“After a few seasons in Patagonias previous line of wading boots, I found the U.S. size 12 to fit quite well.
After a quick call to Chris at Tom's, he suggested I try a size up in the 13. I have always been a size 12 in all regards and have a fairly average size 12 foot, (width, arches etc) wether its a snowboard boot, hiking boot, or wading boots. That's why I am writing this review. Chris' knowledge of his products are second to none, as the Patagonia River Salt wading boots fit like a dream. If I were to select my normal size 12, they would have been back in the post, not on the rivers. Another reason to spend at Tom's. Quality products with expert product knowledge, can't thank you guys enough!”
Glad to hear your wading boots are a perfect fit, Mitchell! Thank you for taking the time to write this kind review and thank you for supporting Tom's Outdoors!
“I purchased these a month ago for ocean rock fishing after using neoprene spiked boots for years.
I'd been looking for something better and discovered these on the web with Tom's Outdoors being the Australian stockist.
Danner are renowned for making some of the best military boots and these are basically a US Marine boot with drain holes and fine mesh liner to stop the ingress of grit and sand.
The Vibram tread is great on dry ground and good on wet rock, for ocean rocks covered in moss and weed you would be best to add the supplied screw in studs.
By comparison, neoprene spiked rock fishing boots when new probably provide better traction, but after about 20hrs wear they soon become average at best.
These boots are sized for wearing waders or neoprene socks, so when wearing wool socks you may need to go a size down, certainly don't size up if fishing in warmer waters. Having said that, the boots themselves don't provide much warmth so you may want to wear a neoprene sock when fishing the ocean rocks during those cold winter mornings in which case just order your normal US shoe size.
They are wide enough for my board foot and seem slightly longer in the toe room than most. The lacing is very quick and gives enough length to wrap around the top of the boot and tie up at the front. The boots once totally wet require a quick tightening so I actually wade into a rock pool on arrival and do that before fishing.
Other advantages over neoprene boots are: they don't over-heat, don't smell, are really easy to put on and take off again, are sooo much more comfortable and they dry really quickly too.
Although expensive, they will last much longer than neoprene rock fishing boots and so it will probably balance out eventually. I would expect more than 6 times the life out of these based on the wear so far.
The places I fish are often remote and so having boots able to be hiked in, makes the experience so much better.
For the record, I rock fish on a weekly basis during the 6 cooler months the year and live in Newcastle NSW.”
