Slipping And Sliding....

[Xplorer]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have some felt wading boots that work ok up in the nw on the bow but down south I slip and slide all over the place. It must look fairly comical to watch. It is not even summer yet and I slide around like a drunk guy.

 

Do rubber soles make it better(besides reducing the spread of rock snot and other invasive species)? Should I put cleats/studs in my exisiting felts? These boots are only worn on the bow so modifing them for a specific area is not a concern.

 

Thanks

 

 

[Simpson]

Member Scorpiondeathlock bought a pair of grip/springs that go over your boot, maybe he could comment on how well they work??

 

I use Korkers boots with the 7mil spike/rubber sole, in the winter they are a must for me.....my wife picked them up after I took an interesting tumble off an ice shelf....guess she is not tired of me just yet..

[bloom]

Rubber soles will not make it better, only worse.

 

I have korkers and love them, but the ultimate boot for traction would be something with a sole completely covered in felt with studs.

 

After that, the rubber soles with studs, or the korkers with felt and studs would come next (Korkers only has about 80% of their sole covered with felt due to the interchanging soles)

 

Studs is the key here.

[SilverDoctor]

Felt soles are a better grip than rubber. I run about a dozen wading stainless screw's in each soul for grip. Work great, much safer.

[maxwell]

studs in t toes and heels help out huge! i love my korkers like other members pointed out and t studded aqua stealth soles are awsome!

[DaveJensen]

For the few weeks of really icey stuff, go to Wal-Mart and buy yourself a $40 pair of cheap hiking boots to fit over your waders' bootie. Stop in their hardware dept and buy a pkg of screws and plug them into the soles of the boots. It works very well.

Cheers

[rhuseby]

Chota STL+ have felt soles with spots for studs and include a separate package of the studs. They work great on the Bow, really grip through the slime. Just be aware they have a nasty lack of traction on dry rock. Trade-offs.

 

[acurrie]

No offense to all the Korker lovers, but I hate them. I bought a pair mid-summer last year and they lasted until about October before the soles were gone and the straps ripped off the back. I even tried to Shoe-Goo the soles back onto the bottom of the Korkers, and that only lasted about 2 fishing days. I also found that the Soles on the Korkers were way to thin, and wore out very fast. I just purchased a pair of the Simms Guide Boots at X-mas and they are Pimp! The felt is like 4X thicker, way more slip-resistance and it is anti-microbial so you are less likely to spread invasive species. Although the Simms boots are awesome, they are pretty spendy at just under $300, but I'm guessing they will last at least 3x longer then the previous $100 pair of boots I've owned.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

 

OOO yeah, and I agree that Rubber bottom soles are Waaaaay more slippy then felt.

[Xplorer]

Hi guys,

 

Thanks for all the advice. My wading boots are getting pretty worn out so I think I am going to put some screws in the soles for now and buy some korkers later in the year.

 

I have a couple of different screws to choose from, one being a normal hex head screw and the other an agressive ice screw.

 

Which one do you think would work better in this situation?

 

Here's some pics

 

 

 

 

thanks

 

[Tungsten]

IMO,your still gonna slide around.New felt is what you want.

[jonn]

IMO,your still gonna slide around.New felt is what you want.

 

I'd have to agree, plus it's getting time to throw the studs back in the box. What type of boots do you have, you can re-sole quite a few brands!

[SilverDoctor]

I have the ones one the right on my boots.

 

[DaveJensen]

Is there still enough ice out there to warrant the screws? If we're talking 40m of snow/ice to get across, maybe just pick your way through. If it's perpetual stuff, you might do well with the screws, so long as they go into the thickest, meatiest part of the sole (or your feet will feel them). A couple of things we've noted from the studded rubber wading boots we've owned - don't put screws/studs under the balls of your feet - they'll be in agony quickly; the longer studs should go on the edge of the boot, shorter studs on the inside. Again though, make sure you really need the grip on ice. The reason I suggested hiking boots is that they have a thicker rubber sole to put the screws into so the screws don't kill your feet. Compression will happen and worn wading boots might not work so well for you. Again, my suggestion was for hikers for a short term to get you through the iciest period. Cheers

[SilverDoctor]

I find them extremely helpful in the summer, rocks can get really slick with various weeds and growth. Studs and a wading staff has saved this old bugger many a fall.

 

 

Is there still enough ice out there to warrant the screws? If we're talking 40m of snow/ice to get across, maybe just pick your way through. If it's perpetual stuff, you might do well with the screws, so long as they go into the thickest, meatiest part of the sole (or your feet will feel them). A couple of things we've noted from the studded rubber wading boots we've owned - don't put screws/studs under the balls of your feet - they'll be in agony quickly; the longer studs should go on the edge of the boot, shorter studs on the inside. Again though, make sure you really need the grip on ice. The reason I suggested hiking boots is that they have a thicker rubber sole to put the screws into so the screws don't kill your feet. Compression will happen and worn wading boots might not work so well for you. Again, my suggestion was for hikers for a short term to get you through the iciest period. Cheers

 

[DaveJensen]

SD - It's funny how one stream bed is vastly different from the other too. I know in NZ, we use rubber soles... and even with studs, some rivers are like having a couple greased pigs strapped to a pair left feet below you. And while felt works quite well, once compacted after a certain # of uses, it can get extremely slippery too. Even in the peak of summer there's no perfect answer that covers all. But for a few weeks to tail out the ice season, hikers and studs work well, esp up against felt that can accumulate 1 - 4" of snow on felt soles, which is a nightmare to walk on afterwards.

Cheers

[Pipestoneflyguy]

Pretty scary ice banks on the Bow (above Castle) and the Horse right now - I used to carry crampons which worked great on spots where slipping in could be a fast track to the final check out - last year I bought new boots with a set of Sims cleats and I gotta say I wear them all year round and they work amazing on ice, dirt and rock (and at least on mud the situation is substantially improved)

 

Ditto on what Dave says about presure points (balls of your feet) - I find they work best on the perimeter of the sole. that way your not inhibiting the largest possible surface when putting felt to smooth flat rock.

 

All that said - for reasons discussed here and on other threads I think I'll go rubber on my next set (mostly for the ease of cleaning, (in this reagrd felt is a pain in the ass)

 

 

[Xplorer]

Hey Guys,

 

Thanks for all the advice. I put 12 screws(ones on the right) in each boot dividing them between the toe and heel. Made quite a difference, hardly slid/danced around at all now. The boots themselves are not quite a year old, but I walk far too much in them so they are pretty worn already.

 

I should have mentioned that they were for summer use, not ice/snow. Maybe I am just not used to the bow down south, but it's damn slippery I find. Anyway, all is good now.

 

Thanks again

 

Lance