My first impression of my new fly fishing wading shoes. How well will these felt soled shoes work for my Idaho fly fishing and western fly fishing adventures? How well will these Frog Toggs Hellbenders compliment my Simms Waders?
Looking to get a pair of these boots with rubber soles because of felt sole restrictions in certain states. I'll probably install the studs that they sell, too.
@@selfmedicatedrec7361 Going with Rock Treads aluminum discs for the cleats. They will even install them for a fee if you ship the boots out to them in Red Lodge Mt.
I have these same boots and have used them fairly regularly for three seasons now. Had to replace the laces going into the third season. Other than that no problems. Felt bottoms work well all year. All though they have a tendency to gather snow on the bottoms if your hiking around not in the river in these boots.
I love these boots but this is crazy. I saw a video that said order your size and I did (13) they were entirely too large like way too large. So I had to size down to a 12. And to hear that you had to size up that's just nuts. I love the quality of the shoe but man it makes me wonder about consistency across the brand.
@@selfmedicatedrec7361 I wear a 12.5 mens wide and purchased a 13 in the hellbender boots. They fit great with plenty of room for my waders. I purchased the cleated rubber soles and ordered some of the frogg togg boot studs to help with slipping on algae covered rocks here in colorado.
Thanks for the comment! That's a great question. I have no good answer. I wonder if they have changed the name of the shoe. I had not heard of the Pilot 2 until this comment but I see them now and I agree that they look like the same shoe.
I like them fine. As you can imagine, given my age, I have had many pairs of waders in my life. From vulcanized rubber to neoprene, to top shelf bootfoot "pro" waders, to cheap Clearwater Orvis breathables. I am not a wader snob. A cheap pair of Caddis or Columbia are fine by me. I don't find much difference in terms of value of lifespan. These current ones are comfy and dry and roomy enough to layer under. With that generous cut comes a tradeoff: My only complaint is that they are cut too big to fold down and wear as waist-high waders. In my experience you have to have them pulled all the way on with the suspenders on. Fine when it's cold but this tie of year when the water is 50 degrees and the air temp is 110 degrees here, it is not great.
