Winter Kayak Footwear Question

[buzz]

If you buy from Simms I gelievce they take the stocking foot into account. So there 10 is a 10 plus waders. Great boots but I wouldn't risk damaging my kayak with them. I'm looking booties to go over some re purposed stocking waders ( They leak after a while), but haven't pulled the trigger.

I've been using a cheap pair of uncomfortable fitting canvas sneakers until Dick's restocks for the spring. Tell me more about these Simms... what about them is bad for the kayak?

[ronaultmtd]

Being a Hobie owner, I need to be able to use my feet to propel the boat, so correct footwear in winter time operation is essentail to being able to fish- I wear the stocking foot waders and use size 13 water shoes- inside the waders I wear wigwam heavy wool boot socks with a gore tex liner sock- I wear next to my skin Under Armour high tech long john underwear, fleece pants, over the Under Armour insulated top, Columbia knit fishing long sleeve high tech fabric shirt with a wool vest, a NRS dry top, Nike water resistent runners gloves and my River Drover 3 inch wide brim hat with Costa Hammerhead sunglasses- If it is bitterly cold I might add a thin fleece jacket under the Dry Top-

[JohnE]

When I first started kayaking I did the same thing (being not properly attired for cold water). I really did not know what I did not know. I was just plain lucky that I never wound up in the water on the wrong day. So whenever these topics come up I see it as an opportunity to remind other anglers what to watch out for.

The disturbing trend I am seeing now is stand up paddle boarders on the water with zero protection against cold water shock or hypothermia.

Back on topic, on wader boots I go two sizes larger than normal footwear (of course I paddle so having big boots in the front of my Ride 115 is not a problem).

I actually saw three women on SUPs out there as well. They were not wearing any type of cold weather gear, but they had some dry bags tethered to their SUPs, which I assume contained a change of clothing. Their friend was in an inflatable kayak and he did manage to paddle all the way to the 95 bridge. Winds were gusting up to 30 mph. I guess they could just swim to shore and walk back, but that would not be an option fighting currents in a lot of other places I fish.

I still don't like the idea of boots on the kayak. I have read about people turtling and struggling to survive because their waders filled with water even with a wading belt on. Make sure you have good knife strapped to your pfd to cut all that stuff off you if your waders fill with water and your fighting for your life.

[Pinch]

I still don't like the idea of boots on the kayak. I have read about people turtling and struggling to survive because their waders filled with water even with a wading belt on. Make sure you have good knife strapped to your pfd to cut all that stuff off you if your waders fill with water and your fighting for your life.

Interesting. I have jumped into the water and purposely flipped my kayak wearing waders and a dry top (no pfd) and not had any issue with the waders "filling up". I was not wearing a wading belt and it was to deep for me to stand. The waders had a vaccum seal effect and the dry top held all the air that was forced out of the waders prodivding more than ample floatation.I also have a dry suit but only use it when fishing by myself.

For footwear I wear a thin liner sock then heated socks made by thunderbolt socks then the stocking foot from either the waders or dry top and a size 14 Walmart velcro shoe to protect the stocking. Feet never go numb And I usually have to turn the sock heater off for awhile because I swear the mirage drive pedals are gonna melt.

[Turtle135]

Yes, the waders filling up with water is an interesting issue. Usually what happens is that the water pressure crushes the wader material against your body and they do not fill up with water. There are some Youtube videos showing this result.

example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m0_naq0-qc

I have heard of fisherman wading and falling into a river where there is current. They would grab onto a rock or a log to prevent themselves from being sweep downstream. In that case their open wader top would force fill the waders with water due to the current (but that does not cause them to sink).

[JohnE]

Just stuff I read on the internet about waders. I know a lot of folks wear them and don't have any problems, but I recently read this one guy's story about turtling in cold weather and he said he had a real hard time because the waders filled with water and weighed a ton. I have seen videos of people testing the dry top/wader combo successfully in a pool, but this guy said he nearly drowned. Some people say the problem of waders filling with water is bogus, but I'm not too sure.

My dry pants and dry top combo works ok, but when everything fills with air and you start moving around the air has to go somewhere and it finds a way to let water in if the air ends up escaping around your waist. The water mostly sink down to the feet. I have not had a whole lot of water in my feet when I have tested it, but water gets heavy real fast.

With dry top and dry pants it is just hook and loop straps with an inner tunnel, so it would be easy to remove the pants if they fill with water. On the other hand, if waders fill with water I would definitely want a sharp knife handy to cut them off, just in case (unless they are waist height of course).

[JohnE]

Man, Electric socks sound pretty cool, but way out of my price range.

I've been fishing at night in air temps well below freezing plus wind and my feet actually stay pretty warm with just several layers of wool socks. I do think wearing footwear that allows your outer layer to air dry while fishing helps, but you could always add more layers if your shoes are big enough.

[Turtle135]

Just stuff I read on the internet about waders. I know a lot of folks wear them and don't have any problems, but I recently read this one guy's story about turtling in cold weather and he said he had a real hard time because the waders filled with water and weighed a ton. I have seen videos of people testing the dry top/wader combo successfully in a pool, but this guy said he nearly drowned. Some people say the problem of waders filling with water is bogus, but I'm not too sure.

My dry pants and dry top combo works ok, but when everything fills with air and you start moving around the air has to go somewhere and it finds a way to let water in if the air ends up escaping around your waist. The water mostly sink down to the feet. I have not had a whole lot of water in my feet when I have tested it, but water gets heavy real fast.

With dry top and dry pants it is just hook and loop straps with an inner tunnel, so it would be easy to remove the pants if they fill with water. On the other hand, if waders fill with water I would definitely want a sharp knife handy to cut them off, just in case (unless they are waist height of course).

Good to know, makes me think the Christmas bonus ought to be spent on a good drysuit (cause I'm gonna be out there every weekend this winter).

Take care out there everybody and be safe!

[PigPen]

I was referring to the simms wading boots. They're great for sticking to rocks and hiking. A bit heavy though. Mine have metal studs in the tread so they do a job to soft surfaces and flooring. I wear wading socks, shorts and the boots during wading trips during warm weather.

[Runnin]

Just stuff I read on the internet about waders. I know a lot of folks wear them and don't have any problems, but I recently read this one guy's story about turtling in cold weather and he said he had a real hard time because the waders filled with water and weighed a ton. I have seen videos of people testing the dry top/wader combo successfully in a pool, but this guy said he nearly drowned. Some people say the problem of waders filling with water is bogus, but I'm not too sure.

My dry pants and dry top combo works ok, but when everything fills with air and you start moving around the air has to go somewhere and it finds a way to let water in if the air ends up escaping around your waist. The water mostly sink down to the feet. I have not had a whole lot of water in my feet when I have tested it, but water gets heavy real fast.

With dry top and dry pants it is just hook and loop straps with an inner tunnel, so it would be easy to remove the pants if they fill with water. On the other hand, if waders fill with water I would definitely want a sharp knife handy to cut them off, just in case (unless they are waist height of course).

I'm thinking this is bogus. The real danger is hypothermia. Even if the waders did fill up they wouldn't weigh anymore than the water outside the waders. The weight effect would be neutral. If you had a PFD , you should be fine. Turtling in very cold water is a serious hazard. If you get immersed and wet , you may find that you only have a few minutes to get your boat flipped over and back in before you start becoming disoriented and immobile from the cold. ALWAYS HAVE A BUDDY in cold water conditions.