Patagonia Riverwalker Boots

[Ian]

Anyone have experience with these?

[puppet]

No, I haven't, but I took a look at the specs and pictures.

They seem to be described as ultra light, which may translate to less ankle support.

If you are fishing sand beaches, the ultra light styles are probably the way to go.

If you fish rocks mostly, I personally like a heavier boot.

For the money, I really like the simms freestones in felt. they are
$99.00. They are much heavier than most wading boots, but if you
fish rocks they also have more padding and support. Its like
wearing a nice hiking boot, and really supports your ankle.

I just bought a new pair of freestones in felt. My current pair is still
in pretty good condition...minus some rock rash on the toes...going
on the fourth or fifth season I think. The current sole is riddled
with wearbars and the leftovers of broken off wearbar screws. I
bought the new pair to try the gripstuds on....and just to have a
nice shiney pair for Sundays. The only thing I have had to replace
on the old pair in the four years are the laces. In my mind they are
a perfect design.

I hope the info is useful.

[putty]

thanks for the info puppet- I've been eyeing the freestones for rock hopping over the last few months. I went down to Foxboro to BPS (had a couple of returns and gift certificates to bring) last night to pick up a pair of freestones with felt soles last night and I was SOL...was informed by the sales guy there that they do not sell any felt soled boots anymore due to concerns about invasive species sticking to the soles and getting transported to other bodies of waters...Strange that they still sell the freestone felt soles on their website...guess I'll just go there instead

only thing they had with felt were boot foot waders and the korkers with the interchangeable soles...thanks but no thanks...

my apologies for hijacking the thread on this- but I appreciated the feedback!

[puppet]

Recently I ran into the same problem in finding places that have them in stock.
I think its a matter that most are distributing to freshwater
clients....and some places are drop shipping them direct.
Cabelas had the same story. FYI...Bass Pro might be drop shipping too.

All in all...not selling felt is probably the most responsible thing so there is no confusion.
Its perfectly fine for the salt, but someone buying them and using them in fresh can do some damage.

I think the saltwateredge normally carries them...you should
check to see if they have your size. At the time that I
contacted them they didn't have mine in stock.

Someone posted here some info on this site for flyshack.com....so I
checked them out...they have them...same with fishusa. When I
spoke to the gentleman at flyshack they said simms is not
discontinuing them....they just do short runs on them so they go out
of stock. Supposedly there will be more around in a few weeks.

I hope it helps.

[putty]

just ordered through BPS website- it was noted they are shipped direct from SIMMS...was able to get free shipping (saved $16+ bucks!) using the promo code noted in a banner on the website :-)