MathFish
Member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2015
- Messages
- 181
So I found a deal on the Patagonia Foot Tractor wading boots at Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing store online, they were marked down to $154 from $279. I read some reviews and they all seemed overall very positive about the traction that these boots offer. Being that Christmas is coming soon and that I can’t foresee me losing interest in fly fishing for the remainder of my life, I decided to give these a go and ordered a pair. (Note, the only sizes priced this way are the size 13 and size 8’s...)
I took a trip yesterday to Meadow Run and used these boots for the first time. In my experience, I have found Meadow to be quite slippery and because of this, I have only worn felt boots there. I do have a pair of Vibram rubber soles boots with Chota Long Rifle cleats that I only use in creeks that don’t have too many algae covered rocks like the DHALO section of Loyalhanna creek. I have tried these Vibram soles in other places with slippery stones and have gone back to felt because in my experience, I found that felt has gripped way better and I’m not particularly fond of falling...
Up until yesterday, I thought felt was probably the best traction available for wading.... I can honestly say that those Foot Tractor boots gripped like nothing I have experienced before! The only thing that I stepped on that seemed like I could slip on were wet logs, but that was only if I didn’t situate my foot just right before I put my weight down, otherwise I didn’t slip. It was unreal how planted I felt when I was fishing yesterday! I am impressed with these boots. It actually took some getting used to, to have such grip while I was wading. It felt kind of weird to not be able to just slide your foot a little bit to move. I found that I had to be a little more deliberate as I waded, because of my sure-footed-ness.
One downside of the design that I found, is that they do make noise as you walk on rocks. They kind of sound like tap shoes a little... So I can’t foresee me wearing these while doing any sort of small stream brookie fishing because they would simply make too much noise. But when the flow is up like it was yesterday, this didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
Another big downside is the price, I don’t think I would have bought these if they weren’t marked down like they were.
Some of the reviews of these boots noted that they are too roomy inside the boot. I did have to pull the laces much tighter than I normally do on my other boots, but I personally didn’t find it to be a big deal.
The last thing that is different about these in comparison with my other boots is that they are pretty heavy. I thought that the extra weight might have been an issue, but once I started walking, l didn’t really notice the extra weight and I probably hiked about a mile and a half in them yesterday.
I figured I would share my experience with these in case anyone on this site was considering these. I do realize that I only used them once, so I can’t attest to any long term durability, but the construction of these seem very solid. But the reason I am posting this is because how blown away I am with the traction these boots have! It’s unreal!
I took a trip yesterday to Meadow Run and used these boots for the first time. In my experience, I have found Meadow to be quite slippery and because of this, I have only worn felt boots there. I do have a pair of Vibram rubber soles boots with Chota Long Rifle cleats that I only use in creeks that don’t have too many algae covered rocks like the DHALO section of Loyalhanna creek. I have tried these Vibram soles in other places with slippery stones and have gone back to felt because in my experience, I found that felt has gripped way better and I’m not particularly fond of falling...
Up until yesterday, I thought felt was probably the best traction available for wading.... I can honestly say that those Foot Tractor boots gripped like nothing I have experienced before! The only thing that I stepped on that seemed like I could slip on were wet logs, but that was only if I didn’t situate my foot just right before I put my weight down, otherwise I didn’t slip. It was unreal how planted I felt when I was fishing yesterday! I am impressed with these boots. It actually took some getting used to, to have such grip while I was wading. It felt kind of weird to not be able to just slide your foot a little bit to move. I found that I had to be a little more deliberate as I waded, because of my sure-footed-ness.
One downside of the design that I found, is that they do make noise as you walk on rocks. They kind of sound like tap shoes a little... So I can’t foresee me wearing these while doing any sort of small stream brookie fishing because they would simply make too much noise. But when the flow is up like it was yesterday, this didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
Another big downside is the price, I don’t think I would have bought these if they weren’t marked down like they were.
Some of the reviews of these boots noted that they are too roomy inside the boot. I did have to pull the laces much tighter than I normally do on my other boots, but I personally didn’t find it to be a big deal.
The last thing that is different about these in comparison with my other boots is that they are pretty heavy. I thought that the extra weight might have been an issue, but once I started walking, l didn’t really notice the extra weight and I probably hiked about a mile and a half in them yesterday.
I figured I would share my experience with these in case anyone on this site was considering these. I do realize that I only used them once, so I can’t attest to any long term durability, but the construction of these seem very solid. But the reason I am posting this is because how blown away I am with the traction these boots have! It’s unreal!
