BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of fishing waders, and more particularly, to a stockingfoot wader in which a portion of the foot section is fabricated with perforated neoprene fabric.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are numerous examples in the prior art that describe footwear which is designed to minimize the buildup of perspiration moisture within a shoe or sock. Some of these inventions are described below. None of these inventions is specifically designed to be incorporated with a fishing wader, and none possesses the unique multiple-layer structural features of the present invention, including, but not limited to, the bootie constructed of perforated neoprene, as described more fully below.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,183 (Haddox, 1980) discloses a reinforced, ventilated athletic shoe that comprises multiple pieces of air penetrable netting that are positioned between and attached to strips of conventional shoe cover material such as leather or cloth.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,007 (Dahlgren, 1990) discloses a moisture management sock in which the toe and heel portions are fabricated from knitted hydrophilic yarn, while the instep and other portions are fabricated from knitted hydrophobic yarn, so that water absorbed from the foot by the hydrophilic portions of the sock is wicked into the hydrophobic portions of the sock, where it is evaporated.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,548 (Chesebro, Jr., 1992) discloses a moisture control sock that comprises a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic yarns, wherein the hydrophilic and hydrophobic yarns have cut free ends, and wherein the endmost stitch loops of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic yarns are formed in adjacent wales.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,807 (Brier, 1994) discloses a moisture-management sock and shoe combination. The sock portion of the invention includes a multi-layer moisture wicking panel that extends from the front ankle portion to the front toe portion. The moisture wicking panels of the sock portion are fabricated from hydrophilic and hydrophobic yarns. The shoe portion of the invention includes a tongue, a toe box area, and a moisture wicking inner liner. The tongue of the shoe portion includes an outer layer of fabric such as nylon and a foam padding layer. The toe box area comprises and outer protective layer and an inner wicking fabric layer comprised of hydrophilic fibers. The moisture wicking inner liner is fabricated from one layer of hydrophilic and one layer of hydrophobic fabric. The claims of this patent cover the sock portion of the invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,524 (Brier, 1994) is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,548 above. The claims of the patent cover the shoe portion of the invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,677 (Dalhgren, 1994) discloses a sock and shoe combination that provides removal and dissipation of perspiration from the feet of a wearer. The sock portion of the invention comprises a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers that wick moisture away from the foot. The shoe portion of the invention includes a tongue which is comprised of multiple layers of hydrophilic and hydrophobic material that wick moisture away from the outer surface of the sock portion of the invention and allow it to evaporate into the atmosphere.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,323 (Dahlgren, 1996) discloses a sock and shoe combination that facilitates the removal and dissipation of perspiration from the foot of a wearer. The knitted sock has a toe portion fabricated from hydrophilic material and an instep portion fabricated from hydrophobic foam. The shoe comprises a tongue portion which is fabricated from multiple stacked layers of hydrophilic and hydrophobic material.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,013 (Fay, Sr., 1998) discloses a shoe having a breathable liner, in which the liner is attached to the upper inside surface of the shoe, and in which the liner is comprised of an outer knit hydrophilic material, an inner knit hydrophobic material, and a middle layer comprised of monofilament hydrophobic yarns that provides air chambers between the outer and inner layers.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,913,420 (Arizumi, 2011) discloses a skateboard shoe with a textured surface portion. The textured surface portion may be fabricated from a variety of polymer materials, and may optionally include apertures that allow air to pass into the shoe, and allow moisture to expire from the inside of the shoe into the air.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,146,266 (Vattes et al., 2012) discloses chimney structures for footwear and foot coverings. The chimney structures may be positioned on the inner sidewalls or the inner surface of the tongue of footwear, and provide pathways to vent heat and moisture away from the foot. The chimney structures may also be installed in socks, leggings, or other apparel.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,723,891 (Xanthos et al., 2017) discloses a rowing shoe that may optionally comprise sections made from air permeable materials that allow the shoe to breathe or ventilate. These sections may be formed in a mesh configuration and may be fabricated from any kinds of textile materials.

U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2005/0241179 A1 (Chen, 2005) discloses a shoe with a breathable shell. The shell has a flexible corrugated portion that contains a plurality of vent holes.

