A while ago, I decided to forsake the felt soles of my youth and go with some of the, now not so new, rubber soled wading boots (with spikes). I did this for various reasons that included invasive species as well as comfort when hiking into remote fishing spots. When I tried them for a the first time I suffered from what I'll call a "lack of confidence" which seemed to manifest itself whenever I found myself waist deep in a tail water, trying to balance atop bowling ball sized rocks which were covered in rock snot. This lack of confidence (and an adequate wading staff) led to many Fred Flintstone like moments.
Enter some friends from Hillsound, who sent us a set of Freesteps6 crampons to try. While Freesteps6 look a lot like a traditional light weight ice crampon, they are also being marketed as an easy on/off option for river wading anglers. The "independent studs" (note possible new name for our fishing club) with twenty-one 1/4 inch spikes are made of stainless steel so they should be fairly durable. I plan on giving them a test this summer, so look for a full report later this season.
At a MSRP of $39.99 a set of these won't break the bank and might keep you from breaking something else.
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