We have had a chance to put some serious miles on two new boot models this season at Cedar Lodge. The Patagonia Ultralight Wading shoe and the Simms Vapor boot offer anglers a lighter option when lengthy walks and hikes are part of the angling day.
Patagonia Ultralight Wading Shoe
The Ultralight Boot is very light, under 3.5lbs for the pair. The sole of the Patagonia is sticky for sure allowing it to grab river rocks and the trail really well. We have enjoyed the flexible nature of the upper ankle support with the Patagonia. It’s very comfortable and gives when you kneel down or run. Our pilot/guide Dion Matheson parks the helicopter and fishes upstream all day only to run back to the chopper and begin shuttling guests. He has worn both boots this season and the Patagonia’s more flexible upper suits his running program better than the stiffer Simms Vapor Boot.
The Patagonia Boot’s sole has worn more quickly than the Simms Vapor Boot. It’s softer, sticky sole wears down faster and it’s cleats loser their definition faster than the Simms Vibram sole. We are talking 50 or 60 days of use for this comparison.
Simms Vapor Boot
Simms new VaporTread Vibram 4.0 is much harder than the Patagonia and has held up better in terms of visible sole wear. The Vapor Boot is also very light, again under 4lbs for the pair. If you like Simms Boots but want a much lighter boot the Vapor is great. The neoprene lined upper is comfortable and aids in getting in and out of the boot. The structured fit of the Vapor boot is comfortable and gives good support.
The rigidity I spoke of as a pro can be a con in terms of comfort when running or kneeling down. The foot bed that is very tough is also a bit stiff in comparison, again this could be seen as a positive. The stitched transition between the synthetic leather and nylon fabric on the boot has been a problem on a couple of the boots we have worn with only a couple of weeks on them.
Conclusion
Both the Simms Vapor and the Patagonia Ultralight are fine light weight wading boots with “grippy” soles. Which one grips better? New Zealand may not be as good a test as the Pacific Northwest but I have to say out of the box the Patagonia Boot grips better and over the course of a couple of weeks the harder Vibram sole of the Simms Vapor begins to shine and grip at least as good as the softer Patagonia sole.
Both boots eat laces, maybe we just need better ones? If you are in need of a new pair of boots have a look at both, they are excellent wading boots for any type of application.
CD
Great article! Do you happen to know which boot had a wider fit? Did you test boots that were true to size or do you recommend going up a size?
I found your article interesting because I have the Patagonia boots. They are indeed most comfortable. However, I found the soles to be very slippy indeed. I first tried Orvis studs (cleats) these didn’t help much. The store where I bought them suggested Goat Head spikes. These are better but still the boots are scary. The problem seems to be that the sole just isn’t ‘sticky’ as is claimed, and studs don’t protrude above the tread. Also I lose a lot of studs.