Boots...

[CF8]

Hey guys...

I'm in the market for new boots right now, and was just curious what everyone thinks about rubber vs felt? Is felt on its way out? If rubber, what suggestions does anyone have for me? Just looking at lots of different options right now...

Thanks!

[Jayhad]

Felt...... well I'll stop wearing felt when they can figure out how to get the microbes out of my flys, backing, neoprene booties, laces, boot material, bears, deer, moose..... the list goes on. I've used both a lot and I am back to felt with cleats, do what makes you feel the most comfortable and safe

[ÜberFly]

In my opinion I would consider what type of water you are primarily fishing (river bottom)... Also what fits the best, is within your price range and is available...

 

P

[bloom]

Felt...I don't buy all this didymo stuff. I know it's there but it seems a little like it's all a marketing thing right now for some companies. There's so many other things that transmit it, that banning felt won't make or break the situation. I'll even bet a beer or two that Simms will go back to making boots with felt soles again. That rubber crap doesn't do it for me.

[CF8]

I've always worn felt, and been pretty conscious of cleaning and whatnot, but just wanted to know where other's heads are at. I have a buddy who recently went rubber soles and after watching him spend a weekend in September falling all over the place, I wasn't sure what route to go...

[Tungsten]

Felt with studs is my vote.Rubber i can see being better for the long hikes.

 

Hopefully boot company's will clue in and bring back felt or at least the fly shops should start stocking more of them.Right now I'm looking for a new pair and I'm forced to look on line just because of the poor selection here in town.

[Harps]

Rubber...

 

The old Cloudveil boots were as good as felts. The newer Simms... getting there.

Plus rubber is much much better in the winter, and will be allowed in those states where felt is banned (sale banned in some eastern states, banned in Alaska, banned in New Zealand areas, etc).

 

The science is very conclusive on this...

 

I recently stopped to talk to a guide and 3 Americans on a local river. The river is well known for having Didymo (native in the headwaters, but bad below the dams). The guide should have known. These 3 guys were wearing felts and were headed back to the American NE to fish for the weekend there.

All three of them would have flown with wet and contaminated gear and immediately fished in their home rivers (Upstate NY).

At least non-felt soled boots would have been more dry, but what really is lacking is the knowledge, caring, and commitment to do something. Pretty much all of the other gear would have dried.

 

The research around felt is sound, and it is readily available.

http://www.stopans.org/Science_of_felt.php

This is a realy good article with links to research like this:

They present the complete results of their work in a scholarly article published in Fisheries http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/studies/didymo-blooms.pdf. In the course of their research they noted a significant relationship between the presence of didymo and the presence of anglers. They particularly note rivers in which didymo is not found upstream of angler access points and rivers that are closed to fishing that are surrounded by didymo but remain free of it. They reference a number of other well documented examples from around the world that illustrate the connection between wading anglers and the spread of didymo.

 

In their paper titled Studies on the survivability of the invasive diatom Didymosphenia geminata under a range of environmental and chemical conditions, http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files....-07.pdf the researchers fully document their results. In their experiments felt soled boots that were examined 5 hours after use in infested waters contained nearly 3,000 times more live didymo cells than rubber soles (11,000 on felt vs. 3.9 on rubber). At 36 hours, a second careful cleaning yielded significant numbers of live cells from the felt soles and no live or dead cells from the rubber soles (290 on felt vs. 0 on rubber). We should note here that both leather shoe uppers and neoprene materials also held live cells at 36 hours but at much lower levels than the felt.

 

rubber....

[tgo]

The rubber-soled boot isn't bad in most situations, but I think studded is a must on slimy rocks. I agree the rubber is very good for long hikes on mountain streams where slippery rocks are less likely and just for the hiking as well. The problem is the rubber is fantastic on dry rocks, but adding the studs makes you slide around on rock faces and some larger boulders. Without the studs you are ok on clean rock bottom streams but you will slip around in streams where there's alot of algae.

