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Here is a little story for a day when it is too icy to get on the water.
I am a large guy -- 6'4" and 250 lb after holiday feeding frenzies. Most other guys can go into a store and find clothing, footwear, etc readily available off the rack -- not so for me. I have been using the same pair of waders for many years. They were regular sized and did not allow me much room for extra movement. The heavy rubber boots would not work well on my Slayer Propel pedals. I did some homework over the past few weeks and using a Christmas gift card, I upgraded to a nice pair of White River Osprey breathable stocking foot waders from BassPro in XXL tall. In addition to being flexible, roomy, and not binding in the crotch, they came high up on my chest and gave me a large enough neoprene booty to easily cover my size 13 feet.
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The World Wide Sportsman flats wading boots that were recommended on this site a few weeks ago would not work for me since the largest size available is 13 -- I wanted something 2 full sizes larger to go over the booties without cramping my feet. I also did not want a heavy boot with thick soles -- this would be unwieldy for working the pedals on my new kayak.
I brought the waders home and began looking for a size 15 running shoe, sandal, or water shoe that I could use with the waders. I looked at about 10 shops around Annapolis, including regular shoe stores, athletic shoe stores, outdoor stores, and fishing shops. I never realized how tough it would be to find a size 15 shoe, and particularly one that did not cost a fortune. The closest I could find was a Keen Newport H2 water shoe in size 14. It seemed to be the right idea, but was a bit too tight. Frustrated by my lack of success, I looked around the internet to see if I could find the Keen shoe in a size 15. I did find it and made the order. It came today and fits nicely, even with two pairs of heavy socks. Now if the ice would just melt.
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I am a large guy -- 6'4" and 250 lb after holiday feeding frenzies. Most other guys can go into a store and find clothing, footwear, etc readily available off the rack -- not so for me. I have been using the same pair of waders for many years. They were regular sized and did not allow me much room for extra movement. The heavy rubber boots would not work well on my Slayer Propel pedals. I did some homework over the past few weeks and using a Christmas gift card, I upgraded to a nice pair of White River Osprey breathable stocking foot waders from BassPro in XXL tall. In addition to being flexible, roomy, and not binding in the crotch, they came high up on my chest and gave me a large enough neoprene booty to easily cover my size 13 feet.
004.jpg
The World Wide Sportsman flats wading boots that were recommended on this site a few weeks ago would not work for me since the largest size available is 13 -- I wanted something 2 full sizes larger to go over the booties without cramping my feet. I also did not want a heavy boot with thick soles -- this would be unwieldy for working the pedals on my new kayak.
I brought the waders home and began looking for a size 15 running shoe, sandal, or water shoe that I could use with the waders. I looked at about 10 shops around Annapolis, including regular shoe stores, athletic shoe stores, outdoor stores, and fishing shops. I never realized how tough it would be to find a size 15 shoe, and particularly one that did not cost a fortune. The closest I could find was a Keen Newport H2 water shoe in size 14. It seemed to be the right idea, but was a bit too tight. Frustrated by my lack of success, I looked around the internet to see if I could find the Keen shoe in a size 15. I did find it and made the order. It came today and fits nicely, even with two pairs of heavy socks. Now if the ice would just melt.
005.jpg 002.jpg
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