The 4 Best Womens Wading Boots in 2024 – Buyers Guide

best womens wading boots

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Wading boots are a must-have bit of gear when it comes to fly fishing. They give you all the support your foot and ankle need to make your way over slippery and loose terrains so that you can get to that next pool and find that trophy trout.

Not all wading boots are the same though and to find the right ones for you takes some searching. But luckily, we have done the hard work for you and gathered up some of the best womens wading boots on the market.

Image Product Details  
flyfisherpro-table__imageBest For Wet WadingSimms Freestone Felt Sole Women’s Wading Boots
  • High-Cushion Midsole
  • Excellent Ankle Support
  • Rubber Toe Cap
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flyfisherpro-table__imageBest Lightweight Wading BootsOrvis Women’s Ultralight Wading Boot
  • Custom Vibram EVA Midsole
  • Excellent Grip
  • Super Comfortable
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flyfisherpro-table__imageBest AllrounderKorkers Darkhorse Women’s Wading Boots
  • Interchangeable Sole
  • Top-Quality Ankle Support
  • Fast Drying
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flyfisherpro-table__imageBest Entry LevelRedington Women’s SIREN Wading Boots
  • Easy Slip On And Off
  • Great Traction And Grip
  • Fast Drying And Draining
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Detailed Womens Wading Boots Reviews

Simms Freestone Felt Sole Women’s Wading Boots

Simms Freestone Felt Sole Womens

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Key Features

  • Women’s specific fit with a high-cushion midsole for comfort
  • Excellent ankle support and offer great traction and grip slippery surfaces
  • Well made with excellent materials for durability and abrasion resistance
  • Rubber toe cap for foot protection
  • Waterproof neoprene lining for warmth and easy on/off

Tech Specs

  • Sizes: 5-10
  • Sole: Felt
  • Material: Synthetic leather, rubber, neoprene
  • Weight: 3.58 lbs

Review

The Simms Freestone Women’s Wading Boots are specifically designed for women and come with a specific shoe fit including a high-cushion midsole to match and support a woman’s foot. This makes for comfy days even when wading on loose slippery rocks through a river for hours on end.

This pair of wading boots from Simms is made with excellent materials including synthetic leather and a scratch rubber upper. The Simms upper enhances the durability of this pair of Simms fishing boots no end by ensuring any scuffs from shrubs or rocks don’t wear them out.

Inside each Simms wading boot is a waterproof neoprene lining. This lining makes the Simms wading boots easy to slip on and off plus it ensures your feet stay warm, and even dry while you’re wet wading without any waders.

These Simms wading boots come exclusively with felt soles which provide excellent traction and grip on the slipperiest of rocks and rivers. Plus Simms added a protective rubber toe cap to ensure you never stub your toes while making your way upriver. You can also use these Simms wading boots with studs or cleats when you need to.

Orvis Women’s Ultralight Wading Boot

Orvis Womens Ultralight

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Key Features

  • Light weight and quick-drying to keep you light on your feet
  • Rubber outer helps with abrasion resistance for durability
  • Custom Vibram EVA midsole makes them super comfy
  • Well made from great materials that last
  • Excellent grip and traction in a slippery river

Tech Specs

  • Sizes: 6-11
  • Sole: Sticky rubber
  • Material:  Clarino microfiber, rubber, ripstop nylon
  • Weight: 2.78 lbs

Review

The Orvis Women’s Ultralight Wading Boots are made to be a light as possible while still maintaining durability, and Orvis has done a pretty good job at making it so.

This pair of Orvis ultralight wading boots weigh a little over 2lbs make them easy to add to your luggage when setting off for a fly fishing trip away from home. Being Orvis women’s ultralight wading boots, they are also super light on your feet which makes long wading sessions as enjoyable as possible.

The reason these Orvis wading boots are so lightweight is thanks to the use of a nylon microfiber called Clarino. It has an excellent durability to weight ratio and it drys super fast too.

This pair of Orvis women’s ultralight wading boots also feature a custom Vibram midsole. The Vibram addition from Orvis makes for excellent comfort and shock absorption while the sides ensure you have all the support you need to tackle uneven ground.

These ultralight wading boots come with a sticky rubber sole that has an immense amount of traction and gives you all the stability and grip you need to work your way over slippery rocks when wading.

Korkers Darkhorse Women’s Wading Boots

Korkers Darkhorse Womens

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Key Features

  • Interchangeable sole so you can switch from felt to rubber
  • Excellent drainage system keeps them lightweight
  • Both felt and rubber soles with studs offer excellent traction and grip
  • Great fit and top-quality ankle support
  • Made fast drying and with quality materials for durability
  • Work well with studs and cleats

Tech Specs

  • Sizes: 5-11
  • Sole: Felt/rubber – interchangeable
  • Material: Nylon, Rubber
  • Weight: 3.2 lbs

Review

The Korkers Darkhorse Women’s Wading Boots are some of the only wading boots on the market with an interchangeable sole. When you order these Korkers wading boots you get a set of felt soles and rubber soles.

The felt soles come attached to the Korkers wading boot and the rubber soles simply click into the sides and are secured to the back of the Korkers wading booth with a clip. Both offer great traction and it means you always have the choice to switch between felt and rubber soles depending on the rivers you’re fishing, instead of having to own two pairs of wading boots.

These Korkers wading boots also feature an excellent drainage system to keep you light on your feet, and they dry quickly too.

