Wader shoes

[Chukarman]

Another alternative for stream traction are Stream Cleats - I have a pair from Dan Bailey - a rubber overshoe with felt and VERY aggressive aluminum channels riveted on the soles. I use these over my Simms shoes when the going gets really slippery. The work like magic for me.

 

Patagonia and Boa have Stream Cleat products and there are several makers of crampon type cleats made and offered. They are a bit like Korkers.

 

[E.Young]

I wet-wade in saltwater multiple times a week, from sandy beaches to surf-pounded jetties to pluff mud and sod banks. I have two primary options: some old Orvis Christmas Tree Island boots for when things are soft, or a pair of felt-soled wading boots with carbide studs, paired with fold-over neoprene wading socks when I need traction or will be walking over oyster beds or other sharp things. 

 

With the felt/carbide combo (I buy them annually and my current pair are the cheapest Cabela's model), I can feel very confident standing on a washed-over jetty with snotty, slick rocks, and the stakes can be high in those situations. 

 

On felt vs rubber: Felt grips, rubber slips. There is no comparison - I've tried them all and I'll take cheap felt + carbide over the most expensive rubber + anything boots out there, and when the risk of slipping is the risk of going into the wash 100yd out on a jetty with a strong rip, great whites, idiot boaters, $3-4k in gear... my safety, staying put, is the priority. There's a lot more to the underlying idea of the felt vs rubber debate than soles... if invasives are transferred via felt soles, they're transferring at as high or higher rates via boat bilges, raft straps, boots themselves, laces, waders, gravel guards, etc etc etc. The list of places banning felt is pretty darn short and I'm quite confident it isn't getting longer for those reasons. 

[shoot-straight]

Another vote for Simms. My orvis ones fell apart ASAP. I think Mine are vapors as well.

[spring]

Skip the waders and these work pretty well....  😉

 

 

[Swampy 16]

6 hours ago, shoot-straight said:

Another vote for Simms. My orvis ones fell apart ASAP. I think Mine are vapors as well.

Orvis will replace those, ASAP !

[Spin]

I've used nothing but oversized gym shoes worn over stocking foot waders for close to 2 decades now and frankly have never looked back.

Just about everyone I knew back in PA when I was a kid, waded in cut offs or swimming trunks and sneakers when fishing the Susky or the Delaware or any

other warm water fishery. Considering that I do a great deal of hiking on dry ground and over pretty rough terrain the "Tenners" are really light

and very comfortable.

[Chief Paduke]

One has to know highbrow literature to appreciate “Tenners.”

[mister grouse]

Those Bailey Stream cleats will destroy a  fly line in a heart beat IME.  If you are in fast or slick bottom water where you are casting a lot of fly line it is about impossible to keep the line from under your feet at some point during the day.  One false step in the Baily cleats and the line is severed. I am a big fan of Chukarman's posts, but will have to respectfully disagree on the Bailey sharp edged cleats.

 

The rounded edged Patagonia cleats are much more friendly to underfoot flylines.

 

 

[Chukarman]

On 12/8/2020 at 12:46 PM, mister grouse said:

Those Bailey Stream cleats will destroy a  fly line in a heart beat IME.  If you are in fast or slick bottom water where you are casting a lot of fly line it is about impossible to keep the line from under your feet at some point during the day.  One false step in the Baily cleats and the line is severed. I am a big fan of Chukarman's posts, but will have to respectfully disagree on the Bailey sharp edged cleats.

 

The rounded edged Patagonia cleats are much more friendly to underfoot flylines.

I have not tried the Patagonia round edge cleats, but I like (and own) quite a few Patagonia products.

 

I do a lot of pocket water fishing - short line dries or soft hackles - and the rocks where I fish can be very greasy. I like the Bailey stream Cleats as a good tool to help me fish more aggressively without risking damage to my body. I have had two friends that drown while trout fishing and do not want to join them. YMMV.