A couple of months ago, the Outdoor Blogger Network had a gear review giveaway opportunity for one pair each of men's and women's Bogs® Boots. I threw my name in the hat and crossed my fingers for a win, since I had been shopping for a good, warm pair of boots to use in my winter kayak fishing trips.

The topic of flats wear had come up on another kayaking fishing forum, and as I was in desperate need of a new pair of wading boots, I did some searching on line and came across the SIMMS Flats Boot. These looked like they would fit the bill just perfect. After too many heart stopping encounters with stingrays here in Tampa Bay, I called up Mark, aka “Yaksushi” to see if he had any contacts at SIMMS.

I hate the cold! I have lived most of my life in places that snow is something to expect. This doesn’t mean I have adapted or even like it. That said, I am not the most eager to fish when the love of my life has an interest in fishing in anything below 70° F. This weekend I had the opportunity to try out some gear from Kokatat. I went to a lake and it was 52°F and breezy. I wouldn’t call it the most inviting weather forecast. Never the less, I didn’t have any valid reason to say no.

Sometimes neoprene just doesn't cut it.  You need a real shoe.  You might be scrambling around oyster beds, portaging your gear around an obstical, or just prefer to keep the feet protected. The problem with shoes is that water pools up inside, mud and sand pile up and make things uncomfortable.  Baffin shoes, however, are different.