The inside comes with a fit system that makes sliding them on and off easy, even though they ride quite high for great support when wading loose and slippery algae.

To help you decide, you can see our post on korkers wading boot review here.

Redington Women’s SIREN Wading Boots

Redington Womens SIREN

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Key Features

  • Fast drying and draining to keep you light on your feet
  • Great traction and grip with both rubber and felt soles
  • Compatible with studs and cleats for when you need them
  • Offer great support when wading on slippery rocks
  • Molded rubber overlays for abrasion and durability
  • Easy to slip on and off, plus they look good

Tech Specs

  • Sizes: 6-10
  • Sole: Felt or sticky rubber sole
  • Material: Rubber, Nylon,
  • Weight: 3lbs

Reviews

When it comes to the Redington Women’s SIREN Wading Boots you can’t help but notice that this pair of wading boots looks stylish as hell. The molded rubber overlays are a thing of beauty and they also enhance the durability of the wading boot too.

Outside of looks, these Redington entry-level wading boots are feature-rich to ensure you have a great time wading every time you’re out fishing.

These fishing boots have a wide sole for added stability, a padded ankle collar for comfy support, plus a midsole made just for women so you get all the protection you need for your feet and ankle.

At the front is a toe box so you never stub your toe and the mesh-lined interior stops your feet from sitting in the wet and helps the drainage system to flush out all the water as fast as possible. You’ll be light on your feet in these wading boots.

These Redington wading boots come with either a rubber sole or a felt sole. Both types of soles provide excellent traction so you can walk on uneven surfaces with ease. They’re also compatible with studs and cleats for when you need to wear them

womens wading boots

Why do you need wading boots?

When fly fishing, you can’t just sit on the bank of the river you need to get inside it to access where all the fish are sitting and to get away from any trees and bushes that may mess up your cast.

Without waders and wading boots, this would be super cold and harsh on your feet, even if you’re wearing comfortable fishing shoes. I have been wading with regular shoes on and my feet were freezing plus each shoe fell apart about a week later.

Unlike a regular shoe or boot, a wading boot is designed to get wet and survive it well. They have features like a drainage system to let the water out, better traction than a shoe or boot for a secure footing on slippery rocks, thicker soles for protection, and offer way more support for walking through water than a normal shoe or boot ever could.

Why are wading boots for women different?

Women and men have different feet hence why women wear women’s shoes and men wear men’s shoes, and the same goes for a wading boot.

A woman’s foot has a different shape and requires a different shape to provide adequate foot support and comfort which is integrated into the midsole of each wading boot. It’s these features that provide fly fishing woman with better comfort as they wander up the river.

Things to consider when looking for the best wading boots

Price & Value

When shopping for wading boots you need to have a minimum budget of $100, if your budget is lower than this you’ll likely end up with some poor entry-level boots that don’t survive a season.

Like all fly fishing gear, the higher the price the better the quality, and there is that happy medium where value comes into play. You don’t need to buy the wading boots at the highest price at the shop to find value.

If you stick around the $150 price range when you shop for wading boots, you’ll find a great wading boot that will show its value for seasons to come, like the ones featured in the reviews above.

durability

Durability

The best wading boot will last at least two to three seasons and this comes down to how and what they are made of. Look for wading boots that have rubbery or synthetic uppers. These work extremely well to stop any damage from abrasion suffered by scuffing your wading boot against a rock and shrubs. Things that can not be avoided.

Weight & Drainage

Every wading boot is quite heavy once on your feet and even heavier once waterlogged. It’s always a good idea to look for light wading boots but the best way to ensure they stay light is to pick a pair with a good drainage system.

This will allow the boot to expel water quickly so you don’t have to carry the extra weight in the boot while you’re marching upstream in your already heavy waders.

Traction

The main reason wading boots exist in the world of fly fishing gear is to keep anglers secure on their feet and this comes through soles with great traction. Plus, the last thing all anglers need is to be slipping and stumbling, splashing around and making loads of noise, scaring all the fish away.

Make sure you pick a boot with a good sole that suits the waters you fish. Felt provides the best grip but is slowly being banned around the world as it transports algae that destroy fly waters. Anglers are now choosing rubbery soles instead for this purpose and they still provided excellent traction.

You can check out our full post here on where are felt wading boots banned for more information.

Fast Drying

Wading boots take ages to dry in my experience whereas waders take about 30 minutes. If you can find a pair of boots that you like that also dry quickly, then grab them. It makes life so much more convenient and instead of carrying soaking boots home with you after a weekend of fishing, they might at least be semi-dry and a lot lighter.

best wading boots for women

Which ones are the best wading boots for you?

The best women’s wading boots in my eyes are the Korkers Darkhorse Women’s Wading Boots. These wading boots are comfortable to wear, offer great support, give you secure footing on slippery rocks, and have the best soles in the business – interchangeable felt and rubber soles. Plus they don’t stay wet and dry quickly so you’re always light on your feet.

The next best wading boots for women are the Simms Freestone wading boot. Simms makes great fly fishing gear than these fishing boots are no different. They are comfy, designed to support the foot of women, have a great drainage system, and each boot features a neoprene lining for warmth and it’s waterproof too making them ideal for wet wading.

Thanks for reading my article, I hope you found it useful and picked out the right wading boot for you. Comfort is key to enjoying fly fishing and a big step in the right direction is by having the best wading boots for you. Happy wading, and tight lines until next time.

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