Before the spring season I invested in the Orvis pro boots and the Orvis branded studs. After a few dozen days out this spring, I have lost a number of studs, and replaced a few, which continue to pop out while fishing.
This has been frustrating as I have been slipping around on some of the bigger waters. Curious if anyone else has had this issue? I have heard of people using some glue and drilling studs in, but I’m not sure if the old holes on my boots may be stripped?
Hoping to get more life out of these boots as they have held up well outside of this.
Flexible material and the thread pitch of "screw-in" studs is not a marriage made in heaven. The flexibility of the sole material will always compromise the grip of the screw into the sole unless there is a hard plastic post built-in to accept a stud like Chota offers.
The other problem is the soft nature of the sole material. That softness almost guarantees when you replace a stud, there is almost a 100% chance the new stud won’t find the original threads cut by the first stud. That means you are cutting the rubber AGAIN & AGAIN with every stud replacement because studs are in effect, "self-tapping screws."
Glues and threadlockers may help a little, but it is probably because the hole is already buggered from repeated stud replacement or over tightening the stud causing the rubber/plastic in the hole to tear. In other words, using glues is like putting a toothpick into a worn screw hole in wood.
Unfortunately like a toothpick, glue will flex and move as pressure and force are put on the stud so if the glue is used AFTER a problem, the studs will eventually loosen again. Another problem with glue is the solvents used and whether that solvent will have a negative effect on the type of rubber or plastic used for the wading shoe sole.
IF I were inclined to use a glue, it wouldn't be something that dries hard because that bond will fail more easily. Threadlocker is also less desirable because it is designed for machine threads and metal, not rubber and the bond is not expected to be broken.
Some of the products offered by
Vibra-Tite may work because they remain flexible but Vibra-Tite is expensive and almost only available online. You could contact them to see if they think anything they offer is suitable.
Of course, if it was something other than rubber you could just go with a larger screw. However, almost all hex head wading shoe studs are a #8 screw so it isn't as simple as going with a #10 or #12 stud.
However, like Dano said:
Four seasons with Grip Studs and I haven't lost or had to replace one (yet).
Grip Studs WILL give you a larger diameter "screw" with a completely different pitch and they won't pull or tear out of rubber because of the design.
You can measure the depth of the recesses built into the Orvis Pro soles and choose a Grip Stud with the proper height so when it is screwed into the sole, it won’t stick out way beyond the sole. Read
this post too.
Coincidentially, Grip Studs has already done the measuring for you
here and it looks like they suggest their
3000A stud.
Grip Studs are pricey but so are the Orvis Posigrip studs. Cheaper options will require more frequent replacement, resulting in more damage to the screw holes.
Good luck!!
