Hip boots, or waders as they are colloquially called, are a type of boot

Boot

A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....

 initially designed to be worn by river fishermen. Hip boots are typically made out of rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

, and completely cover the legs, up to the tops of the thighs or all the way up to the waist. Hip boots are designed to protect the fisherman from water, and allow wading out into deeper waters in hopes of getting a bigger catch. They also help to keep the feet and legs warm in autumn and winter. Hip boots are also worn by many ecologists and environmental scientists who do tests in swamps or lakes to determine the quality of water.

Hip-boots are also necessary footwear during flooding, and can also be a part of everyday city raingear in order to protect from heavy showers (currently most popular in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 as female footwear, usually worn with jeans

Jeans

Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...

 and raincoat

Raincoat

A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant coat worn to protect the body from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats that are waist length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rain suit.Modern raincoats are often constructed of...

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