Banning felt soled-wading boots from our waters isn’t the clear-cut concept some would suggest, or at least you’d believe so given the storm of comments spawned by my last post on the subject (See: Bans on Felt Soled Wading Boots Gathering Steam: How Long Until You’re Wearing Rubber (And Practicing Safe Wading)?)
Are aggressively studded rubber boots about to become the only legal way to remain upright?
Now – with Alaska already on board, and both Montana and Oregon weighing legislation that would ban felt soles – I’d suggest the arguing may soon be over – or at best, about to fall into the fait accompli category (Latin for The Fat Lady Has Sung).
Like my post forecasting the eventual demise of felt soles, the post on the Headhunter Fly Shop blog about Montana’s proposed ban generated a fair number of comments, suggesting fly fishermen hold strong opinions about an issue that some feel is clear cut, but then, that’s not exactly news these days.
I can’t help but notice my reasons for switching to rubber (longevity, better dry-rock grip on small streams, better in winter) aren’t much in evidence during these discussions, suggesting I’m either a man ahead of my time, or just way cheaper than my readers.
Either way, it appears the clock’s ticking on felt, and while I’ve grown tired of the accusatory emails I receive every time an angler slips while wearing any of the studded rubber soles I’ve reviewed, I stick by my latest assessment: studded rubber offers pretty good grip; should last a long time; doesn’t load up with mud or snow; and should be easier to disinfect than felt.
What’s New
Since my last review, manufacturers haven’t been standing still. While I don’t track the industry like I once did, I have seen a few wading boot improvements come over the transom; here are the handful I remember. (What’s the second thing that goes with old age?)
Patagonia
Patagonia has announced a new wading boot with what appears to be a more aggressively treaded – and heavily studded – rubber sole.
They aren’t discontinuing their soft-rubber Riverwalker boots (sigh of relief), but they are clearly getting serious about grip, and suggested in an email that they’re still using a soft rubber for good dry land grip.
Korkers
The new Korkers “Chrome” boot won raves from dealers, and I’ve noticed they’re now selling their aggressively designed Predator screw-in studs (which offer a bladed design similar to the very effective Orvis studs).
In simple terms, the old Korkers kind a sucked, but the new ones are pretty damned nice. These are worth a look.
Orvis
Orvis has spread its “Eco-Trax” studded rubber sole (the grippiest studded rubber sole during my test) across its line, and also – in a nod to those how don’t mind looking goofy – now offer wading boot “stud covers” which you wear outside your wading boot (like giant sandals).
They’re unlikely to help you score heavy with the babes (or the hunks), but they might save your floor.
Simms
In addition to its aggressive-looking HardBite Star cleats, Simms released its AlumiBite cleat, which is designed to offer grip without chewing the hell out of your car, drift boat or floor into something unpretty (note that the Simms site doesn’t actually say that last bit; it’s just what I was told at the Headhunters fly shop).
Crowded, Fast-Evolving Marketplace
I first started testing rubber-soled wading boots more than two years ago, and in the short interval since then, wading boot sole technology has advanced a great deal.
I originally suggested felt’s replacement with newer rubber soles was inevitable for reasons of longevity, convenience and all-around performance.
Given enough time, I still suspect I’m right, but with states seemingly anxious to legislate felt out of existence (once Alaska & Montana go, others will follow), the switch is coming – and faster than you might expect.
See you with feet planted firmly on the bottom, Tom Chandler.
I felt this was coming, but in the face of the threat I bought two new pairs of boots in the past two years that have felt soles. I’ll wear them until doing so makes me an outlaw. Fortunately my home state isn’t planning to require rubber soles at the this time. Yet. When that happens, I’ll be buying two more pair of boots: one pair with studs so I don’t slip on my ass, and one pair without so I can wear them in a drift boat/raft.
Kirk(Quote)
Yeah, but what happens if they make it illegal to wear felt, not just buy it?
Tom Chandler(Quote)
I wish felt was the biggest threat most of these drainages faced, and I wish states were as eager to address the more serious issues like water rights, fracking, open pit mining, etc etc.
IMHO banning felt is a low hanging fruit that makes it look like they care. But every little bit helps I suppose.
Ethan Smith(Quote)
Yeah, way to touch on the more depressing, big-picture aspects of felt bans.
I agree it seems odd to institute a felt ban without creating some kind of protocol (or sadly, requirement) for dealing with the rest of the boot.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
I agree with Ethan. The science and logic simply aren’t there to condemn felt soles as a priority vector for invasives. For water bodies easily traveled to by car, there are so many other vectors (shoe laces and drift-boat trailers, as simple examples) that singling out felt soles is simply illogical. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against shoes that tear up everything you walk on, it’s simply that banning one type of shoe will do little, if anything, to stem the tide of invasive species. Actually, I think more progress could be made by banning inter-river use of drift boats. Or perhaps banning all wading shoes. Or perhaps banning wade-fishing altogether.
