Taking off waders.

[oddsnrods]

Am I alone in finding it tricky to extricate myself from my stockingfoot waders at the end of the day, especially 5mm neoprenes in the cold and wet. Yes it is easy to put the foot of one on the heel on the other on the ground to grip and pull them off but that does not do the material much good while I hop on the small mat at the rear of my truck. Easy if a pal is there to grab the heel and tug them off. I do not have any mobility problems, nor much of a 'spare tire' around my middle.

I thought of cobbling together some kind of system where a plastic clamp (similar to the type wood workers use) would attach to the heel anchored to a cord on dowell which I could push away thus removing the bootie away from me..any ideas?

[Bud]

Zipper


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[BrownBear]

We have the system all figured out. We just keep a couple of folding camp chairs, the fabric "bucket" kind, in our rig. Dandy for wadering up and dewadering. Add a little folding table to the list, and the chairs are great for shore lunches too. All of it fits in the bottom of your cargo space and really doesn't take much room at all.

Heck, we've been known to get so comfortable sitting there in our chairs, we never get around to fishing! Something to be said for sitting comfortably with a nice view of the river waiting for a hatch to start.... Or for the lunch bell to ring!

[rsagebrush]

I just take my boots off and put my toe on the heel and off they come. I don't believe I get any great wear using this method. I also don't want to have more stuff to keep track of.

[gmflyfish]

I have some wonderful socks for inside my waders. With neoprenes I have used kitchen bags inside my waders to make extraction of feet at the end of the day easier....

Gregg

[bulldog1935]

unfortunately, the best and easiest in and out stockingfoot waders I've ever owned are discontinued - Cloudveil Guide.
Mine have one patch on them, but are still holding up. I've been through Patagonia, Simms guide, Reddington, and the Cloudveil are the best.

[Southbranch]

I just sit on the truck tailgate or the back bumper of the car and use both hands to pull off the stocking feet.

What's tougher is putting the waders on for the first time in the spring. Mine always seem to shrink over the winter . . . .

[rsagebrush]

southbranch- I've noticed that too and I thought synthetics never shrunk, it appears they do after all and it's not just in the spring.

[bvandeuson]

Am I alone in finding it tricky to extricate myself from my stockingfoot waders at the end of the day, especially 5mm neoprenes in the cold and wet. Yes it is easy to put the foot of one on the heel on the other on the ground to grip and pull them off but that does not do the material much good while I hop on the small mat at the rear of my truck. Easy if a pal is there to grab the heel and tug them off. I do not have any mobility problems, nor much of a 'spare tire' around my middle.

I thought of cobbling together some kind of system where a plastic clamp (similar to the type wood workers use) would attach to the heel anchored to a cord on dowell which I could push away thus removing the bootie away from me..any ideas?

My breathables have a neoprene foot, and I can no longer get down there very well to peel them off (along with arthritis in my ankles). I padded the end of a long handled shoe horn so I can slide it in at the heel and push the booties over my heels. The padding puts less strain on the neoprene.

BB

[Hellmtflies]

Use Baby Powder. Smells funny but it works. Otherwise wade wet.

[cebe]

Kitchen bags or plastic grocery bags work great with the neoprene booties on breathables. Been using them for years, saves on wear and tear on the waders.

[16pmd]

"Use Baby Powder."

I agree - and I bet it smells better than your socks!

[Eric Peper]

With neoprenes I have used kitchen bags inside my waders to make extraction of feet at the end of the day easier....

Gregg

Thanks for reminding me of this trick. Forgetting stuff like that is beginning to bother me.

Eric

[gofish60]

Just how do you put the plastic bags on so they don't go down into the feet and bunch up?
gofish

[Silver rat]

Oddsnrods, ditch the stocking foots and go with boot footed waders, problem solved.

Here are several reasons not to use stocking foot waders.
1. while the fishing partner(s) are struggling with their waders, for all of the reasons mentioned in this discussion, you're booted and already working on catching something. Why waste valuable fishing time?
2. you will never say, oh, no I left my wading shoes back at the cabin (which is 20 miles away). You might forget a reel but someone always has an extra one of those in their vest.
3. your buddies are at some drive thru telling a machine what they want for lunch while you are sitting in a dining room checking out the wine list and telling the waitress how your steak should be done. Some folks would rather eat fast food than remove the stocking foots only to have to put them back on again after lunch.
4. if things are slow on the Beaverkill you don't mind slipping out of the boot foots and driving over to the West Branch. If it is one of those hot muggy day and you're wearing stocking foots you may decide it's not worth the trouble.
5. no need for that piece of carpet to stand on before the wading shoes go on.
6. no more sticker shock when you see the combined price of those wading shoes and stocking foots.

And these are just a few of the reasons I do not like stocking foot waders.

Currently using Simms boot footed waders that will need to be replaced in the near future. The last time I checked Simms no longer offers a boot footed wader so if anyone knows who is currently making a decent boot footed wader please let me know.

[cebe]

Just how do you put the plastic bags on so they don't go down into the feet and bunch up?
gofish

I have never had them slip down. I have acidentally forgotten to take them out and had an extra one down at the bottom but they take up so little rooms that I didn't even notice that. I also like the fact that because they are kind of slippery that my socks last longer and no chance of blisters.

[BrownBear]

Here are several reasons not to use stocking foot waders.

And here's one very good reason to leave your bootfoot at home if you come to Kodiak for trophy coho: MUDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!

It will suck your boots right off your feet. Your feet land up where you knees used to be, as the boots stay solidly stuck in the mud. Get's awfully wet and mucky when that happens!

Love my bootfoots in the boat, but they get lonely once we start wading for coho.

Lotta other places in the world with mud where you really need those lace on boots. In my experience you need both, and the judgement to know when to use the right ones.

[oddsnrods]

Thanks for the input so far, much appreciated. My main reason for preferring stockingfoot waders, both breathable and neoprene, is that they work with the flippers that I use in my float tube and pontoon boat (at times). They also look better (in my opinion) - wading boots and tend not to be prone to the wear that the boot foot ones have between the boot and the waders. In my experience of rubber boots not attached to waders, they often crack after a couple of years unless copious amounts of silicone is sprayed on to them.
I have no experience of quagmire like mud which suck off ones wading boots although I have ploughed though some pretty deep stuff in the past.

[wb4tjh]

My Simms Headwaters waders have always seemed a bit snug in the ankles and it takes a bit of extra pulling/cussing to get them off. But that is the only negative thing I can say about them. I started wearing breathable waders back in the 1990s with a pair of Hodgemans. I cant imagine why anyone would want to wear outdated neoprene sweat waders these days with the modern breathables available at such low prices.

[oddsnrods]

I wear neoprene waders in frigid early spring and late fall/winter Great Lakes rivers fishing for steelhead. I have tried breathables in such conditions with layers of insulation undernieth, inevitably my legs become cold during the day. Also, from a safety aspect they 'form hug' closer than the looser breathables so may be safer if I take a dunk and would hopefully keep me warm when I would emerge from the cold water. I always wear an inflating life jacket when wading deeper than waist deep in cold water. As mentioned I have and use both breathables and thick neoprene depending on temperatures or if I am walking some distance in. I have yet to have condensation issues with neoprene used in cold weather.