Cutthroat Chronicles: A Year In – The Korkers Devil’s Canyon Wading Boots

Ever since I started fly fishing, I’ve used Korkers boots. At first it was due to their lower-priced boots still being fabulous but as time went on I realized just how solid Korkers boots are.

My favorite pair so far has been the Devil’s Canyon, a model I wrote a review of in Hatch Magazine a little over a year ago. At the time of the review, I’d had the boots for a few weeks. That’s one of the biggest problems with boot reviews these days – writers rarely have the time to spend months with a product before writing a review on it. They’re always rushed.

That’s why I wanted to revisit the Devil’s Canyon boot, one year and nearly 200 fishing trips later.

Korkers Wading Boots

How have they held up?

This is the ultimate question – are the boots durable? In my original review, I worried the thinner material of the Devil’s Canyon model wouldn’t hold up to long-term abuse.

I was wrong. The rubber and neoprene layering mix that makes up the top half of the boot still doesn’t sport a scratch. While you can definitely tell the boots have been used, they don’t appear to be abused. The seams are still tight, the BOA system cinches properly, and aside from a bit of wear on the interior lining and the flaps of material protecting the boot material from the BOA cables, I haven’t seen a thing wrong with these boots.

Korkers Wading Boots

Do they work as advertised?

Korkers wanted the Devil’s Canyon boot to be agile. A boot that felt great while wading or hiking four miles in the backcountry to get to your favorite stretch of river.

I do a large amount of hiking to my rivers, and after a solid year and something around 40 hiking miles the Devil’s Canyon boots are still going strong. I’m just now needing to look at replacing the soles.

There still is the problem of the boots not providing a ton of ankle support. The thin material that makes them great for hiking also doesn’t provide much in the way of ankle support and I’ve twisted mine a few times. However, I have weak ankles and need something like the K-5 Bombers to keep me from twisting anything.

Will they be around?

After Korkers announced three new boots for 2017 I was a bit worried the Devil’s Canyon line would see a quick end. The folks at Korkers, however, assured me that the Devil’s Canyon boots will be available through 2017 at the very least. For $200, they’re one of the best deals available in the wading boot world.

Korkers Wading Boots

I still wish they had a gaiter hook ring, and a bit of extra support in the upper section would be nice, but overall I’ve been very impressed with how these boots have lasted since I first pulled them on more than a year ago. If you’re in the market for a new pair, I’d strongly recommend these.

Spencer is a novelist, outdoors columnist, and sports writer from Utah. Connect with him on Twitter or Instagram @Spencer_Durrant.