Craig(Quote)
Several states actually *are* requiring inspection stickers for boats before they’ll allow them in heavily traveled bodies of water, though you can imagine it’s difficult to truly figure out which boats have been where.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
You are wasting your time arguing the point. The time for arguing is PAST. These states ARE going to ban felts, like it or not, so get with the program. You’re wasting your breath.
BillA(Quote)
Craig nails this. There are a hundred other vectors out there that CAN’T be legislated. SO, in the big picture, does it really matter if the Didymo came from felt boots or the carpet on your drift boat trailer? Outlawing felt isn’t going to stop it. It’s like being “a little ” pregnant. So Ethan, “every little bit DOESN’T help.”
And BillA, terrible attitude man!
I for one would like to see this issue resolved with science (for a change) rather than emotion. I have no doubt that felt carries organisms. I suspect, however, that outlawing felt will have very little impact in stopping the spread of these organisms. AND there is a huge downside if they get it wrong. I don’t want to be the guy lying in the middle of the stream with the broken leg, alone and five miles from anywhere.
John Galt(Quote)
Thanks for the warning Tom.
I fish Oregon a bunch. I’ve been waiting to replace my Simms rubber with the super star cleats with some good old studded felt , looks like I better stock up. Busted my finger and bruised my hip on the upper K last spring: my finger finally just healed. I went down like I was on ice. An old guy probably would’ve busted his hip.
Rubber soles, studded or not, suck in the situations where you really need traction.
I think the whole controversy is an effort by the industry to sell another product.
Andy
Andy Marx(Quote)
You’ve flipped on the Simms rubber soles, even with their HardBite star cleats, eh? Good to know.
I’d ask what part of the Upper Klamath, but that would just be rude.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Bingo Andy! Don’t forget to ask Simms how much their sales of wading boots increased after they started their “felt is the devil’s tool” ad campaign. The rumor mill tells me they more than doubled sales of wading boots. Pretty good marketing scheme if you ask me!
modelingbob(Quote)
There was a lot of unhappy, behind-the-scenes murmuring around the retailer show when Simms launched that campaign. Some of it was simply effective marketing, but more than a few companies wondered how it was they also got blindsided by TU (the other, less-famous TU).
Simms’ insistence that their Vibram rubber soles were “almost” as good as felt cost them a few credibility points when people found out it simply wasn’t true.
I liked the Patagonia rubber soles – right up until I used them on the McCloud on a day I’ll forever remember as “Black & Blue” Friday.
The Simms – being harder – were even less effective.
On the tougher water, studded rubber is the only option.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Tom, I’m glad more folks are blaming you for things for which you’re not responsible. I’ve been meaning to do more of that too, but I haven’t had the time to type up my long list of grievances.
I’ve been using the Orvis Eco Trax boots for about a year now and have found them to be a fine replacement for the felt I had previously. I fish mostly cobble bottoms and the cleats seem to grip very well. I’ve slipped a few times but it doesn’t seem any more than when I was wearing felt or when wet wading in a pair of Tevas. That said, I always use a Wading staff and that also helps with stability.
Whether the change will reduce invasive transport in the long run remains to be seen, but so far the switch is the proverbial sleeves off my vest.
Steve Z(Quote)
Could you get me that list before noon? (That’s when the garbage pickup arrives.)
Honestly, I think the studded rubber Orvis boots feel different than felt, but I’ve also not experienced any real problems, though I also employ a wading staff on anything that isn’t small.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
It’s time for a BOOT BAIL OUT!!!
I’m sure someone has done a spreadsheet on the the number of fly fishers in these states and the projected taxes……errrrrrrr. revenue and new jobs this legislation will bring. We should all feel good about being bent over by the suppliers of the blessed sport we love to escape the BS of everyday life.
Dan(Quote)
Tom, I like your post. It is informative and I agree with you on the durability of rubber soles. As a guide, I gave up felt long ago and have no idea why people are so attached to it. I can wear through a pair of felts in a month. Rubber soles without cleats last me about 2 months but with cleats, I can get better than a year from them. As far as the industry goes, I do not believe that Simms and Patagonia etc. are in a conspiracy, but only embracing an opportunity, as they should. I also agree wholeheartedly that felt is only a tiny vessel for the problems of transferring invasive species, but ignoring it is like saying it’s OK to litter sometimes.
Fred Telleen(Quote)
I’ve been largely happy with my studded rubber boots, but others simply can’t abide by the things, proving once again
I’m damned near perfecteverybody’s different.Ian Rutter probably got it right when he suggested that his wading sensibilities had to change due to rubber’s different properties. Makes sense.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
I have one question for for you have you tried your beloved rubber soles on the Pit River! If not when you do let me know I’ll drive up just to watch the show.
