felt soles

[LongWader]

I have used both the felt boots and vibram soled boots with studs and they each have their advantages and dissadvantages. The felts seem better on free-stone streams and on slippery shelf rock during the warmer months and the vibrams are much better on dry land, snow and Ice and give you much better foot support IMHO. I did have two problems in switching to the Vibram soles:
1. The vibram soles were very slippery until they got some wear on them
2. Lots of smaller studs works much better than the larger triangular studs

Now that my vibrams are broken in and I am using the smaller studs I like them better than the felts. The key was to get a good number of the smaller studs near the toe and ball of the sole and also on the mid to back portion of the heel of the boot.

The larger triangular studs not not grip as well for me and because the were raised they tended to catch on things and trip me up. Not a good combination on a free stone stream.

 

[shakey]

Ramcatt wrote:


personally
i think the anti-felt movement was just a ploy for manufactures and retailers to sell more gear in a down economy an pass it off as conservation.

you may be right there!!!

note that simms reintroduced felt after "swearing off it"in 2010.kind of like coke classic,isn't it? HA!

 

[springer1]

I don't do a lot of traveling & stay basically in SEPA, so I don't see a problem with felt (I figure what's going to spread is already done), however, if I were going any distance I'd not use them. I like mine.

 

[midnightangler]

personally
i think the anti-felt movement was just a ploy for manufactures and retailers to sell more gear in a down economy an pass it off as conservation.

I'm always blown away that people actually believe these conspiracy theories.

Look at the map of didymo distribution in the US - how does it manage to make it into practically every major tailwater but not all the streams in between? You think anglers aren't spreading the stuff on their gear?

 

[Ramcatt]

i never said that they weren't spreading invasives on their gear

I'm saying companies capitilized on the fear and used marketing to convince people that they needed new boots... and even made elaborate campaigns... only to completely backtrack in 2yrs when its no longer a hot topic... again saying "buy some new boots"

When common-sense (let gear dry or treating gear when moving watersheds) is all that is needed

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

Simms tryed to cash in by lookin like the fly company that took the "moral" high ground and said were not making felts again and sayin we care..... Just to sell boots. Now when people still want felts and use them there tryin to cash in again. Makin felts again just to sell boots.