Leave it to Patagonia to come up with a unique wading boot that offers incredible traction when fly-fishing on your favorite steelhead river or trout stream; the new Rock Grip Wading Boot w/Aluminum Bars. These boots out perform studded wading boots by attaching a series of solid aluminum bars to the boots rubber sole. It’s the best boot I and my customers, at least for those who have tried them, have used when it comes to traction. The notion for the Patagonia’s Rock Grip Wading Boot w/Aluminum Barswas born on the Steelhead Rivers of the great northwest where some of fly-fishing’s most treacherous wading occurs. Anyone who has fished these waters knows there are rivers and runs where one is just a step from going for a swim. As I get older this fact becomes even more of a consideration; one I don’t like getting wet in waters that run in the 40’s or less and the thought of drowning doesn’t exactly thrill me either. These new wading boots simply hold better than studded wading boots. Patagonia pioneered the modern wading boot. They applied their knowledge of rock climbing and mountaineering footwear to fishing; footwear that needs to cling to the smallest of holds. The results led to a lighter more streamlined boots that give you better stability. Since the beginning they have introduced some great wading boots, but over the past decade some of those boots had durability problems. Patagonia stood behind those issues, but for everyone familiar with their history of quality there was some frustration and disappointment. In response to these problems Patagonia introduced the first Rock Grip Wading Bootin 2011. I’ve felt it was their best effort in a wading boot since getting into fly-fishing. Having had the opportunity to fish this boot extensively before it went to market we found it to be light, and comfortable; a quality that all Patagonia wading boots share and definitely more durable. The standardRock Grip Bootcomes with studs, but for most of my trout fishing needs I haven’t had a need to use them. That should tell you something about this boot, especially on waters like the Middle Provo or Madison Rivers, which are notoriously snotty rivers to wade. Where I do find a need for some additional traction is on many of the steelhead rivers I fish in the US and BC. 80+ days on the aluminum bar boots
This past year I had the good fortune of logging a fair number of steelhead days in the states and on my home waters in British Columbia. These newPatagonia Wading Boots were the only boots I used. It is on these waters where the need for a durable wading boot with optimum grip was spawned (couldn’t resist). These boots easily handled British Columbia’s legendary ledge rock and every type of precarious wading situation I encountered with a level of stability I haven’t experienced before. In drift boats, sleds and rafts I found them to be far less damaging to these vessels than cleats. For the amount of walking I did, through deadfall, along boulder strewn beaches, and thigh sucking bogs, their slender profile and weight proved to be an unsuspecting advantage. They also proved how durable they were going to be. At first when I had learned of this newPatagonia wading boot I was a little skeptical of their profound design. After putting a season into them on some of the west’s more treacherous wading waters I now thankfully know what Yvon was striving to create. The Patagonia Rock Grip Wading Boot w/Aluminum Bars has become an integral part of my fly-fishing equipment when wading demands such a specialized boot. Like theRock Grip Wading Boot, they also got this one right. Close up of bars, they hold up well
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