KF has it right.
Whatever boot/sock combo you decide on you might want to take a test hike in, both wet/dry and make sure your foot is secured properly and you don't slop around inside the boot, causing hot spots.

I like a boot a boot I can lace to keep my heel tight to boot and avoid that slippage.
Lot's of good options but since everyone's feet are different and your own feet maybe different than each other, fit is everything.

Anyone who has spent time in the military before they developed better fit methods for combat boots, knows what it's like to hike under a load with blisters the size of silver dollars.

Not something you want on a wilderness trip.

Thanks for the tips, everyone!  The Kokatat Nomad paddling boots look made-to-order for this type of thing, so I may just have to try a pair and leave the hip waders at home.  Much appreciated.

I have a couple of pairs of water shoes with the same type/pattern of sole that is on those Kokatat boots, and similar to Chota Quetico Trekkers - don't like them at all - they just don't seem to shed the mud you just stepped in, and that means the next step on to a rock is slippery as hell.  I found myself slipping a lot when I didn't expect to.

I use th OTB Abyss boots, which have a very good traction sole.  I typically am in Quetico for Memorial Day weekend - just wetfoot.  If I were going to try and dryfoot, I'd get some waterproof knee high socks and use them inside of the Abyss boots, or some other wading type boot with a more rugged traction sole.   

SIMMS makes several wading/hiking boot types that would work well like that (i.e. with a waterproof liner) - NRS has good choices as well the Vapor Boot is new and looks like something I'd be interested in

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wifishpro wrote on Mar 25^th, 2014 at 2:22am:



I used to use these with whatever low cut water type shoe could pick-up at a discount place like Sierra Trading post. I'm partial to the TEVA Spider sole, and ankle support isn't a issue, so low cut works for me.

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I liked the set-up until I read a story by Jimbo one of our QJ guys, about pulling someone out of the water when their rubber boots filled with water, they couldn't get them off and were in real danger of drowning.

I realized then, my hip wader choice had a fatal flaw, that being the lack of a cinch strap like my Brookie Knee Highs do as well as brands.

However if your handy with needle and thread, you could easily make some cinch straps with say elastic straps of some type or maybe that with a Velcro type fastener of some sort.

I plan on re-visting my original set-up when my Brookies need replacing.

In the spring with high water, it was nice to be able to wade/portage with water way above my knee and still stay warm and dry.

Might get a little warm if the temp rise too much, but you could always roll them down like fireman's boots, as long as they don't become anchors if you capsize.

Ditto.

Have had to yank paddlers out of ice-out cold water wearing such gear.  Even WITH life preservers on, they could barely keep their noses above water due to water filling the boots after the spill.

Personally, in cold weather where there are few portages, I'll go with my Chotas.  That's what I'll be wearing during my upcoming base camp (mostly) pre-Memorial Day week trip (assuming I'm not sledding in mukluks across Cirrus Lake).

During my trip much further north in late June, I'll wear Chota neoprene "socks" (leggings?) under my OTB drainage boots.  I roll them down while paddling.  I make the switch in boots due to the expected amount of portaging/bushwhacking during 2nd trip.  No matter what the manufacturer says to the contrary, my Chota boots simply don't afford me the ankle support I get from my OTB's.

Anyway, waders are a bad idea when paddling.  I also roll my Chotas down when paddling (especially in cold water conditions), such is my concern about the consequences of an inadvertent spill.

All it takes is but one time watching someone flail about the lake in water-laden boots.  It's the kind of nightmare vision that sticks with you.

Jimbo