New boots

J

JohnPowers

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Jun 9, 2007
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The sole, not the felt but the whole sole of my nearly new orvis boots delaminated. I wondered why I was stumbling around the WB. With the refund in the mail I bought Simms RiverTek, BOA, streamtred boots. No laces, turn dial and cable. $179.00 at TCO Bryn Mawr. I used them today on Valley.got a twelve incher and a three incher. Little nubs on the Vibram soles held bottom OK. valley is silty and rocky.i think they'll do for where I go. They're very comfortable and as I'm prone to ingrown toenails (TMI?) the toe box is very roomy. I still miss my old Weinbrenner Gary Borgers but after one outing I think these boots are very good. Hope I live to wear them out.
 
They have made me swear off Simms. Absolutely hated these boots.
 
My orvis dealer has a great customer return policy. Mu orvis boots have lasted anywhere from 3 weeks to almost 3 years. When they fall apart i take them back and get a free new pair. Only real reason i stick with orvis for boots.
 
John,

I'm pretty sure that Shame isn't a fan of the lacing system or the vibram soles. I used the rubber sole a few times and I'm not a fan either. When this pair of guide boots expire, I'll be looking to someone other than Simms unless they bring back studded felts ......and we know they won't. There are w versions of star cleats that are to lend much assistance. I have no experience with them though.
 
K2 hit the nail on the head. Vibram is too slippery for an aggressive wader like me, even with studs. Lacing system blows. I have had them snap on me one to many times. Finally, the boots are literally falling apart at the seams. If you would really like to see I will post a picture.

My felt Chota Stl +'s showed up last Wednesday. I fished West Canada, 9 mile, Chittenango, and Orinsinsky in Central NY Friday-Sunday and I was amazed by the grip. West Canada at 1400 cfs is no joke and I had no problems.

I will be sending the Simms back and if they decide to send me another pair I will only use them on Spring and anywhere with Didymo.
 
Yo, west Canada is pretty big and violent is it not? For last 5 years, i've been saying I wanted to try that river. How was it? My understanding is the hatches aren't great, mostly stockers but holds some beasts
 
Yes yes and yes :)

Wild fish as well.
 
K2 called him "Shame"!

Simms said they are giving me a free upgraded pair of waders…so they are still OK by me.

As far as the boots…I think I will screw ice picks into the Vibram soles

 
Screw that stupid rubber crap. Felts all day and night.
 
Night_Stalker wrote:
K2 called him "Shame"!
Click to expand...

I hear that about me all the time although it's usually preceded by the word "no." :cool:
 
Aside from a few hours out back of the Hungry Trout my days on the Ausable are over. I haven't been below Wilmington in well over 20 years. No aggressive wading for me. Maybe under the ski jump towers but definitely not down below. Im 67 but I've never been able to enjoy fishing in perilous wading conditions. I'm hoping these boots will be ok for a whimp like me.
 
I am sure they will be fine if all you wade is Valley, LL, Spring Creek kind of streams. I wade the Lehigh, Penns, Little J, West Canada, Ausable ect. The just were not built for me.
 
Felts with studs were by far the best...I miss those! I have the Orvis rubber souls with studs and when I first got them they were fine and I was impressed but now that the studs have pretty much been ground to nothing they are far from the days of felts. I understand why they are doing away with felts but from my safety standpoint I think that outweighed the harm they do. Its just a matter of fishermen taking care of their equipment but I know how humans are and how irresponsible the majority seem to be.

Oh and whoever came up with that BOA system was an idiot! Lots of companies have tried it and all went away from it very shortly after.
 
I live about 20 minutes from the West Canada Creek. I fish it a lot. There are a lot of stockies, and the hold over fish do get pretty big. This past weekend the USA Junior Nationals were held in this area and they had a comp on the WCC. I heard the one kid caught a 24" brown. That's awesome Way to go. Let me know if you ever make it up here and I can show you around.

Thanks,

BTW, I am not a guide. Just like to help guys get to know the area and our streams.
 
Cool. I'll be in touch early spring.
 
mattwolf wrote:
I live about 20 minutes from the West Canada Creek. I fish it a lot. There are a lot of stockies, and the hold over fish do get pretty big. This past weekend the USA Junior Nationals were held in this area and they had a comp on the WCC. I heard the one kid caught a 24" brown. That's awesome Way to go. Let me know if you ever make it up here and I can show you around.

Thanks,

BTW, I am not a guide. Just like to help guys get to know the area and our streams.
Click to expand...

Matt,

You do not run a golf course do ya?
 
I seem to have had the opposite experience than many of the other people here in regards to the BOA boot. I got a pair of them, wore them for 3 years with no breakages of either the upper or the lacing system, and just bought a new pair of them because I wore the soles out. My experience was positive with these boots through and through.

In regards to the grip of rubber and comparing it to felt. There is no comparison. Studding rubber boots closes the gap between rubber and felt but they are still not the same. The fact is, we live in a high risk area in terms of invasives and most people aren't aware of how easily these things can be moved from stream to stream. While felt soles seem to be going the way of the dodo, with bans in multiple states, there are still felt options from Simms in a number of their boots. I just feel like, especially being sandwiched between NY and MD, I'm being more responsible with my angling in Vibrams. But to each his own.
 
Love my Korkers with the interchangeable soles...vibrams for the muddy limestoners, felts for the local slimey freestoners. A set of the studded rubber is on the short list, but haven't needed 'em yet (I tend to avoid fishing waters that are infected with invasives, still lots of fine fishing to be had without worrying about disinfecting the felts...)
 
I picked up a pair of the borger boots on close-out several years ago.
And I'm happy with them. Yeah - they're heavy. But they're built to last, and offer great support for wading tough streams
 
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