Felt sole boot...REVIVAL...wanna make 'em grippy again

I have no experience here, just throwing darts....

Have you tried to clean them somehow? I could see dirt and grime making them less effective.

Also how worn out are they? I would have to imagine that as the felt wears down and thins that the lack of surface area will make them less effective.
 
BruceC2C said:
Even tho I have fresh studs in my felt soled boots,
It seems they have gotten more slippy than grippy.

Any thoughts to revive/rejuvenate, pls?

Research shows plenty for repair & resole but lacking for this specific task.
ty
Click to expand...

Clean felt is happy felt...

While I don't advocate the use of Dawn on any other part of a wading shoe if it is leather, I swear by a good scrubbing of felt soles & heels with a Dawn, hot water and a plastic scrubbing brush.

As I almost exclusively use felt soles, I have been doing this since day one which is a LONG time ago with no issues. Scrubbing the soles after a fishing trip helps to rid the felt fibers of embedded grit, mud & slime; some that gets slimy again the next time out if not removed.

I imagine this also helps with spreading critters from place to place...

While it is an interesting concept, I have to believe the use of a wire brush is overly aggressive and will tear the felt fibers necessitating earlier replacement.
 
You dont want to go crazy with the wire brush, for sure.
Just scuff the felt up a bit.
Been doing it for years.

If that doesn't help, then time to consider adding studs, or even replacing the sole
 
I used felt for a long time, but found that in the winter in ice/snow, or anytime in mud/muck they were more dangerous than good when I was walking the bank, or walking in or out of a stream. I do a fair bit of hiking to fish, so I needed boots that were not just good in the water - but also on land.

I have found that good rubber, with good studs is the best combo. The newer vibram soles are very grippy. Orvis posigrip are my favorite studs, with the patagonia/gripstuds brand second. Carbide studs are a must, as tungsten carbide is both rustproof and much harder than steel. I have not tried the aluminum foot tractor bar types, but can not imagine how they would be better.

My only gripe with grip is stud removal/install becomes an effort without a powertool. A small battery operated driver makes this easy. Also, stepping on flyline/mono with studded boots, or heavily lugged rubber boots makes for an annoying time.
 
The Patagonia foot tractor boots gripped very well, to my surprise.
Wouldn't have thought metal on rock would grab.
But it works.

I also like the Orvis posi grip studs too.
Only issue with them - some of the tangs break off.
But they still gripped quite well.

I came across some aluminum studs earlier this year, and decided to try them.
They were great for the first half of this season.
But wore down very quickly, and are now quite "slippy"
And there's nothing let of them to grab on to to get them out
Gonna have to buy a reverse drill bit to try and get what's left out
 
dryflyguy said:
And there's nothing let of them to grab on to to get them out
Gonna have to buy a reverse drill bit to try and get what's left out
Click to expand...

I tried regular aluminum hex head screws with similar results, but I know from experience with regular hardened steel studs to get them out after a couple of outings before they wear down too much.

IF that happens, I usually take a regular Dremel 540 cut-off wheel and cut a slot in what is left of the worn screw head and back it out with a slotted screwdriver.

If you don't own a Dremel tool, buy one. You'll find a 100 uses for it and it will make those tasks a 1000 times easier...
 
Dont have a Dremel.
But yeah, would be very handy to have.

From my experience working on machinery and cars, sometimes had to deal with broken off bolt heads.
Best thing for that was to drill it out, and use an easy out.
But often found that drilling it with reverse bit alone, would extract it
 
dryflyguy said:
From my experience working on machinery and cars, sometimes had to deal with broken off bolt heads.
Best thing for that was to drill it out, and use an easy out.
But often found that drilling it with reverse bit alone, would extract it
Click to expand...

That should make quick work of getting them out of a boot sole.

Even if there is a little bit of stud left sticking out you might be able to grab them with the tip of a pair of vise grips.
 
Before there was such a thing as felt soles, we used that green indoor-outdoor carpet, cut it to the shape of the rubber boot sole, and glued it on. These were boot foot hip boots. We did the heel and sole separately. We also ground down the rises on boot soles to some extent in order to provide more surface area for the glue job. The material was very good on the slippery rocks, but wore out quicker than felt. Some of today’s glue products probably would have worked better than those of the past.
 
Some very good advise about removing studs above. I agree, and this is a bit off topic but here would be my descending order of frustrations when removing stuck or stripped screws - and not just from boots.


  1. Grab outside of the screw head, if proud, with vise grips - this is the best and fastest way.
  2. If flush, and the surface finish of the surrounding area is not critical, dremel a slot cut
  3. If 1 and 2 fail or are not possible - drill out and use an easy out (if I can clamp the part in a vise, and use a drill press with a very low RPM this is best) but hand drills are risky. Easy Outs break very often
  4. Drill out, tap the hole, and screw in another screw to remove. This only works for larger diameter screws and you need reverse thread taps and screws. (and a McMaster Carr account haha)
  5. If all previous attempts fail, drink a beer and throw the part away and start again tomorrow 🙂
 
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