Felt vs Felt & Metal Screws

[springer1]

I donno, I liked having the metal screws over the winter for their snow traction & later on in the spring mud. But I'm beginning to wonder if plain felt has better traction on slippery rocks than felt & screws.

I used corkers for jetties but they were more of a nail/ cleat. But for streams, I'm thinking of removing the screws. Has anyone else had this experience ?

 

[mote1977]

Pretty hard to beat plain felt for all out grip in rocky streams IMO. I don’t wear it anymore just because it stinks in the snow and mud. I use the korkers vibram studded and don’t have any issues.

 

[dryflyguy]

I agree with mote.

However, plain felt seems to lose some gripping power after a season or two in my experience.
And needs to be replaced. Or have screw in studs added.
I've been doing the latter lately for my felt sole boots.
And have been satisfied with the results

 

[mushumatt]

With didymo showing up in PA streams it blows my mind that PA has not banned felt yet. I love felt, but I don’t want to add to the didymo problem. I use korkers vibram with metal studs. But I’m also a korkers pro so I’m very pro korkers. And my previous pair lasted 8 years and 500+ days on the water.

 

[poopdeck]

Studded felt for me. Terrible experience with vibram soles and will never again abandon studded felt.

 

[timbow]

mushumatt wrote:
With didymo showing up in PA streams it blows my mind that PA has not banned felt yet. I love felt, but I don’t want to add to the didymo problem. I use korkers vibram with metal studs. But I’m also a korkers pro so I’m very pro korkers. And my previous pair lasted 8 years and 500+ days on the water.

Didymo has been proven to not be an invasive species. Didymo has existed here for thousands of years. Didymo has become a problem recently though due to decreased phosphorus levels.

In fact, states like Vermont have realized the the whole felt ban initiative was based on bunk science and have reversed the ban.

 

[mushumatt]

Wow I had no idea, thank you. It’s confusing though, as VT fisheries biologist is on record saying didymo is an invasive species, then in another article dated previously to his comment he states it’s not.

 

[krs]

timbow wrote:

mushumatt wrote:
With didymo showing up in PA streams it blows my mind that PA has not banned felt yet. I love felt, but I don’t want to add to the didymo problem. I use korkers vibram with metal studs. But I’m also a korkers pro so I’m very pro korkers. And my previous pair lasted 8 years and 500+ days on the water.

Didymo has been proven to not be an invasive species. Didymo has existed here for thousands of years. Didymo has become a problem recently though due to decreased phosphorus levels.

In fact, states like Vermont have realized the the whole felt ban initiative was based on bunk science and have reversed the ban.

+2

 

[ryansheehan]

krs wrote:

timbow wrote:

mushumatt wrote:
With didymo showing up in PA streams it blows my mind that PA has not banned felt yet. I love felt, but I don’t want to add to the didymo problem. I use korkers vibram with metal studs. But I’m also a korkers pro so I’m very pro korkers. And my previous pair lasted 8 years and 500+ days on the water.

Didymo has been proven to not be an invasive species. Didymo has existed here for thousands of years. Didymo has become a problem recently though due to decreased phosphorus levels.

In fact, states like Vermont have realized the the whole felt ban initiative was based on bunk science and have reversed the ban.

+2

The Maryland ban should be reversed immediately, they jumped the gun, big suprise.

 

[lestrout]

Not all felt is the same relative to gripping power. I've used maybe a dozen different felt boots/shoes ever since I learned how wet rubber and wet rocks make for a bad combination. By far the grippiest felt is on boots made by Chota.

 

[Bamboozle]

Most folks have never had the opportunity to use wool felt as a sole bottom versus modern synthetics.

Russell Moccasin Company made/makes a wading shoe with a real wool felt sole. The type of felt used is the same type used on the hammers in a piano.

I can tell you firsthand it is the most grippy felt I have ever used and I have tried just about every felt sole out there.

The downside is cost.

 

[RLeep2]

>>Russell Moccasin Company made/makes a wading shoe with a real wool felt sole. The type of felt used is the same type used on the hammers in a piano.>>

That's interesting.. Can you provide a link or a way to learn more? I just went through Russell's entire web site and can find no reference to such a critter. I may have missed it or they may have stopped making them.

Thanks!

 

[RLeep2]

For what it's worth, the "grippiest" felt soles I ever owned were on the old Weinbrenners. I don't know what kind of felt they used but the shoes were fairly pricey for their time.

On the other hand, I once bought a pair of cheap (like $40 back in 2008 or so) Redhead (Bass Pro) shoes with felts to have as a backup/spare. They were just about as "grippy" as my Weinbrenners.

Kinda stuff that makes you go hmmm...

 

[Bamboozle]

RLeep2 wrote:
For what it's worth, the "grippiest" felt soles I ever owned were on the old Weinbrenners. I don't know what kind of felt they used but the shoes were fairly pricey for their time.

On the other hand, I once bought a pair of cheap (like $40 back in 2008 or so) Redhead (Bass Pro) shoes with felts to have as a backup/spare. They were just about as "grippy" as my Weinbrenners.

Kinda stuff that makes you go hmmm...

What it boils down to is the type of synthetic felt they use. If it is a polypropylene or a poly blend, it typically isn't as slippery as a nylon or nylon blend felt.

The bad news is it is almost impossible to find out from the manufacturer what they use because almost 100 percent of the shoes are made off-shore and the USA based front offices don't know.

One thing I have noticed is the white synthetic felt that has a slight “sheen” to it seems to be slipperier than its non-shiny counterpart. The information as to which shoes used which type of felt has left my brain years go.

RLeep2 wrote:
>>Russell Moccasin Company made/makes a wading shoe with a real wool felt sole. The type of felt used is the same type used on the hammers in a piano.>>

That's interesting.. Can you provide a link or a way to learn more? I just went through Russell's entire web site and can find no reference to such a critter. I may have missed it or they may have stopped making them.

Thanks!

In regards to Russell, the wading shoes haven't been on the website or in the catalogue for years however, the last time I asked the factory, (maybe 3 years ago) they said they would still make them because everything they make is custom anyway.

I haven’t inquired recently.

 

[Bruno]

On Didymo - like birds don't pick it up and spread it. One damn duck can destroy a whole water shed. We should really do something about ducks.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

I like mine with Cumberland Sauce: Ducks that is. GG