[CpRiver4]

Well I ended up going with the Cloudveil 8x Aquastealth Boots. I was in a shop that carried them and compared to many other boots they were so light. And since I do a lot of hike-in fishing this was important to me.

I will let you all know what I think after I get them in the water.

[BigCliff]

Originally Posted by Fly2Fish

Let me throw my 2c worth in here about Korkers with their (patented) interchangeable soles. I'm sure all these other boots are high quality, but to me the ability to change out the soles without either replacing the boots or going through a major "re-soling" effort is a major advance over other boots - no matter how high quality - that don't have interchangeable soles.

I'm considering getting a pair for my next wading boot and found this review online that some might find helpful- Review - Korkers Guide Boot

Anybody have any experience with their Cross-Current model? Theyz lots cheaper and I have to wonder about their durability.

[Fly2Fish]

Originally Posted by Hardyreels:
". . . Going to look at the Korkers before I buy anything. Are they comfy on long walking days?"

Hardyreels, sorry about the delay in responding - was out of town away from the internet. I guess the answer depends on how much you walk. I've probably only worn my new Crosscurrents about half a dozen times since I bought them. Probably the most walking I've done in them in a single day was five miles - 1 1/2 miles each way hiking in and back, and the rest along or in the river (San Juan/NM). They felt as comfortable at the end of the day as they did in the beginning, and that's without having to cinch up the laces even once. Probably the toughest wading conditions I've had with them was a day on the Los Pinos/CO, which entailed scrambling over boulders all day long - both in the river and walking along it - in the course of probably putting 3 miles on them including a short hike-in involving steep river banks. On that day the interchangeability of the soles was a life-saver, because I'd had studded felt on them for the extremely slick San Juan river bottom, which studs acted like ice skates on the Los Pinos boulders; fortunately, I had my felt-only soles with me, so it was a simple matter to change them out (& with it, no doubt saving some nasty falls).

Originally Posted by BigCliff:
". . . Anybody have any experience with their Cross-Current model? Theyz lots cheaper and I have to wonder about their durability."

BigCliff, I don't have a lot of experience with them yet as you can see in my above reply to Hardyreels, but so far they seem as durable as my original Korkers Konvertibles, which are an earlier model whose soles aren't interchangeable with the newer Cross-Currents. Differences I note are that the soles on the Cross-Currents are more difficult to put in for me despite use of the "key" which didn't come with my Konvertibles. While my Konvertibles never had a problem losing the soles, I suspect that some users did have problems, thus leading Korkers to beef up the sole-anchoring system in the Cross-Currents (& probably Guides as well). Although they cost twice as much, had I to do it over I would have bought the Korkers top-of-the-line Guide model because of its unique "dial" lace-tightening system which would have taken some load off my lower back cinching the laces up. Reason I didn't was that I'd put on enough weight to where my Konvertibles are now too tight and I didn't want to put a lot of money into the new larger boots because I expect to drop my weight down enough to again fit into the Konvertibles . However, considering that you'd never have to buy a new boot because the soles wore out, it would have been a good investment to buy the twice-as-expensive Guides.

[Joni]

I just ordered the NEW SOLE Rivershed from Simms for my Hubby for Christmas. He has the LEATHER guide aquastealth sole boot and has had for over 10 years and they are still going strong. BUT THEY ARE LIKE A ROCK so he has to soak them before every trip.

I have the Ultra Lites with the AS sole and I have had these for 8+ years with one return because the whole sole was coming off. That was 6 years ago. No worries since.

That new Simms sole will be the BOMB! The stage for future soles, or at least in my opinion.

[BigCliff]

Joni, I've got an old pair of Simms guides which also have the magical shrinking leather. I was stupid enough to order them in my normal shoe size, so they mostly just get worn with guard socks for wet wading. They still require a soak before I can get my feet into them. I've got an oil mister (for cooking purposes) and I'm still planning on spraying them down with a nice coat of olive oil to rejuvenate the leather. I'll post a report should I ever get around to it.

I've been wearing the Patagucci Beefy wading shoe 2 sizes larger with waders. (Originally bought them for my dad, but after he left them in the box for a full year, I decided they were due for adoption by a more devoted owner) Easily the best wading sole I've used, but the toes are starting to separate. Word to the wise, leaving your boots on an apartment balcony in TX for weeks is a BAD idea.