When I started fly fishing a few years ago I barely had any gear. My fly fishing mentor picked me up some old wading boots for $5 from an estate sale and suggested I use them until I could afford some nice new ones. So I have been using them for a while now and they did their job of keeping me from slipping and falling. The problem with the old boots, however, was the lack of support and cushion. After hours on the river and hiking to and from the river my dogs would be killing me. Also, these old boots weren’t that great too look at. They kind of remind me of old tan Chuck Taylors with felt soles instead of rubber.
It was time for me to get with the times. I gathered all the money from the wash, the junk drawer and all my jacket pockets and got me some cool new boots. After talking to the guy at the fly shop and trying on the boots I was sold on the Korkers Redside boot. The main selling point for these boots is the interchangeable sole system. These boots allow you to change the soles depending on the wading condition. There are 5 types of soles available; rubber, felt, felt with studs, rubber with small studs and rubber with big studs. The boots I bought came with both rubber and felt soles and I bought an extra pair of the rubber with small studs.
So how did the Korkers perform you ask? Well I will tell you that first day on the river I decided to try out the rubber sole with the studs. They were great on my hike and in the river. Good traction and no slipping. But the most impressive part was the comfort. My feet and back felt great after hiking and wading for hours. I did have a problem though. When I was finished I took of my new boots and the right sole was coming apart in a few places. The edge was a little ripped and in two spots the studs had come loose and torn the rubber. Not good. I took the soles back to the fly shop to get a return and they guy there was quite surprised by what had happened. They did replace the pair of studded soles, but I have yet to put them to the test. I am hoping that the one sole was just a defect, but time will have to tell.
I am going to have to wait and see if I will be a satisfied customer. These Korkers are really comfortable and provide great traction, I just hope they can last as long as the old ones did!