Skwala, a leading brand in wading and technical apparel, just announced the addition of two new products to their lineup. The RS Boot and Carbon Boot are the company’s first foray into footwear.
“We don’t build gear that’s ‘good, better, best,'” Rich Hohne, Chief Marketing Officer for Skwala, said. “We build things based on end-use. The Carbon wader, for example, is the best wader for cold-water, warm-air environment. The RS (wader) is the best for the steelheader battling those conditions. We’re building things around use case. When it comes to boots, it’s the same thing.”
The Boots
The RS Boot is a bomber-style boot, built for tough and demanding wading environments. Its a taller boot than the Carbon, which makes it great for ankle support and hiking through rough country.
The Carbon Boot is a lighter boot, geared more towards long hikes and wet-wading.
“It’s built like a hiking boot,” Hohne said. “It’s ideal for a lot of hiking and walk-wade fishing.”
Both the RS and Carbon boots are double-lasted, which is a process that uses two layers of material to create the upper portion of the boot. That’s where Skwala found most wading boots to have failure problems, so double-lasting adds increased durability to that problem-prone area. Both boots also feature a toe-cap to further extend the life of the product.
“The body (of both boots) is a mixture of synthetic leathers and TPUs (thermoplastic polyurethane), and minimal stitching,” Hohne said.
Both boots also have a higher midsole than you’ll find on other wading boots, which Hohne said will make the boots feel more comfortable.
Enhanced Feel and Traction
The most notable feature from these boots is how Skwala uses a the Enhance Stability System (ESS) plate. Most wading boots have an ESS plate in the sole to give it rigidity, structural support, and to help dissipate ground impact forces. These ESS plates also serve as a support layer for screw-in studs for most rubber-soled wading boots.
On both the RS and Carbon boot, however, Skwala has its stud locations marked in a figure-eight pattern, and you’ll notice it doesn’t extend across the entire boot. That means the ESS plate doesn’t extend across the entire sole, either, which is an intentional design choice.
“There’s a feeling you get, in your nerves, from the bottom of your feet to your brain that allows you to adjust your balance,” Hohne said. “A lot of times, if someone is fishing out where with a stiff ESS plate (in their boots) for stud retention or torsional rigidity, they think their balance is terrible. The problem is their brain can’t feel anything under their foot.”
By adding studs in a figure-eight and removing portions of the ESS plate, Hohne said you’ll get more sensory impulse through the mid-sole, which should help if you feel like you have awful balance when wading rivers.
To further help you feel secure and confident in these boots, Skwala also opted for a “burrito tongue” on both boots.
“The tongue only has one opening,” Hohne said. “It’s not a lateral tongue with openings on both sides. This hugs your foot.”
Both boots sound promising, and we’ll have in-depth reviews on each model here at Flylords in the coming months. In the meantime, you can buy these boots from Skwala, or your local Skwala retailer.