Wading shoes

[Lipripper]

Felt soles with or without studs(spikes)? Pros and cons please!! Thanks

[5-Cents]

Get wading boots with cleats. I have had both and cleats are the way to go. 97% of the time you will be happy you have them. They really grip the bottom. There is a rare instance when they are a little more slick than felt alone but only 3% of the time!

[Mojo]

I will never own a pair of wading shoes without felt soles AND studs. They are like adding chains to your snow tires when it is really icy. I wade like a bull moose, and would swim every trip without the studs.

If you primarily wade clay bottom or mud bottom streams I think rubber cleated soles would work best.

Any river that has rocks, especially freestone, with any aquatic vegetation require studded felt soles in my opinion. Worth twice the price!!!

[Doc Spratley]

From my experience felt soles with studs are a must, especially when wading on rocks that are slick from algae. When fishing the flyfishing section of the North Umpqua, my guide required felt soles with studs because of the slippery conditions.
One downside to wearing studs is that they will chew up the floorboards of a drift boat over time.

[Pete]

The only time you won't want studs is if you are fishing from a boat. The studs can be slippery on the metal parts of the floor and the boat owner may not appreciate having his floor boards shredded.

[cully]

I agree with pete. No studs on a boat. Other than that i say felt and cleats all the way. Felt over say the llbean rubberized bottom. I have had a pair of simms guide boots for 5 years. They have cleats. The felt shows signs of a little ware and I've lost one spike. I hike my buns off on logging roads and the like. The boots are comfy and I stick like a glove when boulder hopping. In the water i feel like I'm anchored as well as can be.

[Mojo]

Throw a piece of carpet in the bottom of the boat. It is not perfect, but it keeps wear and tear down on the boat floor, and it muffles sound as well.

[CATCH AND EAT]

Pat, get studs. Good on those muddy trails.

[Ramstrong]

Studs rock! You will be wading easily in places you used to think impossible.

The danner outlet by the airport normally has some of their river gripper with studs available. I got mine for $90. That's a pretty good deal.

When I'm in my buddy's boat, I just put on some teva's over my waders. But if I'm walking in, the danners go on.

They have saved my bacon a time or two. You will have to re learn how to wade though. When your boots would give before they'll now stick.

[Wild Chrome]

I never realized the value of studs until I waded to an island with a friend in fast, rocky, shallow water. With my studs, I was mildly straining and didn't slip. My friend (similar size and experience to me) was stumbling all over the place because the his felt-only soles just wouldn't hold.
On the down side, I think the studs are a liability on dry, flat, sloping rock. The one time I went under in the Deschutes, I was stepping across such a rock along the bank. Also, the studs tire my feet more when walking on hard dry surfaces (like river access roads/trails).
I usually wear the studs, but have both.

[brushpuppy]

Studs and felt are life-savers. I recommend the Danner with kevlar uppers. I'm retiring my first pair after seven years, and three re-solings, of service.With any other wading shoes I've owned in the past, I'd be on my fourth or fifth pair by now.The only draw back is walking in snow, it cakes up in the felt.
One note - I'm adding steel toe covers to my next pair. Wedging my feet in between all those stones eroded the front of the boots to the point I can't resole them any more.

[blacktail]

The best of both worlds are Chota boots. Felt soles with removeable "cleats".

Mike

[steelheadslayer]

You might want to check out Korkers. They have a new model coming out early 2003 that has 5 replaceable soles. I haven't seen a price yet but I think any thing would be reasonable compared to buying 2 or 3 different pairs with diff. soles. Try their website; Korkers.com? Good Luck, :smile: