Gray Ghost Wading Boots

My new pair of wading boots arrived the other day.  It is called Gray Ghost Wading Boots from L.L.Bean. Doesn't it look cool?

先週新しいウェーディングブーツが届きました。シンプルなデザインとグレーのカラーがかっこいいでしょ。

Before writing about the new boots, I am going to do a review on my old boots, Patagonia Riverwalker.

I have using Riverwalker wading boots for the past seven years, and I am already on the fifth pair.  I have finally decided to try something different because I now have a few question marks with Rivewalker in terms of its durability and some of design features.

Let's start with positive things about these boots though.  Riverwalker is very light and fit well to my feet. They almost feel like a pair of running shoes.  I can run and jump with these, and if I were ever being chased by a monkey on heat, a hungry bear, or someone jingling his banjo, I want to be in these boots.

新しいブーツの事を書く前に、今まで履いてきたパタゴニアのウェーディングブーツについてのリビューを書きます。

このブーツの良い点は、軽くて、幅広の日本人の足にもフィットする事です。もし川でサルや散弾銃を持った農家のおじさんに追いかけれても、この靴なら走って逃げられると思います。鉄下駄の様に重いSIMMSのブーツでは、まず無理です。

My old tired Patagonia Riverwalker Wading Boots

 

However, for making these boots so light and having a fancy design, it seems that durability has been compromised.

Firstly, I think Riverwalker has too many parts and panels being stitched together, and it is easy to cut these stitches, if they are rubbed against rocks and trees, and then things start to come apart.

The photo below shows how things are starting to fall apart around a toe box as an example.  I don't understand any logic behind putting all stitching around here because this is a high stress area.  This is area where it gets hit with rocks and snags when you are wading.

I have put glue (Aquaseal) on some of stitching to make them stronger. This works until glue wears off.

軽くて履いていても疲れないので、長い距離を歩く釣りには最適なブーツなのですが、残念な事に、軽い靴の宿命上、耐久性に問題があると思います。

まず、やたらとスティッチが多くて、しかも石や岩に一番すれる場所に縫い目があります。写真から分かるように、一度縫い糸が切れると、どうしようもありません。

Can you see stitching coming undone?

Riverwalker has a soft thin jersey / lining to cover inside of the boots. I suppose it can help to make the boots lighter, but this material is not so durable, and it becomes another area where it can shorten the product life.

The lining fabric is like ones Patagonia uses for their underwear, and Yes, I want something soft to cover my butt.  For shoes? I think it is be better to use something not that flimsy.

The photos bellow shows how the jersey lining started to rip and torn on my boots.

ブーツの内側には、体育の時間に着ていたジャージを思わせるような布が使われていて、軽量化には良いのでしょうが、耐久性は低いです。しばらくすると写真の様になってしまいます。

Speaking of the inside of the boots, I must mention that the boots collect a lot of sand inside. Patagonia's says, "high-filtration mesh drains quickly, keeping out sand and silt" on their web site, but I don't think this is quite true.

I don't know where sand gets in, but  after a day of wading on a sandy bottom, I need to tip out a half cup of sand from the boots. To make a matter worse, sand can go underneath of the jersey / lining which makes very hard to get rid of the sand from these boots.

It is not only annoying to walk with full of sand inside of the boots, but it also won't be good for environment because the boots offer lots of places (inside and outside) for weeds and other invasive species like didymo to cling and hide.

So, these are reasons why I decided to choose different boots this time.

ブーツの内側の話ですが、どういうわけか砂がたくさん入ってきます。底が砂の場所で一日釣ると、ブーツの中からドライシェイク一本分位の砂が出てきます。

こうなると心配になってくるのが、Didymoなどです。ブーツの中にも外にも泥や藻が張り付く場所がたくさんありますから。

ということで、今回は、パタゴニアではなくて、L.L.Beanのブーツを試す事にしました。


Let me describe my new boots now.

L.L Bean's Gray Ghost Wading Boots has a simpler design compared to Patagonia's Riverwalker. It looks much like a traditional hiking / trekking boots.

As you can see, the boots has no stitches around high wearing area (e.g. toe box and sides), so there is no problem of stitching coming off like Patagonia Riverwalker does. The toe box and side are also reinforced with rubber which looks strong.

このGray Ghostというブーツですが、見た目は、一枚の革からできた、イタリア製の登山靴のようで、岩などが当たる場所には縫い目が無いだけでなく、擦れそう場所はゴムで補強されています。

It looks like the upper is made of nylon fabric, but it has some sort of plastic coating on it (may be polyurethane) which feels very slippery, and it will be very easy to clean.

I think this is a big plus in terms of dealing with things like didymo and other aquatic hitchhikers. In fact the entire boot looks sleek and it will be difficult for weed and mud to get stuck or cling.

ブーツ自体は、ナイロン製の様ですが、表面にウレタンか何かでコーティングがされていて、ツルツルです。泥などを落としやすいだけでなく、耐久性もアップしていると思います。

The hardware  looks very solid and according to L.L.Bean, it is saltwater resistant.  It should be OK as long as I wash the boots after using them in saltwater.

靴ひもを留めるパーツは、L.L.Beanによると海水でも大丈夫との事です。ただ、使った後はホースであらってね、とメールには書いてありました。

The boots has a set of drain holes with a mesh cover on it.  I used the boots on the last weekend, and I didn't get any issue of sand getting stuck inside of the boots which was one of problems with Patagonia boots.

靴の中に入った水は、ここから出てきます。ちなみに、週末に履いた感じでは、パタゴニアのブーツの様に中が砂でいっぱいという事にはなりませんでした。

The sole has octagonal tread patterns and they are sticky

There are studded and non-studded versions available, and I went for one with studs.  The studs are carbide-tipped, and they should give me extra grip on slimy rocks.

My only gripe with these studs is that it seems that they are not quite saltwater resistant, and I can already see some rust around them after using the boots on the estuary on the weekend.

Also I don't know how more or less effective these little pins / studs are compared to some of those bigger metal studs like Goat Head Sole Spikes or Simms Metal Bite.

スパイク付きとそうでないモデルがあります。スパイクはカーバイドで出来ているそうです。

The inside of the boots looks more durable than a material being used on Riverwalker.  It feels like suede, but it is probably some sort of synthetic leather, I assume.

This material doesn't dry quickly though. I used the boots on the weekend, and the inside of the boots were still damp after two days.

ブーツの内側は、パタゴニアの物よりも丈夫すですが、乾燥には時間が掛かるみたいです（使って二日たっても湿っています）。この辺は、NZ遠征には少々問題があるかもしれません。Didymoの問題があって、オーストラリア国内にブーツを持って入る前には、完全に乾燥させなくてはいけません。

I guess the biggest problem with Gray Ghost Wading Boots is sizing. They are really big.

The photo shows an insole a size 9 Patagonia's wading boots placed underneath of my foot, and size 9 boots is bit too large for me around toe area, even though it fits fine in terms of width.  

The size 9 insole of Gray Ghost Wading Boots is sitting underneath of the Patagonia insole, and you can see how big it is. It looks to me it should be more like size 10 or even 11.

I have actually asked L.L.Bean about how to choose the right size boots. I explained them that I have a short but wide feet, and I have been wearing size 9 wading boots already. They replied to me to get size 9, so I did, only to find out that the boots way are too big.

Anyway, I sent another e-mail to L.L.Bean customer service about the sizing issue after receiving the boots. They have told me that I can exchange the boots for size 8 but keep using size 9 pair in mean time until size 8 arrives.  They also said that I don't have to pay extra shipping for exchange as they should have advised me to get size 8 at beginning. I am very impressed with their customer service. It is a top class service.

As I said,  I have only used the boots twice so far, and I will write a follow up review after I get the size 8 boots which should fit me better hopefully.

唯一の問題点は、サイズです。足の下にパタゴニアのサイズ９の、そして、その下にL.L.Beanの同じくサイズ９のインナーソールを敷いてみたのですが、写真から分かる様に、同じサイズの靴とは思えないくらい大きいです。

僕は、普通の靴はサイズ８、ウェーダーを履く場合は、サイズ９にしています。オーダーする前にL.L.Beanにサイズの事でメールしたのですが、「すでにパタゴニアのウェーディングブーツのサイズ９を履いているなら同じで良いですよ」と言われたのですが、ぜんぜん大きすぎです。

ブーツが届いてからこの事でメールしたら、「サイズ９を勧めたのは、間違いでした。サイズ８を再度オーダーしてください。釣りには、ブーツが必要だと思うので、サイズ８の靴が来るまでサイズ９を履いていてください。その後でサイズ９の靴を送って下さい。送料は再度頂きません」と言われました。L.L.Beanのカスタマーサービスの良さには驚きです。