Thread: Looking at getting into creeks/lakeshores for photography - waders or boots?

I don't know beans about neoprene vs. breathable, rubber vs stud vs felt, boots vs waders, etc.

I don't fish (yet). But I do like taking pictures of stuff in the Sierra Nevada.

I wanted to walk out into Mono Lake on Saturday to get between these tufa formations. Pfft, not without something waterproof that can hold up to super salty water!

I wanted to walk out into the Merced River (at a seasonal low flow) on Monday to get between these rocks and shoot El Cap. Pfft, not without something waterproof that would keep my feet from going numb while it takes me 10 minutes to set up, get my settings dialed, and wait for the clouds to move exactly the way I want them in my shot.

I'm not looking for performance - I'm just looking for dry. And something I can carry in a few miles (do you just clip a full wader to your pack?)

Any recommendations?

Yo SHralph, just look for some el cheapo breathables and inexpensive boots. Soles won't really matter and you don't really need studs for what you're doing. Size up one size from your street shoe to allow space for the wader's neoprene foot. You can then make them work if you decide to fish and always upgrade down the road when you wear em out, which you will eventually.

I use hip boots quite a bit, they are pretty easy maintenance and do well for layering. Depending on what gear you want to carry and how accessible you need stuff waders can be impractical. I do a lot of duck hunting in Iowa in mucky swamps, so its mostly mud/limestone bottom and not too bad walking around. You should definitely consider the terrain you will be walking on, if its going to be slimy rocks hip boots/waders can be bad news because they are basically rubber.

^ huge variety. Mono lake is pumice-based muck and not slippery. Most Sierran creeks are free of mossy rocks so they will be not too slippery and there are usually crevices between the rocks you can use to brace against the current (I would only be in slow moving water, for safety and camera shake). The fern gullies out at the coast I expect to be much more slippery.

But it sounds like I should just get whatever, and when it sucks, get something better?
Some hip boots from Cabelas sound like the ticket due to customer service.

like snapt said cheap goretex
i just so happen to have a pair of william josephs that are tall mediums
fit me great but more of a size 9 stocking foot
the ability to hang the camera around your neck inside of the waders is gonna be better and while premies are warm just not as versitile as you can layer the gortex
look for stp old cloudviel pataguchi or older orvis blowouts
willy j aint bad gear
just no simms
but priced acordingly

cheapest - neoprene socks, the shoes you own. add a wetsuit if you have one

otherwise rubber boots or rubber hip boots

everything sucks in some way or another

Originally Posted by snapt

Yo SHralph, just look for some el cheapo breathables and inexpensive boots. Soles won't really matter and you don't really need studs for what you're doing. Size up one size from your street shoe to allow space for the wader's neoprene foot. You can then make them work if you decide to fish and always upgrade down the road when you wear em out, which you will eventually.

Go with this. Check out Albright.com. My friend picked up cheap boots and waders for under a $100. Been using them for 3 years now with no problems. You have to kind of watch for when they drop the prices. I think you'll appriciate the flexiblity of waders over boots. You'll be wanting to kneel down in shallow water or wade through deeper water at times and you can't do that in a boot.

If you go with waders when the light gets bad you'll be ready to fish.

photos + fishing > photos alone

-plus it's a whole new activity to begin obsessing on
and you can find plenty of reasonably priced and decent gear, waders/boots just a few more bucks than decent hipboots

Originally Posted by GiBo

Check out Albright.com.

ummmm, can you retype that one? Not seeing any fishing gear on that link

Seems like this gets the job done for the least amount of money, no?

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Footw...3Bcat104108580

Unless I'm duck hunting, I never wear waders since I bought neoprene socks. Cheap, and get a pair of wading shoes/sandals to go with and you will be set and stay plenty warm.

The problems with those hip waders are twofold:

1) They can only take you so deep that you're up to your hips, kind sucks when you have to cross the middle of the channel to set up somewhere else.

2) The attached boots mean that if you get a hole in the seem between the boot and wader you're fucked. You have to buy a whole new pair instead of replace one component. I've worn out a few pairs of waders to one pair of boots.

Just get neoprene socks and a wading shoe.

Thanks brice - I'm less concerned about (1) than I am about (2). I don't plan on getting that deep, because deeper than about 18" the tripod becomes stupid pointless and then I'm shooting handheld. And shooting handheld and wading in water deeper than just above knee deep sounds like a recipe for disaster.

How long do they make neoprene socks? The water I'm talking about would generally be cold. Snowmelt cold.

Okay, so maybe you're suggesting something like this
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Footw...3Bcat104674680

with wool undies and whatever shoes will work for my purposes?

I fly fish water from April to whenever in my socks. In streams where I can actually see the snowpack that forms the stream. If its above 50 air temp (shorts weather) I don't bother with waders. So I guess it depends on how much tromping around you plan on doing when the water is literally 33 degrees.

http://www.edgeangling.com/Orvis-1P2...-1P2X0551.html

http://www.basspro.com/Simms-Pursuit...ing_googlebase

Thats my whole set-up, have done this for the past 2 years now.

http://www.albrightflyfish.com/index.html

Right now the waders are $68. I think when my friend bought them they went on sale for $49 and he got boots for $39.

Originally Posted by SchralphMacchio

Okay, so maybe you're suggesting something like this
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Footw...3Bcat104674680

with wool undies and whatever shoes will work for my purposes?

Not much point to waist high waders, imo. Go for full ones instead, they'll be ultimately more useful if you want waders. Waders are, imo, nice if it's cold outside and the waters cold or you spend lots of time in and out of the water. For a couple short sections other things are ok by me.

Yup, got it. I really wonder what that mono lake salt is going to do to these fabrics. Maybe neoprene is the way to go if I want to get some interesting compositions in there (the downside to shooting in still water is having to wait 60 seconds for the ripples of water you made by moving around to go away!)

Scralph - one obvious (but unmentioned thing) - wash your setup between going between rivers and other bodies of water. In particular, going from Mono Lake to the Merced Very easy way to contaminate water sources.