Fishing Wingless Wets, Without Felt ....

[John L]

.... soled boots. I have not many years wading, and until recently was innocently satisfied with felt on mossy rocks. Then I tried the Patagonia sticky-rubber soled boots I got for my wife. Terrible compared to any of the felt soled boots I ever used. Luckily she rarely wades and hardly cares. Now I bought these LL Bean(s) for myself. As bad as the Patagonias.

A friend gave me some unused Korkers Predator Spikes, which are "5/16 inch hex spikes, extra hard patented stainless steel, Klaw Kut head for maximum bite". I tried them in the same pattern you see in the picture. Why so few? I followed some forum poster who said less was more when it came to studs in wading boots.

I didn't like the feel of how studs made contact with rocks, compared to felt, though they bit better than rubber. But the Korkers P Spikes pulled out of the LL Bean soles frequently. What you see now are 17 cent each galvanized sheet metal screws, #8, 5/8". I don't know how long they will wear compared to the Korkers studs, but they bite as well, and are holding in more reliably probably because of their fatter (#8) screw part.

You guys know something better? Better rubber? Better studs? Better stud pattern? Having tried it all, sticking with felt?



John

[tie2fish]

A couple of years ago, the State of Maryland passed legislation outlawing the use of felt-soled wading boots as a measure designed to minimize the spread of invasive aquatic species (somewhat akin to closing the barn door after the horses are gone, since didymo was already entrenched in the streams that will support it). This means that any angler in Maryland caught wearing felt soles is subject to being ticketed, and I understand that there have been incidents where this has actually happened. Anyhow, being more or less forced to abandon my trusty felt-with-carbide-spikes, I tried several types of non-felt soled boots -- none of which gave me the security on rocks that my old boots did. The manufacturers can claim whatever they want to, but the only advantage I have found to non-felt soles (other than being legal in MD) is that they do not accumulate snow in the winter. Even with the hex-head carbide "spikes", they slip where felt would hold, and that's a fact.

[flyfishwithme]

John,
I have the Patagonia boots and I love them. Light and easy to get on.
But like you I was uneasy about their 'stickiness'.
So this is what I have used.

They are Supertracks. Here is a link http://www.supatracks.com/best-grip-scr ... studs.html.
I put a few in and use Loctite 480 (this is a metal to rubber adhesive) to make them permanent.
They are easy to plug in but I drill a 1/8" hole before hand and fill it the the Loctite 480.
I fish 3/4 days a week in rocky rivers (you would call them freestone) and I am brutal on them.
I have never torn one out nor have I worn them out as they have a tungsten tip.
They are not 'lumpy' like those sheet metal screws.
I highly recommend them for you.
BTW, I think there are spots on your Patagonia soles to show you where to place them.
Philip

[redietz]

I've got a pair of Simm's boot with Vibram soles and micro studs that are far superior to felt -- I haven't slipped once while wearing them, and I've had them for five years now. Unfortunately, not all rubber soled boots are the same. Vibram is a patented type of sticky rubber developed for mountain climbers; Simms (AFAIK) is the only company licensed to use it for wading boots, and even Simms only uses it on some of their boots. Other "sticky" rubber soles just aren't as good.

I keep two pairs of boot -- one for water known to have didymo and one for other waters. My didymo stream boots are rubber soled Chotas, whose felt soled boots I used to like. These are rubber soled, and decidedly worse than felt. I put hex headed machine screws into them and they're now about the same as felt (I used to slip with felt, too) but as you say, I don't like the feel of the studs on the rocks.

It doesn't look Simms makes the micro studs anymore. That's a shame, because you don't even realize that they have them. I suspect their star studs are just as good or better, though.

[narcodog]

I use and like the studded rubber Korkers, they hold very well. I have used them enough to tell you that I like them better than just felt. I can walk up and down banks without the worry of slipping. The plain rubber just suck.

[Smuggler]

I have a pair of Korker's and hate them, the soles they provided me with are god awful. Not a fan of felt, almost pulled my groin something fierce up on a mountain stream one afternoon. Plus the boots completely torn apart after one season..

Currently I have a pair of Simms river boa boot's with sticky soles and they are amazing, not too heavy, very flexible even with the reinforced toe. The vibram soles on these guys really are great. Plus, the boa system is fantastic in every sense of the word. Couldn't be more happy.

[gingerdun]

I have Reddington boots, and bought the Reddington extra-hard studs which were expensive.

They were extremely difficult to screw in, which I took as a good sign, meaning that they would not work themselves loose.

I see you placed your studs around the perimeter of the sole. As you can see in my photograph, I took another approach, placing them closer to the center-line of the sole on the theory that more of my weight would be applied there. This has worked really well for me. Amazing grip. Feels very secure. But I still use a wading staff made from an old bamboo ski pole.

Lance

[John L]

Flyfishwithme's link for the Best-Grip stud he shows is to a UK company, but here is the US distributor for them: http://www.aerodist.com/footwear .... Pricey! Maybe I will go for them, but for now I'll keep reading this thread until the postings dry up, in hopes that someone has near as good a solution for less $.

I showed my stud pattern to the local Royal Gorge Anglers fly shop ex owner. Many years experience there. He said it looked ideal: not many and on the periphery and none under the ball of the foot. That agrees with the advice about (felt soled) boots I read a while ago somewhere. BUT, that poster's/poser's advice was for felt soled boots, and my shop's guy sells only Simms boots, Simms of the surperior sticky rubber. So I am not sure I have the best pattern for my boots. I hope more advice about stud pattern shows up yet.

John

[JohnP]

I have a pair of Cabela's ultralight felt-soled wading boots, and after slipping around in them for a few weeks, I put some machine screws in the soles and they work better. I still slip some, but not quite as much. I have been reading this thread with interest, as I can see the writing on the wall as far as felt soles. I have looked at the Korkers and the Simms, but haven't pulled the trigger on either yet.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

I haven't broken into the relm of multi-piece waderware.
Keepin it simple with boot foot waders for now. (no felt)
But, ..... here's an idea that struck me while I was reading this thread.
Trace the outlineof your feet onto two pieces of heavy paper, place it over the
sole of your boot (works better if you make a damp foot print on it first), then
you can see what parts of your foot are where you exert pressure. With the exception
of the ball-of-the-foot wouldn't you want the studs wher the pressure is ...???
The last question is a real question as I don't know the whys and why nots of studded footware.

hank