Simms Flyweight Access Boot

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Wonderful wading boots
   Very light weight
   Great for walking compared to the heavier wading boots
   Seem to have slightly better traction on wet rocks
   Buy a size larger than your normal shoe size
   Pull-on loops are helpful for removing the boots

   Joe Burian

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   Simms Flyweight Access Boot
   5*
   Simply the stickiest rubber soled boot available and on my feet I find the traction superior to felt. I have been using rubber soled boots exclusively for over a decade. Early versions were very durable but felt like wearing tap shoes on a skating rink and required studs to make them practical. Rubber compounds and lug shape improved, and I haven’t felt the need to use studs in my rubber boots for many years. Vibram Idrogrip is the wading boot sole gold standard and the softer tan rubber compound in the Flyweight Access boot is noticeably tackier on the river rocks. My all-time favorite wading boots are a heavier boot from another manufacturer with a Vibram Idrogrip sole.

   Those boots are my go-to boot when wearing waders and I have had that specific pair for six years. On a recent trip to the Grande Ronde I was reminded what slippery rocks are and tough wading is. I used a wading staff to cross and was thankful to have it. My tired-and-true boots were fine, but I felt like I was living on the edge most of the time. Towards the end of my second day, I decided to swap out my boots for the Flyweight Access boots. Give my feet a change, maybe change my luck, it felt like a good time to do a little gear assessment while the fishing was slow. The improvement in traction was noticeable and the overall lightness of the boot.

   Your feet feel nimbler, and they find purchase more quickly. My Flyweight Access boots are the boots that stay in my truck most of the season. I have two other pairs of wading boots, one for waders and another as a dedicated wet wading boot. I keep the Flyweight Access boots close because they work so well with waders or wet wading. The fit is dialed in and while they are lightweight and cut a little shorter, you get plenty of support. That athletic cut and minimal weight makes them a natural wet wading boot. The outsole is not as durable as a standard Idorgrip rubber outsole. You will get about one season of hard guide work out of them as a solo boot, or two or three seasons if you used them like I do as a system with other boots and hard use. The uppers are very durable, and I would be surprised if you wore out the upper boot before you went through at least two outsoles. Simms has a very good resole program for these boots. I went through the process with a hard fishing Gunnison River shop customer and his boots were resoled and turned around in about two weeks’ time. The charge was $90 plus shipping to Simms. I really like this program. It keeps a good broken in boot on the water and out of the landfill for longer, with out-of-the-box brand new traction. Hiking boot grip out of the river and better than felt grip in the water in a lightweight, supportive and comfortable package, the Simms Flyweight Access boot is hard to beat.

   *I mentioned using multiple pairs of wading boots. Having a dedicated pair of boots for waders and dedicated pair for wet wading allows me to use both boots far longer than I would using only one pair for everything. I used to get 1-2 seasons out of a pair of boots, now I get about 3-5+ seasons of use depending on the boot. My wet wading boots also double as my flats sneakers. Don’t want to shell out the money all at once for multiple boots? When you’re ready to replace a pair, do so before your boots are totally shot and use the old pair as either your wader set or your wet wading set. When you’re totally done with the old pair replace those and you’ll have a set with very little wear and a brand new pair.

   Richard Post (The Telluride Angler)

   Richard Post (The Telluride Angler)