Great waterproof shoes are OK/pretty good.
That's the "goretex" ones and well designed leather boots—requiring maintenance.
The vast majority of waterproof boots are bad/passable.
That's anything treated, a lot of leather boots with weird cloth panels, stitching low on the toe box allowing water in.
"Trail runners" are always good.
That's a tennis shoe with a nice aggressive sole. You wear one with a wool sock that has a firm stretchy fit—like Smartwool PhD. You're wet, but it doesn't matter. You change out of this at the car—or just wear until you're dry again.
Cold icy slush/mud? Welp that's a bit different than "dewy grass"...the stock of any boot rises here. Heck, I do a neoprene dive boot with rubber sole. I've actually used that for a ton of winter activities even where there's better options in DRY or BITTER cold. It's only in times where water exposure is going to CHILL you that you want to take steps to prevent that exposure.
Be in control of your gear vs let it control you—get wet, wear right socks.
That's the "goretex" ones and well designed leather boots—requiring maintenance.
The vast majority of waterproof boots are bad/passable.
That's anything treated, a lot of leather boots with weird cloth panels, stitching low on the toe box allowing water in.
"Trail runners" are always good.
That's a tennis shoe with a nice aggressive sole. You wear one with a wool sock that has a firm stretchy fit—like Smartwool PhD. You're wet, but it doesn't matter. You change out of this at the car—or just wear until you're dry again.
Cold icy slush/mud? Welp that's a bit different than "dewy grass"...the stock of any boot rises here. Heck, I do a neoprene dive boot with rubber sole. I've actually used that for a ton of winter activities even where there's better options in DRY or BITTER cold. It's only in times where water exposure is going to CHILL you that you want to take steps to prevent that exposure.
Be in control of your gear vs let it control you—get wet, wear right socks.