Rock Grippa (wading) boots review - might look a bit daft, but they are grippy as hell, very good, and cheap at only £40
Nothing changes the fact that for me, the Bestard SAR Pro Water Rescue Boots are THE best (wading) boots I have used on a long-term basis. They are not particularly cheap and I think you need to add studs to make them really grippy on rocks, but they are lightweight, very comfortable, pretty long-lasting in saltwater, and I really like wearing them for my fishing and especially when I might be walking, wading or scrambling a long way.
So how about these arguably slightly daft looking and considerably cheaper Rock Grippa boots which I have been using as wading boots for much of my lure fishing recently? I have been itching to get my hands on a pair of these boots as I’ve been very aware of a lot of the South African rock and surf anglers wearing them for their fishing for a long time now. I don’t know if you know anything about the fishing and the anglers down there, but I have worked with and around a lot of South African anglers and guides over the years and all around the world - fly fishing and rock and surf fishing - and I reckon they are collectively the best anglers I have ever come across. If these Rock Grippa boots are popular in South Africa then in my mind they have got to be worth looking at…………………..
It was only fairly recently that I became aware of these white coloured Rock Grippa boots being available in the UK, so I messaged Jason at Ocean Angler to ask him a few questions about them before buying a pair. We messaged back and forth and Jason very kindly offered to send me a pair FOC to see how I got on with them. No obligation for a blog post like this I might add, but I am obviously always looking for interesting fishing tackle to tell you about and I was hoping the boots might work out for me so I could do this review. Jason advised me to go one size up over my UK shoe size to allow for the neoprene socks on the various breathable chest and waist waders I so often wear. I am a UK 11 foot size and I went for a size 12 in these Rock Grippa boots. They are a good fit when I wear waders, but if I was wet-wading and wearing thinner neoprene socks or walking socks then I reckon my normal UK shore size in these boots would be fine.
Here’s some blurb from the Ocean Angler website: “Ifish have spent some time developing this product with Neptune Boots and there is no doubt that it is the ultimate rock boot at the moment, which also comes at a very good price. It has a very handy quick on and off feature with a pull-on tag that takes the pain out of putting on or taking off these boots. Being white, it is nice and cool even in the hottest sun and it does not have to be continually wet to stay cool. The tread pattern is aggressive and really grips the rocks well, especially those super-slimy boulder type rocks that make life difficult. Big water drainage holes ensure quick-drain and the ability to get rid of grit or sand. Extremely popular for fishing off the bricks (rocks) as well as increasingly with family holiday makers for child safety in coastal regions. Available in a range of sizes from 4 to 12”.
Key features (from the Ocean Angler website):
• Aggressive non-slip tread provides excellent grip on wet rocks, slimy surfaces, piers, and boulders
• Fast-draining sole allows water, sand, and grit to escape quickly for all-day comfort
• Easy pull-on design with rear tag for quick on and off
• White colour helps reflect heat, keeping feet cooler in sunny conditions
• Comfortable enough to wear dry — no need to constantly wet them
• Popular with anglers and families for added safety around the water
So what do I think now that I have extensively used these Rock Grippa boots over all kinds of terrain and in a bunch of different lure fishing situations? Firstly, if you are worried about how you look then you ain’t going to be drawn to a bright white pair of boots which look like cut-down wellies! But if you are comfortable in your own skin then let’s carry on. I don’t think we have too much to worry about with trying to reflect too much heat in our usual fishing environments, but the boots come in white only and it doesn’t bother me at all. They are not noticeably lightweight but they are very easy to get on and off. I haven’t weighed the boots but in the hand they feel comparable weight wise to the Bestard SAR Pro Water Rescue Boots.
Using these Rock Grippa boots with the Vision neoprene gravel guards
These Rock Grippa boots drain really well, but if you fish in areas where there’s a lot of gravel-type small stones tumbling around in the wash then some of it will end up in the boots and not clear out. This might or might not be a problem for you and where you fish, but if it is then it’s easily rectified - at a cost though. You will need to buy gravel guards, and the only ones I am aware of come from the fly fishing world and tend not to be that cheap. I use the Vision neoprene gravel guards which I have had for a long time and to be fair are holding up really well, but they cost around £30 and you might need to factor that into your buying decisions with these boots. Perhaps if you go looking around there might be a cheaper way to prevent the bigger stuff getting into the boots? I know that most of our waders have inbuilt gravel guards on them, but these boots are too short for them to work effectively, and there is also nothing on the boots to hook their inbuilt gravel guards onto anyway. I don’t use gravel guards with these boots when I am doing most of my estuary fishing for example, but out on the coast I do.
One thing you don’t need to do with these Rock Grippa boots is buy some wading studs and screw them into the soles. I don’t know how they have made the soles so grippy, but they are pretty bloody incredible. I took things a bit more carefully to start with while I got used to them, but as I began to build trust in their gripping abilities I just moved around as normal and I was amazed at how grippy they are. My yardstick if you like is how well the Bestard SAR Pro Water Rescue Boots with a bunch of Best-Grip 1605 studs screwed into their soles will grip on various surfaces, and I would put these Rock Grippa boots - without studs - easily on a par with them. You know as well as I do that some specific surfaces are bloody difficult to move around on whatever you are wearing, but these Rock Grippa boots with no studs in the soles are easily up there as some of the best gripping wading boots I have fished with. Again, a big win for only £40 and no need to buy any studs.
So these Rock Grippa boots are nice and cheap (I can’t factor in whether you need to get gravel guards or not), they are so easy to get on and off, and they are comfortable for moving around and walking a decent distance if you need to. I don’t know how long they are going to last but at a measly £40 I am not worried one bit. Mine are showing zero signs of damage so far, and bear in mind that I am absolutely lethal on shoes and boots. You can spend almost as much as you like on a pair of wading boots which are generally from the fly fishing world, but as yet I haven’t come across any which last a commensurate amount of time.
The only shore-based lure fishing situation I have come across so far when I wouldn’t want to be wearing these Rock Grippa boots is in soft mud. I have done so and to be fair they didn’t slip off, but I could feel the mud trying to get them off my feet so I was very careful. I would prefer boots which you can secure with laces when on soft mud, but to be fair I would far rather avoid walking on this type of surface anyway! I am going to keep hammering these Rock Grippa wading boots and I will report back if there are any issues, but so far I think we are onto a seriously good value for money winner for the sort of fishing so many of us do.
Please bear in mind that the only affiliate link in this blog post is for the Vision neoprene gravel guards.