korkers while in the boat, opt for one of the other soles! I’m a minimalist too, so where does the 1# thing come from? It never effected me, but I’m not in my 60s maybe my back has a few less miles on it. But by all means wear those sandals but don’t say we didn’t warn you!
… about 14 years ago I was hiking Wheeler Peak at Great Basin National Park in Nevada. The trailhead for Wheeler Peak is at about 10,000’ elevation, and the summit is just over 13,000’. I was hiking up to the summit wearing Teva sandals and a nice young woman who was coming down suddenly asked, from about twenty feet away “Do you want to borrow my boots??” I immediately replied “Why, are your feet hot ??” After talking for a while she finally told me it was okay if I proceeded to the summit wearing my sandals, which I did. She was nice enough, but kind of out of line.
When I did the Bogachiel - Sol Duc loop on the Olympic Peninsula in Tevas that year no one gave me any guff. But then again, in nineteen miles with about 4000-4500’ elevation gain and loss, I only saw one other person.
Most backpackers seem to know about the 1# thing. I guess being a minimalist doesn’t count ?? Or maybe you just have to age a bit before you pick up on things like that.
John
P.S. That thing about being in your 60’s ?? Easier to get there traveling light - in sandals.
P.P.S. That thing about the Deschutes ?? If I ever get over that way, I’ll show you how it’s done.
Ok, Old man, you think you can show me up on my home waters. Good luck with that! I almost always wear my Teva flip-flops when I’m not in my wading boots, even in the snow and hiking around. Go take a nap while you dream about the Deschutes.
P.S. See the wet wading out fit in the last two Pics!!! Tough to beat that, oh and the one with the Chunker Brookie. All areas of the D, Upper, Middle, and Lower
Cheers
-Jake
Those are some mighty nice fish you guys caught - the brown in the last pic is a real chunk!!
I forgot my wading shoes on one of my trips to Penns Creek here in Pa. No way I was going to drive all the way back home (55+ miles) and get em. I decided to wade in my stocking foot waders - NEVER AGAIN. Penns will punish your feet with the best of boots on. No way would/could I wear sandals. After having run cross-country/track in high school and an untold amount of miles while in the military, plus X-country skiing, you would think my ankles would be pretty tough - NOPE! I’ve had more sprained ankles than you can shake a stick at! My last one was the worst - a fellow B-baller fell across the back of my leg. That one took a long time to heal - I had to hunt with a mukluk over my cast! LOL!!! Anyway, as you approach Penns Creek and look at the surrounding ridges you will see a few massive areas on the slopes where there are nothing but fields of jumbled rock that was left by the glaciers when they receded. You will find many stretches of Penns where the bottom of the creek has the same haphazard placement of sharp rocks. I have talked to numerous folks that have commented about Penns being the worst stream that they have ever tried to wade. You have got to wear a good pair of boots that give your toes and ankles a break from all the jamming and slamming as your feet constantly jostle for a foot hold. It’s treacherous folks! I also feel a " little" safer being in some well known rattlesnake/copperhead country. One thing I do have is very good balance, and it has saved me a time or two or three! The catch and release area is the most beautiful section of stream (IMHO), but also the most challenging to wade. I believe there are a number of folks on this site who can verify (or not! LOL!). When it comes to wading, over-kill has got to be safer. Yes? No? Maybe? Depends?
Best regards, Dave who likes to stay dry - unless I’m intentionally swimming!
I can see it sitting in a boat if the shoes were dry but that’s easy to fix. Maybe because I’m a gear minimalist, don’t wear a vest and like to carry as little as possible or because heavy boots/shoes have been on my feet for eons, but I honestly don’t notice it. Besides, heat & humidity get to me no matter what I wear so I opt for the best footwear for all conditions and sandals wouldn’t cut it where I fish.
