Abstract:
A first embodiment of the present disclosure provides a hip, waist or chest height wader comprising attached boots made of blown EVA. A second embodiment of the present disclosure provides a boot having an interchangeable outsole wherein the boot may comprise a felt outsole, a heavy lug outsole, a sticky outsole or the like and said outsoles may be interchangeably attached to the bottom of the boot using a hook and loop fastener and a lip extending around the periphery of the bottom surface of the boot.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to a hip or chest wader having advantageous features with respect to comprising an attached EVA boot. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Waders are a critical piece of equipment for anglers or hunters who spend lots of time either fishing or hunting in cold rivers, fishing or hunting in colder weather or wading in shallow lakes or ponds that have colder water. The waders keep the angler dry and also keep the angler warm. 
         [0003]    Waders are made of many different materials such as neoprene, breathable fabric (such as Gore-Tex), coated nylon, rubber, canvas, or a combination of these materials. Waders are available in different thicknesses, and different styles such as hip-high, waist-high and chest-high. Waders may also be stocking foot waders comprising a neoprene sock attached to the bottom of the waders or may be boot-foot waders comprising a rubber boot attached to the bottom of the waders. Stocking foot waders require the user to also wear a separate pair of wading boots. Conventional boot-foot waders comprise boots made of rubber that are attached directly to the bottom of the waders. While convenient because the waders are a unitary piece of equipment and the attached boot removes the hassle of dealing with laces or having rocks or sand slip into the user&#39;s boot, such attached rubber boots are typically somewhat heavy and cumbersome and may not fit snugly enough around a user&#39;s ankle area for personal comfort. 
         [0004]    Wading boots comprise various materials on the bottom outsole of the boot, depending on the characteristics of the locale where the user is fishing or hunting. For instance, felt outsoles are generally worn for stream fishing to enable the wearer to have a better grip on slippery rock. Rubber clear or lug outsoles are generally worn in sand and mud. A more recent alternative is a sticky rubber outsole that provides good grip like felt outsoles, but which are not as affected by ice. In order for a user to fish or hunt in all available environments, the user must have a different pair of boots or boot-foot waders for each type of terrain. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A first embodiment of the present disclosure provides a hip, waist or chest height waterproof fabric wader having an attached boot made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). EVA is an alternative to rubber and is a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. The polymer has the softness and flexibility of elastomeric materials, yet can be processed like other thermoplastics. EVA has good water barrier properties, stress-crack resistance and durability. EVA is also lighter weight and more flexible for the wearer than rubber and is a more economical material for manufacturing products than rubber. The boot is preferably formed by injection molding as a unitary piece and is then attached to the bottom of the legs of the fabric wader, preferably by bonding. 
         [0006]    A second embodiment of the present disclosure provides a wader boot having an interchangeable outsole such that the boot may comprise a felt outsole, a rubber cleat outsole, a sticky rubber outsole and the like. The outsole inserts comprise a hook or loop backing that is matable with the opposite hook or loop mechanism located in a shallow cavity formed on the bottom surface of the boot. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  depicts a front view of a wader according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  depicts a side view of a boot that is attached to a wader of a first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  depicts a cut-away side view of the boot of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  depicts a bottom view of the boot of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  depicts a cut-away view of the interior of the boot of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  depicts a top view of the boot of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  depicts a perspective view of a wading boot of a second embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  depicts a bottom view of the boot of  FIG. 7 , shown with a felt outsole insert partially attached; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  depicts a front view of a felt outsole insert for use with the boot of  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  depicts a front view of a rubber cleat outsole insert for use with the boot of  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    The present disclosure provides a boot-foot wader, wherein the boot is made of EVA and is attached to the bottom of the legs of the wader. Referring now to the drawing figures in which like reference designators refer to like elements, there is shown in  FIG. 1  a pair of waders  10  having front portion  12 , rear portion  14 , and two leg portions  16   a ,  16   b  made from part of said front portion and said rear portion. Waders  10  may optionally have a bib portion  18  as conventional chest-height waders have. Although depicted as a conventional chest-height wader, waders  10  may be other standard wader heights, such as waist-height or hip-height with the wader material terminating at the appropriate point. Waders  10  are of conventional construction that is known in the art and will not be discussed in detail herein. As such, waders  10  may additionally comprise various straps, suspenders, fastening belts, buckles, pockets, D-rings, insulation, padded knees, chafe guards and the like for adjusting waders to fit the user, for comfort, and for added functionality. The fabric portion of waders  10  is preferably made of waterproof material known in the art such as rubber, PVC, urethane coated nylon (laminated nylon), neoprene or coated canvas or a combination of such materials. 
