Leland on the Patagonia Marlwalker Flats Boot:
Feet of clay? Don't worry, we've seen how coral, urchins and jellyfish can dissolve fishing determination, to say nothing of the destructive potential of chafing sand, grit and mud. Fortunately,
the Patagonia Marlwalker flats boots keep feet in serviceable shape when wading rubble-strewn shallows, even on extended expeditions -- no small challenge.
Tropical fly fishing footwear faces a different set of demands than your old clunky wading boots, and Patagonia recognizes that in the Marlwalker. Comfort, flexibility and draining/drying ability vie with protection, traction, and support for pre-eminence in the design of the Marlwalker, and these virtues draw a commendable result.
Leland on Specifications:
With airline baggage weight restrictions caught in an ever-downward whirlpool, shaving ounces here and there has become a mandate for traveling anglers. But more than their welcome economy in the cargo hold,
the Patagonia Marlwalker wading-boot-cum-flats-shoe will make long days on the water a little easier on your legs and feet. When stalking the flats, comfort, flexibility, and lightness can be as important as protection and support, and the Marlwalker recognizes this. Offering a bit more structure and rigidity than the Patagonia Surf Sneaker,
the Marlwalker is indispensable salt water fishing footwear, optimized for walking in less-than-friendly tropical shallows.
Specifications:
- Structured toe box, molded heel, and boot height offer maximum protection from jellies, anemones, and fire coral
- Synthetic leather rand dries quickly, lasts for seasons in the salt
- High-filtration mesh panels allow superior draining
- Neoprene collar at boot-top keeps sand at bay
- EVA midsole with flex zones offers accommodating support to reduce fatigue
- Trim outer is free of extraneous line- or fly-catching ding dongs
- Wide last and higher-volume forefoot accommodate neoprene or conventional socks
- Non-marking sole
Leland on Patagonia Wading Boots:
Fly fishing footwear must meet a slew of unique demands: quick-drying times, light weight, ample support, adequate protection, traction on a host of surfaces, and immense durability. Patagonia wading boots, like the Riverwalker Sticky Boots and the Marlwalkers, meet these demands and go even further: these stellar fly fishing boots are easy on the environment. Sourced, where possible, from post-consumer content recycled materials, these boots offer water-borne performance of the highest level, and make tromping around virgin watersheds or tidal flats less of a contradiction in terms. As with the rest of Patagonia's product line, the Riverwalker Sticky and the Markwalker evince a strong desire to bring outdoor culture into accord with environmental concerns. Leland is thrilled to be able to offer these exceptional products to our customers.
Leland on Patagonia:
One of the most admired and emulated firms in the outdoor marketplace, Patagonia is also one of the stalwarts in the fly fishing industry. From its humble beginnings as Yvon Chouinard's piton forging business to its ascendancy as one of the major houses in outdoor apparel and equipment, Patagonia has been marked by the same commitment to well-designed, well-made product, the same dedication to corporate social responsibility, and the same finger-on-the-pulse outdoor culture -- for almost forty years now.
Chouinard, still the company's head and something of an enlightened monarch,
is well known as an alpinist and a surfer, but is also an avid fly
fisherman. Atlantics, cutthroats, permit: he knows what he likes for
fish as well as for gear, and he maintains a hand in the processes of
product design to this day. Patagonia is a founding partner of '1% for the Planet', a league of environmentally progressive businesses, and the firm demonstrates its engagement with environmental stewardship in other ways as well. To minimize the inevitable ecological costs of manufacturing, Patagonia uses recycled-content fabrics where possible and -- more to the point, perhaps -- makes products that will perform at a high level for years without the need for a replacement.
Patagonia on the Marlwalker:
Our iconic flats/surf fishing shoe is light, comfortable, very supportive and fast drying.
Tested on the razor-sharp coral pancakes of Christmas Island, our classic flats shoe protects and keeps feet comfortable in the toughest marine environments. Light, flexible (with notched flex zones to allow for more natural foot movement) and fast drying, the Marlwalker is known for killer durability that's made it the favorite of flats guides everywhere. Boot-style protection and support reduce fatigue and maximize stability. The upper is made of tough, quick-drying synthetic leather and ultra-high-filtration hydrophobic polyester mesh (100% recycled). More features: hidden lace eyelets, padded neoprene/spandex tongue, cushioned heel, cushioned wraparound ankle support, a sturdy toe cap and nonmarking rubber sole.
