Forever Felt

[osprey]

What's the latest on the proposed felt sole ban? Anyonehear anything new? How r Yinz doin? It's the one legged bird back n befelted.

 

[bikerfish]

I haven't heard anything regarding felt being banned in PA, so your safe for a while!

 

[RCFetter]

I haven't heard anything recently about banning felt in PA. I think there was some talk about it last year. I've read a few articles which question banning felt as a solution to the spread of Didymo.

I know Maryland, Vermont, Alaska and Missouri have banned felt soles.

Here's a long thread on the ban in Maryland from last year.

Maryland Felt Sole Ban Pending

The argument for felt is based on the safety issue but a lot of manufacturers are getting away from felt soles.

 

[RickyAyers]

I do know that the felt ban has been already done in Maryland, Vermont, and Alaska. I talked to Allan Bright over at Spruce Creek Outfitters the other day and he said he was no longer selling felt boots due to the didymo. But TU has asked companies to stop producing felt boots due to the transportation of invasive aquatic insects being transferred from stream to stream but they pretty much said no we will not. Because I believe its not a nation wide ban so they are not going to cater to a couple states. I for one have fished with felt boots but since all this didymo talk came up I will only by the rubber soled with carbide inserts.

 

[pcray1231]

I wouldn't mind having a pair of lug boots in addition to felts. There are streams where wading is easy and I'd feel perfectly safe in lugs. But there are other streams where I want my felts! Even in studded felts I've busted myself up some.

But that'd require 2 pairs of wading boots, which I'm not willing to do. I want 1 pair to do the duty. My current pair of studded felts probably have less than a year remaining, gettin pretty worn. So I'll be in the market soon enough.

Reviews have been mixed on the new fangled rubbers, I assume they vary a lot from company to company. If anyone knows of a really good, solid lug soled wading boot with good rock traction for under $90 or so, let me know, I'm open to hearing reviews. I'm certainly not going over $100 on a wading boot, though. I've not heard a single positive review on the lug soles of cheaper brands.

 

[RCFetter]

I have two pair of inexpensive green canvas Orvis felts. OK, one pair belongs to my son but he stopped fishing and we both wear the same size.

Anyway, two pair give me time to let one pair dry out and it will be at least two years before I'm in the market for new wading boots.

I believe felt is safer for the angler and it requires little effort to clean them after each use.

With the recent report of Didymo in the upper Delaware, I'm sure the debate will intensify.

 

[shakey]

i also keep several pair of felt on hand so that they can dry out thoroughly between use.

 

[osprey]

Being an amputee i can not and will not try to wade without em , why can't otherwise intelligent people understand that mother nature will spread invasives like didymo whether we use felt soles or not. Birds fly from stream to stream , turtles crawl etc. if it's gonna spread it's gonna spread but it hasn't has it? There are other factors involved , like winter temps , summer temps , PH etc. Leave us ol one legs alone.

 

[afishinado]

I've used felt soled wading boots for decades. For the last two years, I've worn the rubber/stub boots for all my wading. Putting aside the regualtions to prevent spreading invasives, I prefer rubber/stud boots over felt boots by a wide margin.

Both do a decent job to keep you upright while wading, but as soon as you take a step on the bank (or try to with felts:-o), the stud rubber boots prove to be superior for traction. Felts are like hockey skates on wet leaves or mud, while the rubber/stud boots give the same amount of traction as hiking shoes.

Rubber soled boots got a bad rap way back when - justifiably so - they sucked. Most anglers switched to felts for better traction. Now, many anglers assume the rubber soled boots of today are the same as the hard rubber ones of yesteryear. They aren't, and with studs, they work very well both in the water and on dry land.

 

[osprey]

Afish.......you r right absolutely about felts in mud and wet leaves , i do have to be VERY careful in the first place. One thing i'll add to the negative of felts is walking in snow.......ever try that one........WOW.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah. When it comes to mud and wet leaves, I recognize the felts as being worse than rubber. There's trade-offs in everything. The thing is, they're not that bad, and I'm more often walking on rock. From a safety standpoint, you aim at the worst problem, and that's wet, slimy rocks.

It may be that the newer rubbers on the more expensive boots are as good as felt on rock. I haven't tried them yet. I've only dealt with boots well under $100, and the lug soles in that price range don't yet compare to felt. I'll keep an open mind as the newer rubber designs come down in price. This is a switch I'd like to make, as I do believe that felts accelerate the spread of invasives. I'm just not willing to sacrifice my safety to save me a bit of a hassle in proper cleaning, and nor am I willing to double the amount I spend.

Snow, absolutely, felt is TERRIBLE in snow.

For the price of one pair of SIMMS' cheapest non-felt model, I could buy 2 pairs of the boot I currently have, and rotate em.

 

[McSneek]

I've had a pair of rubber soled boots with studs for about a year now. They're Simms and obviously they weren't cheap. That being said, I'll never go back to felt. They are fine in the stream, great on land and I think the overall support I get in them reduces fatigue during a long day of fishing. I do wonder if the good in stream traction has more to do with the cleats though.