         [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , each leg portion  16   a ,  16   h  has a boot  18   a ,  18   b  secured at the bottom of the leg portions  16   a ,  16   b , respectively. The wading boots  18   a ,  18   b  are an integral part of the wader  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , each boot  18   a ,  18   b  is of generally conventional boot construction and has bottom surface  20 , side surfaces  22 ,  24 , top surface  26  and shaft section  28 . Shaft  28  extends partway up the leg of the user and preferably extends approximately to the user&#39;s mid-calf area. Shaft section  28  has an upper periphery edge  30  that extends around the periphery of the boot opening where a user&#39;s foot would be inserted. Boot  18   a ,  18   b  is preferably a unitary molded piece of material. Preferably, the shaft section  28  is narrower around the ankle area (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) to assist in securing the boot to the user. It is also within the scope of the present invention for boot  18   a ,  18   b  to not have a shaft section such that it resembles more of a shoe or clog (not shown) rather than a boot. Such shoe has an upper periphery edge similar to that of boot and is attached to wader legs  16   a ,  16   b  in a similar manner. 
         [0020]    Boot  18   a ,  18   b  is made by an injection molding process using EVA. Conventional injection molding methods known in the industry are used to form the boot. Boot  18   a ,  18   b  is preferably molded to generally fit a human foot and has an arch portion  32 , a heel portion  34 , and front foot portion  36 . It is within the scope of the present invention for the bottom surface of the boot  20  to have a rubber outsole (not shown) attached to assist in providing additional traction. Rubber outsole may be attached by bonding. Materials other than rubber may be used for such an outsole, including but not limited to felt or sticky rubber. Additionally, boot  18   a ,  18   b  may have an optional insole of foam or other padding insert (not shown) for comfort and fit, as well as an additional insulated insert for warmth. Such optional inserts may be attached to the interior of boot  38  with adhesive or may merely be placed in the interior of boot  38  on the insole area or interior wall area. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , upper periphery edge  30  of boot is attached to the lower edge of wader leg  16   a ,  16   b  by thermal or adhesive bonding. The thermal or adhesive bonding is performed in the conventional manner known for the materials used. Preferably, upper periphery edge  30  of boot is overlapped onto bottom edge of legs  16   a ,  16   b  for a secure bond. It is within the scope of the present invention for attachments means other than bonding to secure wader legs  16   a ,  16   b  to boot  18   a ,  18   b . Such other means include sewing and fabric tape reinforcement either in addition to or in lieu of bonding, as well as other methods known in the art. 
         [0022]    A second embodiment of the present disclosure is depicted in  FIGS. 7-10  wherein a wading boot  110  comprises interchangeable outsole inserts  112 . Outsole inserts  112  are generally shaped in the silhouette of a human foot such that they are easily received within the bottom surface of wading boot  114 . One type of outsole insert is made of a desired thickness of felt  112   a , as shown in  FIG. 9 . Another type of outsole insert is made of a desired thickness of rubber  112   b , also having a desired number and height of cleats, as shown in  FIG. 10 . A third type of outsole insert (not shown) is made of a desired thickness of sticky rubber which may have cleats or nubs, as desired. The interior side of outsole inserts  112  comprises hook or loop material  124  which is matable with the opposing hook or loop material  126  located on hoot  110 . 
         [0023]    Wading boot  110  comprises an upper portion  116  and a bottom surface  114  defining a cavity  118  therein for accommodation of a human foot. Wading boot  110  includes an elongated shallow cavity  120  formed about the bottom surface  114  of the boot. The elongated shallow cavity  120  is formed by a lip  122  extending around the periphery of the bottom surface  114  of the boot. The removable outsole insert  112  is removably positioned within the cavity  120 , where the insert  112  can be secured using hook and loop type fasteners. Such hook and loop fasteners may extend over the surface of the interior side of insert  112  and cavity  120  or may comprise matable strips or other shape of such hook and loop material. Other types of removable fasteners may also be used. It is also within the scope of the present invention for boot  110  to not have a lip  122  and for insert  112  to cover virtually the entire bottom surface  114  of boot. As described above, removable fasteners such as hook and loop fasteners may be employed in this embodiment. It is also within the scope of the present invention for insert  112  to be attached to boot  110  in a more permanent fashion using adhesive. 
         [0024]    Interchangeable outsole inserts  112  may be used with a separate wading boot as shown in  FIG. 7  or may be used in the boot of a boot-foot wader (not shown with inserts). Optionally, wading boots  110  may comprise other features available in conventional wading boots such as cushioned insoles, steel shank soles, toe caps and the like. Wading boot  110  is preferably made of EVA, rubber, leather, or other water-resistant yet durable material. 
         [0025]    All references cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
         [0026]    It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which is limited only by the following claims.