The Allen Brule River bootfoot Chest Waders, are one of the most sold pair on Amazon. With around 60$ they are low budget and assuming Allen produced quality here, could be a good product for beginners. I will review them for you, so you know all facts when you make your decision.
Specs:
- Bootfoot Chest Waders
- Made from nylon, coated with PVC
- Cleated PVC Boots.
The Waders
If you are looking for your first pair of waders, you probably do not feel like spending a lot of money. You might just want to try it out and see if you like it and after a successful season in fishing waders, you can still upgrade. Good for you, that you can get waders made from all different fabrics for cheap today , even with a budget below 100$. You can choose between breathable, neoprene, plain nylon and rubber ones. While I would never recommend the latter to someone who plans on fishing in them, their are still three options to choose from. If you want to fish in colder waters neoprene might be a good choice, otherwise breathable and nylon will serve you well. The problem is, that in this price range it is really hard to produce quality breathable waders. To achieve the breathable features manufacturers have to skimp on other parts to be able to sell for a low price without losing money.
Construction Of The Allen Brule Bootfoot Waders
The Allen’s are made from said 70D nylon material, coated with PVC to be fully waterproof. Therefore they are fairly lightweight, definitely lighter than neoprene and folding to store and transport them is easy. The nylon does not seem really durable, but if you just plan on fishing with them they should work as intended. Said seams actually look pretty decent if you keep the price in mind and for 70$ the quality provided here is fair.
The nylon is really thin, there is no insulation at all, fine for your local lake on a warm summer day, but not for alpine streams.
Sizing And Fitting
They seem to run a little small, I read that before ordering them and got a size larger than usually, which was perfect for me. Since the nylon is lightweight and they have a wide fitting, assuming you bought the right size, the flexibility won’t be limited by the Allens. However, they also do not look very good. But to be honest, you are buying them to keep you dry and not to win a fashion contest on the river. Considering that, they work as intended.
Features
The rubber- or fancier said- the PVC boots included, are nothing to write home about. Just plain cheap non-insulated rubber boots that keep you dry. The traction is poor and gives you absolutely no security walking through the river. There is also no ankle support, so a wrong step could cause a sprained ankle or worse. What I have to complain about as well, are the missing pockets on the front. It really does not cost that much to add them and they are incredibly handy. Also missing once again are belt loops. Another feature that you could add cheaply. Well, I guess they have to save money somewhere… Not included either is a wading belt, if you do not have one, order one right away if you plan on getting waders. I mention it every time in reviews for the entry level products, since there is a good chance, this is your first pair of waders. Do not save money, get one, it can save your life and I don’t’ exaggerate here.
How Do The Allen Brule Bootfoot Perform In the stream
I tested them in a stream and after two hours I was actually freezing a little. For reference, I was wearing normal trousers underneath. Granted that, the next time I would wear additional thermals underneath. As stated earlier the nylon is actually not really resistive. While driving to the stream I had a box of flies laying on top of them. Somehow this box opened and a few flies fell out, one punctured the pair right over the knee, leaving a small hole, the moment I pulled the hook out. Welly at least I knew I sharpened my hooks well enough. Since this happened before fishing, said hole was below the water surface for a decent amount of time. Leaving the water and undressing the waders I had a wet spot on my left knee, exactly where the hook punctured. Not a real problem and also not really the fault of the waders, but this gives you a reference for how resistant the nylon is. If this lets you think: “Wow.. I need something more persistent” you can either check out my Review about Neoprene Waders from Caddis or higher your budget and go for a pair of breathable waders, a bit more expensive, reviewed here.
Pros:
- Cheap price
- Decent seams
Cons:
- Bad traction in the water
- No ankle support
- Rip and get punctured easily
Final Review Of The Allen Brule Bootfoot Waders
My introduction already pointed it out, that if you do not want to spend much, at least you should spend right and Nylon can be the better choice here. However I highly recommend getting the Redington Crosswater instead of the Allens, they cost about the same and beat this pair by far! You can read my in-depth review about them here.
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