U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2012/0317841 (Taylor et al., 2012) discloses an athletic performance shoe which incorporates outer shell pieces and an optionally removable bootie. The outer shell pieces may be perforated to provide ventilation. The bootie may be made of “a porous material that can breathe to allow the ambient air circulation around the foot” [0034, lines 10-12].

U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2013/0000148 (Gellis, 2013) discloses a molded foot covering fabricated from an elastomeric material that preferably contains openings or perforations for breathability.

U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2013/0219747 (Lederer, 2013) discloses an air-permeable tongue for shoes. The interior lining of the tongue is fabricated from breathable material and comprises a longitudinal slit to allow air circulation.

U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2014/0352178 (Bruce, et al., 2014) discloses a type of ventilated footwear which consists of a shoe and a sock which is insertable into the shoe. The shoe contains at least one ventilation port. The sock contains plurality of moisture wicking panels, at least one of which is in fluid communication with the ventilation port of the shoe. The moisture wicking panels of the sock may be made from natural or man-made hydrophilic materials.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a fishing wader comprising: a body portion comprising a suspender assembly having two suspender straps, each suspender strap having a front end and a rear end, the front ends of the suspender straps being attached with stitching to two top extensions of a front pocket assembly, the front pocket assembly being attached with stitching to a chest piece, the rear ends of the suspender straps being attached with stitching to a top edge of a back piece; and a pair of booties, each bootie comprising a toe piece, an ankle piece, and a sole piece, the toe piece having: a top layer comprised of a laminated composite material, the laminated composite material comprising a waterproof breathable membrane; a middle layer comprised of a durable and resilient waterproof material, the material comprising a plurality of cutouts that penetrate completely through the middle layer; and a bottom layer; wherein the front pocket assembly is comprised of three stacked layers of material, the three stacked layers of material comprising an outer layer having a plurality of hexagonal-shaped holes, a water-permeable middle layer, and a water-permeable inner layer; wherein each of the three stacked layers of material has an outside edge, and the three stacked layers of material are attached to each other and to the chest piece by stitching around at least a portion of the outside edges of the three layers of material; and wherein the water-permeable middle layer and the water-permeable inner layer are configured to form a pocket accessible by two front pocket openings.

In a preferred embodiment, the suspender assembly comprises a slidable clasp that is configured to allow a distance between the tops of the suspender straps to be adjusted to fit a shoulder width of a wearer. Preferably, the outer layer of the front pocket assembly is comprised of high-strength nylon and configured to form an attachment face for fishing accessories on an outside of the front pocket assembly via the plurality of hexagonal-shaped holes; the middle layer of the front pocket assembly is comprised of stretchable polymer mesh fabric; and the inner layer of the front pocket assembly is comprised of a woven polymer fabric. The wader preferably comprises a vertically-oriented left side zipper that is adhered between a left edge of the chest piece and a left edge of the back piece and a vertically-oriented right side zipper that is adhered between a right edge of the chest piece and a right edge of the back piece; wherein the wader has a top circumference, and the left and right zippers arc configured so that the top circumference of the wader is smaller when the zippers are fully zipped than when the zippers are unzipped.

In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of indentations in the middle layer of the toe piece are hexagonal. Preferably, each of the toe piece, ankle piece and sole piece has a durometer, the durometer of the toe piece and the durometer of the ankle piece is 11 using Gs-701N Type C durometer tester, and the durometer of the sole piece is 18 using Gs-701N Type C durometer tester.

In one embodiment, the bottom layer of the toe piece is comprised of a knitted fiber material. In another embodiment, the bottom layer of the toe piece is comprised of a woven fiber material. In yet another embodiment, the bottom layer of the toe piece is comprised of a breathable composite material.

The present invention is a fishing wader comprising: a body portion; and a pair of booties, each bootie comprising a toe piece, an ankle piece, and a sole piece, the toe piece having: a top layer comprised of a laminated composite material, the laminated composite material comprising a waterproof breathable membrane; a middle layer comprised of a durable and resilient waterproof material, the material comprising a plurality of cutouts that penetrate completely through the middle layer; and a bottom layer.

