LACES

[BrooksAndHooks]

What's good, and not ridiculously expensive? I blew through the laces on my simms vapors (And the boots are having a rough time too) in the past 6 months. Need to replace them.

Thanks

 

[Six-Gun]

Call Simms directly. They may have other lace options that work with your boots and offer more durability.

I have a set of nearly 4 year-old Guide boots that have the original laces hanging on by a thread. The external sheath is shot and I am literally down to tying the black inner lace core when I fish. One call to Simms and they provided me with a set of workable replacements that now live in my waders for when the originals inevitably go. The reviews on these newer laces seemed pretty good.

 

[fishngun]

Simms replacement laces seem to be the best I've found.

 

[salmonoid]

1) Parachute cord.

2) If you want something that I am confident will never wear out, use some spectra cord, the kind that is used for spearfishing.

Never understood why the boot manufacturers couldn't spend a dollar or two more on a quality boot lace, especially for something that is going to be in a wet, dirty environment all the time.

 

[albatross]

2nd for Parachute cord

 

[boychick]

I second simms replacement laces.

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

I'll call simms and see if they will hook me up. If not I have hundreds of feet of paracord but I find it annoying to tie and keep a good knot, I actually use it on my work boots after those laces blew out.

Thanks for the responses gents.

 

[tomitrout]

You seem to be making a mountain out of a mole hill....just pick up some new laces at the grocery store.

https://www.google.com/#q=kiwi+shoe+laces&tbm=shop&spd=161814831840947997

 

[shakey]

i get boot laces at the store,like a dollar general.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

fishngun wrote:
Simms replacement laces seem to be the best I've found.

+1 They are the best replacement laces on the market IMO.

 

[steveo27]

albatross wrote:
2nd for Parachute cord

Agreed. You can pick up a 30ft roll of parachord at ****s for 5$ and usually get a few pairs of laces outta it. I always keep a small roll in my pack incase I need to replace a lace on the stream.

 

[HopBack]

Brooksandhooks,


The laces on my vapors wore out after about 6 months. I replaced them with regular hiking boot laces. (can't remember the brand but nothing special at all) They are still going strong after a year.

As far as the vapors, I put some hard miles on them but they still look pretty good after 1.5 years of use. I expect to get at least another good year out of them before the vibram soles start to loose their grip. I haven't found the need to use studs so I'm sure that has helped with the tread life.

 

[troutbert]

I agree that the laces on wading shoes tend to be very poor quality, even on expensive shoes.

Options I've used:

Parachute cord. (Just be sure to burn the ends briefly to melt the plastic, so that the ends don't fray.)

Cheap boot laces from Walmart.

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

Again thanks for the responses guys. I'll probably try some paracord or else buy cheaper hiking boot laces if there really isn't a solid option out there other than the Simms replacements.

Hopback,

Hey man, thanks for the response. I've had mine half a year now and the thread holding the sides of the boot in are blown out but other wise they are doing great. Loved the vibram but adding the studs made them even better. Really love the boots.

 

[Sylvaneous]

I've been disappointed by how less than ideal some wading boot laces are. many years ago, i replaced some frayed laces with a premium Danner lace. it worked great. Made my boots better because they cinched-up better. Laces are a highly under-rated component of wading. your boots don't work without them. HOWEVER, of course, the next time I went to Danner laces, they weren't quite the same and so didn't work as well. I foget what I fixed the problem with. It might have been para-cord. I would get Simms replacements as a last-ditch. They will rape you for them ( how the F* do they justify charging so much for wading socks when just about anything from Darn Tough, Smartwool and Fit will work way better?) Plus you HAD simms laces and they didn't hold up. Well, maybe they did, given what you said, but I bet you will be more happy with para-cord.

Syl

 

[troutbert]

BrooksAndHooks wrote:
Hey man, thanks for the response. I've had mine half a year now and the thread holding the sides of the boot in are blown out...

There are still shoe repair places around that can fix that.

 

[BrooksAndHooks]

There are, but I think for a $170 pair of boots with the SIMMS name, I expected them to at least get through a season of fishing. They first started to blow out within the first two months, before "trout season" even rolled around. I can fix them or take them somewhere, but that's besides the point. Guess I just need to fish less... haha. Otherwise I really do love the boots, and the thread blowing out hasn't hurt performance yet. I think a few more dollars in better quality laces and stitching would go a long ways.

 

[troutbert]

I'm not surprised that the laces wore out, because I've experienced that also.

But I am surprised that the stitching on the boots gave out in 2 months. I'd check to see if they are willing to repair or replace.

A pair of $170 boots should last a LONG time.

I've been using a pair of Simms Guide model boots since 2007. And that included a lot of mountain stream fishing, with long walks on tough terrain.

I got them resoled, but the boots are still holding up.