Your boots are probably your most important safety equipment if you're wading. If you wade like me, you have to have bombproof boots that grip the bottom like an anchor. I consider my studs to be like river cramp-ons and there are rivers I just don't fish without them. That said, not all studs are equal (bigger is better). I've worn mostly Simms studded boots for the last 10 or 12 years and have been very happy with them. That said, the studs do tire your feet out if you walk in them much.