 

I fish a bit in Montana and the guides out there appreciated when I left my felt boots at home. One of the reasons I got another pair of rubber-soled boots was because I heard that Montana was going to ban it real soon. Both pairs I've owned have been Simms.

 

I think stuff like fly line, flies, neoprenes etc. dry between uses for the most part. Felt holds moisture longer and gives the didymo a place to survive between uses, at least that's what I've read. Another point that has been made is that the felt is rubbing up against the bottom of the river and picking up that stuff directly (although nymphs do a pretty good job at that as well).

 

 

[flyfishfairwx]

just go to the Korker guide boots,clean and change the soles as required..

 

Problem solved ---- NEXT!!!!

[darrinhurst]

I wore felt before and have rubber now. Slid like a sonofabitch in both on greasy rocks. Neither of them were all that great in that situation. Rock snot is rock snot.

 

However, my rubber boots are MUCH better for hiking and will wear better long term than felt will. I also will second the notion that rubber is much better in the winter as the snow doesn't pile up the bottom of the boot.

 

I'll likely add some studs next year for better traction on the rock snot, but rubber wins for me.

[Taco]

 

works for me

[CF8]

Thanks for all the responses guys!

[Gaffer]

just go to the Korker guide boots,clean and change the soles as required..

 

Problem solved ---- NEXT!!!!

Not to mention they are on sale at Fish Tales. I picked up the guide model for $165. Came with aquastealth & felt soles.

 

I know there are several people who are not fond of Korkers, but short of owning 2-3 pairs of boots these seem to make the most sense for me.

 

Andrew

 

 

[Rainbowhunter]

I wore felt before and have rubber now. Slid like a sonofabitch in both on greasy rocks. Neither of them were all that great in that situation. Rock snot is rock snot.

 

However, my rubber boots are MUCH better for hiking and will wear better long term than felt will. I also will second the notion that rubber is much better in the winter as the snow doesn't pile up the bottom of the boot.

 

I'll likely add some studs next year for better traction on the rock snot, but rubber wins for me.

 

i started with felt boots, then recetly upgraded my waders and boots, i have simms g3 guides , and the freestone rubber sole boot! so far i love the rubber way better because when im fishign mountain stream without rocksnot i feel like im glued to the bottom, and really i agree with FNG that rock cnot is rock snot and alagae is alagae no matter what material you put on the S**T you will slid around like your drunk. And the Rubber wears way better than felt!!! Just my two cents though

[CanuckCamper]

I'm in the market for a new pair as well. Do studs on boots damage the floor of a drift boat? Specifically for Simms.

[ÜberFly]

Anyone that I've floated with in a Drift boat has asked me to not wear boots with studs...

 

P

 

I'm in the market for a new pair as well. Do studs on boots damage the floor of a drift boat? Specifically for Simms.

 

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

studs dont do too mcu dmg to boat but they mess you line up FAST if you step on it. I got the Chota a few months ago and they have started to crap out already, but Jay are still kickin

[Rainbowhunter]

I'm in the market for a new pair as well. Do studs on boots damage the floor of a drift boat? Specifically for Simms.

if you are even thinking about getting into someones drift boat with a pair of studs, DONT! if you own your own boat and are not affraid of damaging it then go ahead, but there is nothing that pisses me off more than people scratching my boat, with studs!!! I have one big chip in my floor( which has the black simms grippy bottom) and everytime i wash it i see it and it is slowly getting bigger! all because someone was to lasy to take out their studs!!! :$*%&:

[LastBoyScout]

I've found that old fashioned toe rubbers will make studded boots drift boat safe. I never travel far to fish so have stayed with felt. Tried studded boots way back and found they did improve traction at first until the felt wore down a bit. Once that happened they actually provided far less traction and after a couple wet wipe outs they were retired permanently.

[CanuckCamper]

I've found that old fashioned toe rubbers will make studded boots drift boat safe.

 

Great idea. Thanks for your input.

 

CC

[cal]

just go to the Korker guide boots,clean and change the soles as required..

 

Problem solved ---- NEXT!!!!

 

 

x2