Mind you I figure to buy a pair of rubber soled boots, just to due to the fact that I think its better I start getting used to them, but I’ll being doing it kicking and screaming all the way.
Tom Wilson(Quote)
I’d never try straight rubber on the Pit, and in fact, warn against it in my reviews, so it’s possible the use of the word “beloved” isn’t really correct (small streams only). As for studded rubber on the Pit, I’ve heard two firsthand reports which – not surprisingly – went both ways. One guy thought they were fine, another wrote me an email saying he’d almost died, and called my parentage into question. Neither was using boots with the aggressive newer studs, and I can’t say how much difference those might make.
The Pit’s hard work no matter what you’re wearing, and I’d never even get out of the car without a wading staff. Years ago, I fished it with studded rubber Weinbrenners (nowhere near as good as today’s studded rubber soles) and survived, and I’ve fallen while on the Pit while wearing studded felt.
People’s experiences seem to be all over the place with rubber soles, and speculating as to why has gotten pretty pointless, though I suspect there’s confirmation bias at work in both directions (at least a little bit).
Tom Chandler(Quote)
There’s only a couple of things to take home about the invasive issue.
1. They can’t fix anything.
2. The Port of San Francisco (in 2010) averaged one new invasive every 17 days. That’s terrestrial, plant, and animal combined.
3. Whether or not you’ll be allowed to wear your own shoes in a National Park, or whether you’ll have to buy a pair at the entrance, will be determined soon (within 5 or six years) – and it’s Yellowstone Park that will have the policy adopted first based on the quality and scarcity of that environment.
4. A box of RIT black dye, touched up with a permanent black felt pen, will transform a felt wading shoe into a rubber wading shoe – at any distance over six feet. You think the warden is going to get out of his truck, walk down that slope and check?
KBarton10(Quote)
4. A box of RIT black dye, touched up with a permanent black felt pen, will transform a felt wading shoe into a rubber wading shoe – at any distance over six feet. You think the warden is going to get out of his truck, walk down that slope and check?
Simply Brilliant!
Don(Quote)
I’ve used cheap waterproof Browning boots and about a dozen sheet metal screws. The screws with hex heads work the best. The biggest hazard with these is skating about on the linoleum floor at Fred Meyers. They work great on ice too. Of course don’t forget your personal flotation device – Is not a matter if I go down, just a matter of when.
JKSmith(Quote)
Two comments about metal studs (not that anyone asked):
- I’ve always felt that studs were more likely to slide off slippery rocks. (I have no idea whether this is, in fact, true . . . taking Tom’s comment about confirmation bias into account, I probably don’t register when I slip wearing rubber soles while I do with the studded wading boots.)
- Studs make so much noise. I feel like I have horns announcing my presence (which is quite unnecessary as the ferocity with which my line usually smacks the water is more than sufficient) as the studs either tap the rocks or scrape along them. Perhaps this isn’t as much of an issue in big water rivers.
Steve(Quote)
There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. :)
Steve Z(Quote)
Do you honestly believe for one moment that the first thing everyone does upon getting off the river is decon their wading shoes and waders (and driftboat and trailer)? What a joke.
Rod(Quote)
Rubber versus felt, barbless versus barbed…all are easy feel good actions fishermen can take to demonstrate their passive activism to protect what they enjoy. Does it make a difference? Marginally at best.
tworod(Quote)
Tom: Technically I flopped and that flipped me on the rubber concept. I was above copco, not afraid to say it cause no one goes up there.
Andy Marx(Quote)
Guys, the time for arguing is past. These states ARE going to ban felt, like it or not. So get with the reality. I am using Simms Boots with Virbram soles now, equipped with the carbide stare cleats and they are just fine. I also ordered a set of the new Simms Alumibite cleats which I will add. So stop griping, get the proper soles and metal cleats and do like I am doing—just getting on with my fishing. All the arguing, whining, and moaning is not going to change a thing. The handwriting is on the wall—get on with life.
BilklkA(Quote)
The trouble is, is that when these states and others do switch to rubber and invasives keep spreading (which they most assuredly will) then next on the hit list will be allowing folks to wade at all. Perhaps the best step, at least as far as didymo goes (which in the U.S. at least seems to bother fishermen a lot more than the fish), is to contaminate as many streams as possible as soon as possible. This will keep them off the list of streams where wading is banned. *
*This was written with tongue (not firmly but still in the general vicinity) in cheek.
fishskicanoe(Quote)
Next WILL be a ban on wading in some waters ! You can bet on that. Theres more important issues to address, This whole felt ban is pretty lame. I’m wearing what i want to no matter what the law says, Simple as that.
shon(Quote)