Wading boots, buyer beware!

My first pair of Chota STL Plus boots lasted me in the neighborhood of 10 years. That's a ton of trips and no telling how many trail miles on a pair of felt soled, studded boots. I was so pleased, I recommended them to countless people. I liked them so much, I bought a second pair just to keep for backup. I kept them in the box they came in, stored in a closet for years.

I finally used them last summer, after the first pair began breaking down. Imagine my surprise, when after fewer than 30 trips, they began to disintegrate on my feet.

I contacted Chota, hoping like other manufacturers, they would stand by their product and support their customers. I was told that the 1 year warranty had expired, even though they've only been in "use" for 9 months. I was told I could send in $75 and they would send me a discounted pair to replace these. I paid far more than that for the boots I expected to last for years. I'm not looking to spend even more. I guess I expected Chota to make things right and they didn't.

I can no longer in good conscience recommend Chota to anyone.

Now I'm in the market for a lightweight wading boot. Looking pretty hard at the Simms Vaportread, or maybe even the Cabelas lightweight boot. At least I know how Cabelas customer service treats its longtime customers.


These boots haven't been in the water more than 30 times.

I bought a pair of Cabela's over two years ago and still using them. They're the hiker waders with felt and studs. They're starting to look rough now with a few seams starting to give, but there is no telling how many miles and hours I've put on them in that time, in some very rough country. I wear them to hike in to fish, don't tote 'em.

You can stick a fork in Chota, they are done!

I'm gonna need some waders soon, but I won't be buying Chota now.

I thought the $75 replacement was a nice gesture. Being several years outside of a warranty I'm not sure how you can bash them. The sole/rubber looks dry rotted to me.

b5fish said:

I thought the $75 replacement was a nice gesture. Being several years outside of a warranty I'm not sure how you can bash them. The sole/rubber looks dry rotted to me.

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The boots retailed in the first place for about $150, I didn't want to be $225 into a new pair of boots.

I think there was something defective in this pair. My first pair lasted me a few hundred trips and many, many miles and they still look better than these.

I have heard no bashing with the possible exception of the Company bashing its reputation for no real gain.

I know we have all experienced spending the big bucks for equipment and being let down when it performed no better than the cheap stuff...I don't blame NGS for being upset. If a manufacturer is going sale something as a premium product at a premium price it needs to last or they need to back it up.

I tried the cabelas brand and hate them. I tried the lug sole and they are very uncomfortable. I ended up getting a pair of corkers from bass pro and have never been happier with a pair of boots. They have they change out soles and the boa laces. I actually found them online for around 80 bucks off and Bass pro price matched. I think I ended up with around 120 in them. I highly recommend them.

That wet leaf was the straw that broke the camels back!

I've had a pair of Simms Freestone for going on 6 years and they are still in really good condition..They are in the mid price range for Simms but have the same quality as the Simms waders I have owned and used for close to 10 years..Never had any issues, but those few people that do have to get a repair say the customer service is also top notch.

If you bought a new truck and parked it in the garage for 10 years, took it out and then had a flat in the first 2000 miles of driving, do you think they should give you a new set of tires?

This is beyond unreasonable on your part. Expecting a company to warranty a product that is several years past the warranty, and then getting upset they won't give you a new pair?

Good grief

NE GA Pappy said:

If you bought a new truck and parked it in the garage for 10 years, took it out and then had a flat in the first 2000 miles of driving, do you think they should give you a new set of tires?

This is beyond unreasonable on your part. Expecting a company to warranty a product that is several years past the warranty, and then getting upset they won't give you a new pair?

Good grief

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This^^ Good analogy that folks can relate to!

NE GA Pappy said:

If you bought a new truck and parked it in the garage for 10 years, took it out and then had a flat in the first 2000 miles of driving, do you think they should give you a new set of tires?

This is beyond unreasonable on your part. Expecting a company to warranty a product that is several years past the warranty, and then getting upset they won't give you a new pair?

Good grief

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A little different analogy there Pappy. If it was a flat, that's one thing. But if the truck broke in half after a month of driving, I'd expect something to be done. Especially when the last truck ran a million miles. I'd think the new truck was a lemon.

I had a pair . 5 years in they collapsed in the heal. I live in mid GA so not too many trips. After time they dry rot I guess?

northgeorgiasportsman said:

A little different analogy there Pappy. If it was a flat, that's one thing. But if the truck broke in half after a month of driving, I'd expect something to be done. Especially when the last truck ran a million miles. I'd think the new truck was a lemon.

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Rong thinking there Sport. You bought a product with a date limited warranty. It isn't the fault of the seller that you threw it in the back of the closet and didn't use it. Rubber and rubber compounds break down over time. You should expect to not get near the normal wear from something you stored for a decade, then decide to use.

If you did buy a truck, and after a decade of storage it broke in half with only 100 miles on it, do you think Chevy, Ford or Dodge would say... whoops, my bad, here is you a brand new one. Get real man. You bought it, it did not exhibit any issues during the warranty period, and many years later you want a new pair because you didn't use them for all that time. Heck, I am surprised they even offered you a discount. It is just out of their desire to foster goodwill that they did, and you go and gripe about that.

Some folks could be starving and gripe because they didn't get a steak instead of a hamburger.

again.... Good Grief

b5fish said:

I thought the $75 replacement was a nice gesture. Being several years outside of a warranty I'm not sure how you can bash them. The sole/rubber looks dry rotted to me.

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Yes, rubber will dry rot in storage. That is why they date stamp tires. The tire can look brand new and being 10 years old, it could blow out the first time it hits 75mph

I wonder if people expect 10 year old windshield wipers to be as good and flexible as brand new ones right off the factory line?????

About 19 years ago I bought a pair of Redwing boots for an elk hunt. Wore them for a couple days. Got home, took them off and put them away. Still looked new. About 3 years ago, took them out of the closet to start wearing them for ankle support due to an accident. The sole on one had come unglued all but about 2 inches. Does Redwing owe me a new pair?

Steve-ALA said:

About 19 years ago I bought a pair of Redwing boots for an elk hunt. Wore them for a couple days. Got home, took them off and put them away. Still looked new. About 3 years ago, took them out of the closet to start wearing them for ankle support due to an accident. The sole on one had come unglued all but about 2 inches. Does Redwing owe me a new pair?

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That's between you and Redwing.

My opinion of this matter is that I have on a pair of Justin boots right now, I believe I have had them for about 15 years, I wore them for a while, but put them away and forgot about them for several years and found them again, they are still in good shape, I've been wearing them most every day for about 4 months with no issues, they are as comfy and durable as the day I bought them. I also have a pair of linemen boots in my bucket truck that I've had for at least that long, they are still in decent shape. Now I have not really abused these boots to tear them up, however, the materials used to make them are of the best quality, they have not dry rotted, the glue has not turned loose. In the case of these wading boots, I doubt the manufacturers will make it good, but if they were of the highest quality as they advertise, they should not have fell apart from just sitting there unless they were left out in the yard the whole time.

NGS, I had the exact same thing happen to me with a pair of Rockys a long time ago. Liked the boots so much, I bought a backup pair that sat in the closet for over a year before I used them. Being a field forester, an average days walk for me is about 5 miles. First hour (and a long dang ways from the truck) I was literally Fred Flinstoning it. I was furious. Rocky said that any shoe sole will begin to break down and disintegrate if not used within a certain amount of time and they would not replace them. I'm not going to get into the warehousing and logistics of footwear but I will never buy a pair of Rocky boots again.

And for what it's worth, my Patagonia Ultralights have been good to me. (I bought them way BEFORE Patagonia decided to get into politics.)