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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
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Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
Snowbee Breathable Waders
Although breathable waders have transformed wearing waders on hot days in particular, they are still not without their faults. But Snowbee has developed what looks like being the answer to all the problems of neoprene feet. Fish & Fly investigates.
Although breathable waders have transformed wearing waders on hot days in particular, they are still not without their faults. Probably the biggest problem still to be solved, until recently, was the almost universal neoprene feet. Neoprene is thick so over-size wading boots have to be bought, your feet do get damp and over time it starts leaking, particularly when the cells get crushed. But Snowbee has developed what looks like being the answer to all the problems of neoprene feet. It is a one-piece moulded PVC sock which has no seams, unlike neoprene socks, and is completely waterproof. Because the PVC feet are thinner than neoprene, there is less material to get scrunched-up inside your wading boots.
Snowbee’s Classic breathable stocking foot waders retail for a bargain £109 for regular sizes and £119 for sizes suitable for fatboys and the more portly angler.
So far every time that I have worn my waders I have had completely dry feet at the end of the day – not a sign of condensation. If there are still people who do not believe that breathable waders do just, one day recently I did some digging in the garden, wearing ordinary gumboots. It was a pleasant sunny day and when I took off my boots, my trousers were really wet. By comparison, I have spent hot days in breathable waders and socks and trousers were completely dry.
Snowbee Classics are made from dark green material with black cordura reinforcing on the front of the knees, shins and the seat which is helpful when getting in and out of rivers on your hands and knees. The adjustable braces can be removed and the waders rolled down to the waist. Straps on either hip can be tightened, to turn the waders into waist waders. The cut has enough room for ease of movement without being baggy. There is a useful front pocket. The gravel guards are made from the same material as the waders, are elasticated and fitted with a quick lacing hook.
Another benefit of the elimination of neoprene is that the waders dry very quickly. Although I haven’t tried it yet, if you fill the waders with water, all that is needed is to empty them and turn them inside out to dry. They would probably dry during a lunch break on a sunny day.
One word of caution: do check the size of the feet before buying as I have found the ankles to be quite tight when getting into the waders and taking them off although the nylon ‘sockettes’ provided do help. Whether it is my feet that are an odd shape or that the ankles are on the slim side, I don’t know. The PVC socks have not got as much stretch as neoprene. My waders are a large size for shoe sizes nine and 10 and my shoe size is 10; all other measurements are fine.
I plan to keep visitors up to date with occasional progress reports on how these waders wear over the coming months. I hope that they will be performing as well in 12 months’ time.
At the 2004 British Fly Fair Snowbee announced a range of additional sizes for its latest stocking-foot waders. Current sizes Small Body - Small sock; Medium Body - Medium Sock; Large Body - Large Sock; XL Body - XL Sock and XXL Body - XXL Sock. Extra sock sizes have been added so that the Small body size is now available with a small to medium socks; the Medium body with medium to large socks; and the Large body with large to XL socks.
XS wading boots
Having helped field test Snowbee’s new boots and spent some very long days wearing them both in the water and walking to and from rivers and up and down the banks, they proved to be very comfortable. At the end of the day I never felt that I had to take them off. But when it comes to comparing them with other boots, I have not got enough experience so say that they are more or less comfortable. So when I read the recent review in Fly Fishing and Fly Tying magazine which stated that they were the most comfortable wading boots the tester had used, I was happy to agree.
The boots are quite high which helps keep out sand and gravel, aided by the full-length fully-stitched tongue, as well as giving good ankle support but the synthetic mesh side panels allow the flexibility that is so important when hiking to and from rivers and fishing camps. The boots open very wide so that they are quick and easy to put on over stocking-foot waders. There are six quick lace hooks at the top.
I am looking forward to trying a pair of the all-terrain boots with Xstra-Grip rubber soles. Rubber soles to see how they perform in the water. These rubber soles will give much better grip out of the water than felt and should last much longer too.
Snowbee’s new XS wading boots are available in two versions: with studded felt soles at £79 and in an all-terrain version with Xstra-Grip special rubber soles for £89. Both versions are in black and dark tan and are available in UK shoe sizes 7 to 14.<
Folding wading stick
To complete the Snowbee ‘safe wading’ ensemble, there is a multi-piece folding wading stick. It extends to 55 inches (1.4m) and folds to 12 inches (300mm)and has a robust rubber foot. It retails at £29.