Over the last half decade or so, bootmakers have focused intently on designing offerings geared towards making it easier for agile and active anglers to move and keep moving. Newer wading boot designs have not only shed pounds and ounces, they’ve also traded boxy, crude construction for a more athletic and hiker-friendly fit. This month, Oregon-based bootmaker Korkers is introducing its brand-new Wade-Lite collection, featuring two new wading boots that will no doubt draw looks from anglers whose trips to the river regularly include long hike-ins, boulder scrambling, miles of wading, and so on.
For about as long as most anglers can remember, Korkers has been virtually synonymous with its interchangeable sole system. But in order to shed meaningful ounces, Korkers opted for a fixed sole construction for the Wade-Lite collection. Each of the collection’s two new models — the Stealth Sneaker and the Chrome Lite Boot — hit store shelves this April as the lightest available wading boots in their class.
That new fixed sole features an entirely new construction that is unique to the Wade-Lite collection. Driven by a new, proprietary outsole compound called Kling-On Rock™, Korkers says the soles of the new Wade-Lite boots offer equally impressive traction on both dry and wet rock. The new soles also feature embedded nylon anchor plates designed to hold fast to Korkers new XTRA-BITE™ carbide screw-in cleats.
Both boots also feature seamless construction for increased durability and internal drainage with midsole ports to allow for easy shedding of water.
Anglers who are looking for the lightest boot possible will likely set their sights on the Stealth Sneaker, which weighs in at a measly 2.2 pounds. Fans of the BOA lacing system, popular on many wading boots made by Korkers and other manufacturers, can look to the Chrome Lite Boot, which tacks on only 4 ounces for the additions of the BOA system and Korkers ExoTec abrasion-resistant uppers.
Ask the team at Korkers what else sets these new boots apart other than their lightweight, and they’ll likely point to the athletic fit — which they say is more akin to a sneaker than a traditional boot — another design aspect which will pique the interest of active anglers.
“We challenged our design team to develop the lightest weight, highest performing wading boots in the industry and they delivered in spades,” said CEO Brian Chaney. “Not only did they deliver exactly what we requested, at $149.99 MSRP for the Stealth Sneaker™ and $179.99 MSRP for the Chrome Lite™ BOA® they did so at an unbelievable value to the consumer.”
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