Patagonia on Patagonia:
Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
–Patagonia's Mission Statement
Patagonia
grew out of a small company that made tools for climbers. Alpinism
remains at the heart of a worldwide business that still makes clothes
for climbing – as well as for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, fly
fishing, paddling and trail running. These are all silent sports. None
requires a motor; none delivers the cheers of a crowd. In each sport,
reward comes in the form of hard-won grace and moments of connection
between us and nature.
Our values reflect those of a business
started by a band of climbers and surfers, and the minimalist style
they promoted. The approach we take towards product design demonstrates
a bias for simplicity and utility.
For us at Patagonia, a love
of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save
them, and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall
environmental health of our planet. We donate our time, services and at
least 1% of our sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups
all over the world who work to help reverse the tide.
We know
that our business activity – from lighting stores to dyeing shirts –
creates pollution as a by-product. So we work steadily to reduce those
harms. We use recycled polyester in many of our clothes and only
organic, rather than pesticide-intensive, cotton.
Staying true
to our core values during thirty-plus years in business has helped us
create a company we're proud to run and work for. And our focus on
making the best products possible has brought us success in the
marketplace.
Patagonia on the Oceans as Wilderness Campaign:
Fifty
million buffalo once roamed the rolling green prairies of North
America. Gunners reduced them to near extinction. Now, hunters are at
work on the rolling blue prairies of the sea, and already, the big fish
– including miracles like thousand-pound, warm-blooded bluefin tuna –
are 90 percent gone. What we regret happening on land, may again happen
in the sea. Those who care about wildlife should get to know about
oceans." – Carl Safina, "Comes a Turtle, Comes the World," Patagonia
2006 Heart of Winter Catalog
On land, we saw once what wildness
meant. Imagine it: 50 million buffalo. Passenger pigeons that flocked
so thick they covered the sun. A Spanish explorer sailing up the coast
of California described a beach with scores of grizzly bears feeding on
whale carcasses. Now, the vast numbers have dwindled or gone extinct.
Only a remnant reminds us of what was, the animals and land we
destroyed in our belief that there was a never-ending supply. We
protect them with the Endangered Species Act, wilderness areas and
hunting and fishing laws – having finally learned that we must.
And
so now the sea: In Maine, they used to catch lobsters by gaffing them
in shallow water by the shore. Cod were so numerous and so easily
caught that prisoners complained because they were fed the fish too
many times a week. Once, salmon returning from the ocean so crowded
rivers and streams that people told stories of walking on their backs.
Marlin, swordfish, mako, bluefin, abalone – everywhere in abundance.
We
need to train ourselves to see what is hidden under the surface of the
waters because fish stocks are in collapse and the oceans are in
trouble. Many recent studies, including the Pew Oceans Commission
(2003), have come to the same conclusions. The big fish, like that
thousand-pound tuna, are 90 percent gone. Newfoundland cod, wild
abalone, Atlantic halibut and Chilean sea bass are so scarce as to be
nearly nonexistent. Breeding swordfish populations have been cut in
half; marlin are rare. Pelicans in the Sea of Cortés starve for want of
fish to eat.
Coral reefs are crumbling, and the ocean floor is
plowed up by trawlers. Plastic kills seabirds and is found on the
beaches of the world's most remote islands. Surfers, swimmers and
lifeguards are vaccinated annually against hepatitis as a matter of
course. Tuna and swordfish have so much methylmercury in their bodies,
they are hazardous food for pregnant women and children. The causes are
many, but chief among them is an ugly trinity: unsustainable fishing
practices, habitat destruction and contamination.
Patagonia's
2006–07 environmental campaign was devoted to the oceans. Our goal was
to help us all see what is under the waters of the earth. How the vast
schools of tuna are like those herds of buffalo. How bottom trawling is
like clear-cutting an entire forest to get at a single tree. In our
catalogs, retail stores and on our Web site, we spent 18 months with
marine scientists and writers, surfers and fishermen, to teach
ourselves and our customers just how close the connection is between
the vitality of human life and the marine environment.
Our OAW
campaign helped bring about a great success for the oceans: the
reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing
fishing practices in U.S. waters. But our work on this issue is far
from over. The fishing holes, beaches and wetlands that we enjoyed as
children will not be there for our children unless we acknowledge that
the oceans belong to everyone and take seriously our shared
responsibility for long-term marine management.
