The felt sole vs rubber sole wading boot wars are far from over, but after Simms announced their self-imposed felt sole ban was effectively over, a couple of things have become clear.

First, Singlebarbed calls the industry on this stuff better than anybody.

SIMMS has apparently pulled the plug on its self imposed felt ban, and will be making all manner of felt soled wading shoes for 2012.

Naturally we’ll assume that’s its the suddenly decreased threat of Didymo that’s the root cause of this sudden change-of-heart, or it may simply be the recognition that angler behavior is the key to invasive species spread, and like prostitution it’s tough to legislate morality.

Me, I think their holy oath resulted in their being spanked smartly in the retail aisle, as any discussion on rubber soles amongst us anglers brings great froth, dissent, and much vitriol over their efficacy. Adding additional burden has been the lack of reliable information from shoes owners, given that the same boot is mentioned both as slippery and useless and wonderful, depending on who’s doing the pontificating.

I switched to rubber years ago for its longevity — and while I’m willing to argue against felt for all sorts of reasons (rapid wear, snow buildup, wet grass/out of water performance, slow drying time, etc) — even I won’t pretend rubber’s the equal of felt in difficult wading conditions (which for a lot of fishermen is anytime they get their feet wet).

Simply put, the invasives issue doesn’t hinge on the material of your wading boot sole — it’s the effective, universal cleaning regime that doesn’t yet seem to exist.

Exactly how do you render your boots (and waders, and gravel guards, and float tube, and…) invasive-free when you’re on a road trip — starting early, fishing late, and moving to a new body of water every day?

Drying and freezing are out, and chemical “cures” (like bleach) are potentially worse than the disease (what happens when a hundred anglers with bleach residue on their gear step into the same stretch of a medium sized river every day for a whole season?).

The Fallout

I was at the trade show where Simms announced its self-imposed felt sole ban, and there was more than a little grumbling among the other manufacturers about Simms oversimplifying the invasives issue in order to count marketing coup (and Trout Unlimited’s complicity in the whole deal).

It’s hard to speak to anyone’s motives — and the Simms move definitely fired the invasives discussion — but it’s also clear the majority of the anglers in the marketplace weren’t willing to blindly switch sole materials, at least in the absence of open discussion and (apparently) overblown promises of “it grips as well as felt.”

One industry-friendly site is already casting this decision in terms of industry leadership or choice (and not cold, hard cash), and you can expect more kid glove treatment from the rest of the usual suspects.

By contrast, look the number of dissenters who found a voice online, and tell me if this isn’t another example of independent online sites providing a useful check on a largely uncritical, industry-friendly media landscape.

See you slipping and sliding on the river, Tom Chandler.

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