So, has Bogs come up with the perfect fishing and wet weather shoe with their Tillamook Slip-on? Well, I bought a pair and put them through the ringer for a year. Here’s what I found…
Features & Specs
• 100% waterproof
• Breathable neoprene
• 5mm neoprene liner
• Comfort rating to -40 degrees F
• Anti-fungal, odor-resistant sockliner
• MSRP: About $55
On…er…In-the-water test
Okay, so my first impression after slipping on these babies was that they had potential to quickly be my favorite fishing, boating and wet weather shoe. They’re extremely comfortable…and much to the chagrin of my wife’s fashion sense, I began wearing them anytime we went somewhere. More on the everyday wearing scenario later…
But first, how do the Bogs Tillamook Slip-Ons do in and around water? I found them to be excellent winter boating shoes when you don’t need full-length boots. I could wash the deck down and the water, fish blood, slime and other assorted goo would roll right on by, leaving my feet high and dry. When launching and recovering the boat, the slip-ons were also handy — I could go out into a few inches of water to crank the boat up the last foot or two on the trailer.
Dry feet..though not a lot of freeboard left!
The Bogs also shined when I was tromping around in the mud, on rainy day runs to the tackle shop, mowing the lawn, etc. And you can see why they’re such good foot wear for wet environments: Take a neoprene bootie and cover it in a rubber shell, add a sole and you’re in business.
Basically, these shoes are neoprene booties dipped in rubber
I’ve worn these things a lot for a solid year+ and they’ve held up well. About the only thing that has happened to them is, after 6 months, the neoprene split (inside the lining) near the ankle on both shoes. Maybe it’s just the way I walk or put them on or whatever, but it happened to both lefty and righty. I think I may get a little seepage if I get too deep because of the splits, but it’s really not been much of a problem because I rarely need to go into deep enough water to make them come into play.
The slits are really more cosmetic than anything.
As far as traction goes, I’ve been extremely happy with Bogs’ soles. On wet decks, I’ve never had any slippage issues…even as they’ve worn down over a year’s worth of testing:
Okay, so how about the warmth factor? The manufacturer says they’re good to -40 degrees, which I definitely will just take their word for! I have a little mantra that says if I have to chop a hole in the water to go fishing, it’s too cold to go fishing. Plus, here in California we are cold at 40 above…But I can say this: I’ve never had cold feet when wearing these guys, even in the drippy wet low 40′s and fog we encounter striper fishing in the winter.
Bogs also claims them to be breathable, which they are — anywhere the rubber’s not totally coating the neoprene, which is around the ankles:
The only area air can escape!
So, what I’ve found is your feet will be pretty comfy until about 80 degrees…above that you’ll feel like you’ve got both of them stuffed into a sauna. As far as the anti-fungal, odor-resistant sockliner goes, I can tell you the smell that comes out of these babies after prolonged wearing (especially in warmer weather) could kill a baby buffalo. However…and this is a biggie…they don’t hold that smell. You’ll get a blast o’ stink immediately after pulling them off — and then it magically goes away. The Tillamooks aren’t like you old high school basketball shoes that stunk 24-7.
Conclusion
Overall, I really love my Bogs Tillamook Slip-Ons. In fact, if I were president, I would declare them the “Official Shoe of the Pacific Northwest” or something along those lines.
