River Salt Wading Boots (Built By Danner)

I work as a wilderness canoe guide in Northern Minnesota and Northwest Ontario. When I am not guiding I am out paddling on my own. Wet feet are part of wilderness canoeing tripping. Between landing a canoe safely, without damaging the boat and walking the often wet portages, wet feet are pretty much unavoidable. In the past I have tried various wading shoes and boots. While I believe many of them would be fine for the recreational fisherman and occasional use, none of them were comfortable nor did they stand up to the punishment of walking many a mile on steep, rocky, rough portages. The River Salt boot is the exception. They drain well; I can wear wool socks or neoprene socks depending on the season; they are incredibly comfortable (I could wear them grouse hunting if I wanted to); they are tough and meant to last. I really can't say enough good about these boots. I sincerely believe they are the very best boot for wilderness canoe tripping available. If they work well here I am confident they work well as a wading boot for fishing also. They are worth every penny in my opinion.

I am 6’2” size 10.5 shoe. First pair of River Salts were bought emergently after spraining my ankle while bouldering on my way to a fly fishing instruction gig. I used to wear minimal boots so I could feel the bottom but needed the ankle support. 4 or 5 years later, I am now buying a second pair. This is the first boot I’ve owned that lasted multiple years. Wear the same pair year round wet wading, with Patagonia Guide waders, on long approaches with a pair of Seal Skins up to 18 miles thus far. Most comfortable, durable boot to date. Grip well, protection is excellent, yet light enough to hike and pliable enough to provide tactile feedback in the river and keep me safely balanced. Only complaint is they get tight after drying out, but immediately return to normal once wet. To make lacing up dry boots easier, I bought size 11 to replace my original size 10. Will now send the size 10 in to Danner for maintenance and have two pair to keep me fishing forever. Excellent work, Patagonia and Danner. This is the only boot I will use.

Great pair of wading boots. Really like this lighter version of the Patagonia/Danner boots. Use mine for wet wading, warm weather wader use, and in my float tube. The sole has great traction in the river. I really like not having all the padding that most wading boots have which seems to make them harder to move around in. I also have a pair of sticky rubber Foot Tractor that now I'll use more for colder weather use.

While the toe box of these is a bit larger than Forra Wading Boots, it is still a bit snug for a wide/x-wide. Please consider making these in different widths, I usually wear hoka x-wide 12.5, and with 14 size for waders, these are still snug. Also, insert recommendations for a more cushion support?

I was wary of the price tag on these boots, but I'm so glad I shelled out the clams. These aren't just my favorite wading boots, they're my favorite boots EVER!. They're super comfortable and surprisingly light-weight considering their heavy-duty build, and they're very grippy in and out of the water. My local river flows through granite boulders, and I feel safe and stable scrambling over slimy stone. I wear a 9.5 and got the 10s. (For a reference point, my day-to-day kicks are Vans.) They're a perfect fit with Yulex wading socks, but a bit snug with the addition of a wool layer, though they do loosen up once they're wet.