Amazon.com : Perfect Hatch Wading Staff 54" Collapsible Aluminum PH-WADSTAFF : Sports & Outdoors

If you are uncomfortable when the water gets fast and deeper, having this staff handy could be a lifesaver. What is really cool about this staff is that you keep it in the case as you are walking to the river. When you get in the water just take it out, extend it automatically, and let it dangle at your side from the Bungie that comes with it. Then you can fish and it is there when you need it. Very easy. Then when done and out of the water just fold it up and put it back in the pack.

I know some people think these are a hazard, but I have been in the streams here in NC and the rocks are covered in moss and so slippery! This has saved me for a fall more than once. When I am not using it it is tethered to me and just lays behind me until I am ready to move again.

Have not used fishing yet. Review by Marty Moose said made in USA but mine says made in China. Looks nice and flips together easily . Will see how strong it is out in the river. It is light weight. Not as robust as the a Simms but then again , it is only a fraction of the price of a Simms.

I use this for fishing streams. It snaps open instantly and locks firmly into place. The shock-cord running down the inside of this staff has higher tension than my previous wading staff (which I had to replace because the cord stretched and lost its elasticity). Overall it’s well-made, but the top of the staff has a padded end cap that unscrews for access to a camera mount. As I was hiking alongside a stream I was lucky to hear the end cap hit the ground in some dry leaves or I would have lost it. Perhaps through the rhythmic motion of walking, it had come unscrewed and fallen off. I’ve since remedied the design flaw by adding a rubber washer over the screw post, which keeps tension on the threads (rubber washer not shown in the photo). The cap is essential because it’s where the wrist-strap attaches to the staff. The buckle on the wrist strap provides the only attachment point on the staff for the coiled retaining cord. As you can see in the photo, the storage sheath includes a steel key-ring that the retaining cord is attached to. The other end of the retaining cord has a small carabiner-like clip to attach to the staff. I had to clip it to the buckle on the wrist strap because there is no other attachment point on the staff. That lack of attachment point is the 2nd design flaw, since if you lose the end cap there’s nothing to attach the retaining cord to (the wrist strap attaches over the threaded camera mount stud).Another design improvement I’d like to see is a way to adjust the tension of the shock cord - and the ability to replace it entirely when it eventually loses its elasticity.These criticisms aside, I like the staff, which is very sturdy and has a nice neoprene sheath with a belt-loop at the top and a drainage hole at the bottom.

I loved this wading staff when I first received it. Very easy to deploy when needed and it felt very sturdy. The holster and lanyard also seemed to be well made. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when one of the plastic tube inserts for one of the joint sections broke and rendered the whole thing useless. This wasn’t cheap and I expected it to last a lot longer than three weeks. That was some hard earned money down the drain.