River Salt Wading Boots (Built By Danner)

Over the years I have owned multiple pairs of wading boots - many of them very good. But the usual: a little too heavy, soles so thick there is no way to feel yourself through a rocky river bottom, not so great traction or with felt bottoms - still my favorite but you know the deal there nowadays. These Saltwater Wader boots solved all that in a light weight pair of boots, easy to walk in or out of the fishing spot, perfect to toe yourself along rocky river bottoms and lots of traction. Stud em if need be ... and a roomy toe box. Overall - best pair I have owned in 30 years. This is the second season I am fishing with them - bought them at a local shop. About close to perfect...

I ordered these boots to pair with the Expedition Swift Current waders. My fishing usually entails a longer walk to get wet and at a pound less/pair than the Foot Tractors, I was looking for a lighter weight boot. My foot is a size 8 but had to order the waders in a size LSM to accommodate the rest of me. Large wadres come with neoprene booties sized for 9-11 feet. Needless to say there is extra neoprene around my foot. In anticipation of this, I ordered these boots one size up at the recommendation of Customer Service. One size up (size 9) was still far too small and so did the exchange for two sizes up (size 10) and they have just enough room to accommodate the extra neoprene. For what it's worth, I didn't see it mentioned, but the River Salt Boots come with studs that you can screw into the soles if you want that extra traction. That was a pleasant surprise that I didn't see mentioned in the product description.

First impressions before use. The build is superior. Nice wide toe box. Sizing is very close to true, typical Danner sizing. The wide toe box is what I require for comfort. Very pleased.

While I haven't gotten to use them yet, I can't wait to use them next year. The fit is great, and the functionality is all there on the boot. I will update my review when I get in the water. Shout out to the customer service team. They were very quick in answering my questions, making sure I got the correct size and boot.

I read a lot of the reviews here and on third party sites for these boots and a lot of others (Simms, Orvis, etc). I went with these for a number of reasons: Patagonia, Danner, made in the USA, great reviews. I wear a 11.5 - 12 in anything else and based on the majority of the reviews I read I decided to go with a size 12 in the boot. It felt a little tight initially with my waders on but after my first hike to the river and a few hours fishing the boots felt awesome. With the Yulex wading socks they feel a little less snug. They are VERY comfortable to wear and hike in. Traction in the rivers on the Olympic Peninsula w/o the studs was better than expected. I'm either buying a set of Danner hiking boots for my next set, or using these. However, on the second use, one of the speed eyelets at the top ripped right off. Not a show stopper, but frustrating none the less. I reached out to Patagonia and the customer service was OUTSTANDING. Problem=solved.