Three years ago my Ocean waist waders finally sprung a leak after 15 year service. Pondering a new pair I came to the conclusion a new pair of wellies would be a better option as most of my fishing these days is from a boat. So I headed down to my local tackle shop. The last time I bought a pair of wellies the choice was simple, black Dunlop or green Hunters, things had progressed and the choice now was bewildering. Toggs, Agile, Hunter, Le Chameau etc. Most were cotton lined, however one pair stuck out, they had a bright blue lining and a cool looking buckle on the side. Le Chameau Vierzonord. Sliding my hand into the boot they felt soft and comfy. ”What’s the lining?” I asked the sales chappy, “Neoprene.” Said he. Thoughts of my Daiwa neoprene chest waders came flooding back. Hot, sweaty, and stinking.
“They may be a tab hot in the summer” I said, quick as a flash another pair of Le Chameau appeared, Veganord Evolution. They looked similar but were darker green, still had the little buckle but the lining was black. “What’s the difference?” I asked. The reply was long and eye glazing but amounted to the lining being called Outcast which was as warm and comfy as neoprene but your feet didn’t sweat as much, the sole is Vibram which is self cleaning and has the grip of a carpenters vice, also something about NASA.
I stared at the price tag for a while and thought well I do need them and I don’t smoke so ****** it I’ll have them. For £120 I got a new pair of state of the art wellies in an expensive looking box with a handle. Home, shoes off, wellies on. Sliding ones foot into them was pleasure it’s self like slipping into a warm bath. Sitting in the kitchen admiring my new boots in comes the missus.
“Very nice how much were they?”. “Fifty quid”. “ Really? You paid fifty quid for a pair of wellies?”. “Yeah. NASA uses them”. “Well get them off we’re going to my mothers.” Part of the comfort of these boots is that they’re fitted, what I mean by fitted is they’re shaped to fit your foot, ankle and calf perfectly. Unfortunately they succeed in this just to well. Getting them off turned out to be a mission in it’s self. The trouble is when you try to prise your foot out, a vacuum Dyson would be proud of is created in the heal and toe area sucking the boot back on. It got to the point where I thought about poking a hole in the toe to break the vacuum!! Eventually both boots were off, and I came to realise why women have such shapely rear ends, they’re design for resting your foot on while she pulls your boots off. First fishable day of the season came and on went the Dysons. They were every bit as comfy as I’d remembered. I tramped down to the loch side, stripped line off my reel and fired out a lengthy cast. The line immediately caught on the buckle on the side of the boot which happened often enough for me to make a mental note to cut them off first opportunity. Inching forward into the water ankle deep I stood on a small stone and went flat on my ****. It was then I became aware of the problem with ‘self cleaning Vibram soles’. Fine, I’m sure, for trekking along well worn hill trails on a dry summers day but when wet they had the grip of a camel ice skating. Home, same problem getting them off but with the add bonus of them being soaking wet inside. One boot gripped firmly by the female rib crushers, the other placed on the firm buttock for extra leverage and bingo, both off. Back to the shop to tell them where to stick they’re Vibrams. Three minutes later I was heading home with a fivers worth of wader studs and Superglue. I ran out of Superglue half way through my second boot so the last few went in with Aquasure. It took three weeks for the boots to dry and that included two days in the sun which faded them a lighter colour and a week upside down in the airing cupboard.
Loch Achall was the next outing for the new improved Dysons, the shore is rock strewn so this would be a good test. On went the boots, standing up I gave each a good stamp, which sent needle like pains shooting through my feet, eight each foot. If these leak, I thought, I’m going to shoot myself for being so stupid. Fortunately they didn’t and the studs did they’re job, gripping the wet stones like bears claws. Not a slip or skid all day. As I got into the car to head home I thought of those shapely buttocks and the consequences of levering a studded sole against. I needn’t have worried because a quick examination of the soles revealed that most of the studs had fallen out and the rest weren’t far behind.
“Tights” said she. “What?” I replied. “If you wore tights your foot would slip out no bother. I could cut the feet off an old pair.”

So there you have it, my review of my Le Chameau Veganord Evolution with Outcast lining and Vibram soles. Fine in the dry, utterly useless in the wet and unbelievably frustrating to get off. Would I recommend them? Nope. Will I continue to wear them? At £120……… until they rot off my cold dead feet.