Rubber sole wading boots

[whheff]

Does anybody have any experience with the rew rubber sole wading boots? My felts are still good but I was thinking of getting the new boot to be more evironmentally friendly.
Which boot do you have?
Do you like them?
Why did you pick them?
Thanks for your input.

 

[skiltonian]

get studded - i have LL beans guide and lightweight boots with their aqua-sole and studs. highly recommend getting the studs.
I've had simms and they were the best but got really good prices at LL Bean. Their boots are comfy and stable, except shrink when they dry. Not good for long hike-ins, or even the ride to the stream. I have to get them wet for them to fit right. Going up a size doesn't help. Anyone else expereince this with Beans boots? The simms freestone boots I had (had 3 pairs actually) lasted on average 2 years each and were great. I believe they are now available with rubber soles.
Again - get the studds. Keep your felts for fishing in the boat.

 

[harry]

I have had the Orvis Clearwater Navigator studded for two years and like them very much. I fish about 150+ days a year in them. They are on sale right now on their website. Reg $98.00 on sale for $59.00.

 

[Dale49]

I've had rubber soled Simms boots for 6 years (Aquastealth). I did get the studs. I can honestly say that I've never slipped and fallen in a stream since I used them and I fish spring creeks with algae on the bottom. I used to slip quite often with felt. I have fallen on very muddy banks but I would have fallen if I would have been wearing felt

Another benefit of rubber soled shues for those who fish in the winter, snow does not build up on the bottom soles as they do with felt.

 

[TimMurphy]

skiltonian wrote:
get studded - i have LL beans guide and lightweight boots with their aqua-sole and studs. highly recommend getting the studs.
I've had simms and they were the best but got really good prices at LL Bean. Their boots are comfy and stable, except shrink when they dry. Not good for long hike-ins, or even the ride to the stream. I have to get them wet for them to fit right. Going up a size doesn't help. Anyone else expereince this with Beans boots? The simms freestone boots I had (had 3 pairs actually) lasted on average 2 years each and were great. I believe they are now available with rubber soles.
Again - get the studds. Keep your felts for fishing in the boat.

Dear whheff,

I'll second every word that skilltonian wrote, especially the part about the boots drying up and shrinking. I think that is just the nature of the synthetic material that companies use for the uppers?

I have the LL Bean studded aquastealth boots and they are comfortable when they are on your feet but if you let them dry out they can be a real bear to put on.

I would not own a pair of aquastealth boots without studs, on the streams I fish they would be useless. Save your money and go barefoot before you go with aquastealth alone.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[skiltonian]

yeah, i'm about to take my Bean boots back and get Simms again.
I'd get patagonia but they suprisingly haven't offered a studded version yet. The only thing I can think of is put the boots in a bucket of water the night before. I'm a size 9 and I got size 9 for summer and size 10 for winter. I'm thining of keeping my 10 for the summer and getting 11s for the winter. I just know that both will be too big and really want boots that fit correctly not only for comfort but safety, as well. I'm also thinking of getting the some bootfoot waders for winter but of course you can't get a studded bootfoot version and i don't feel like lacing up the corkers everything...Whats anyone else doing whose had this problem?

 

[JF_]

I have Simms studded aquastealth and they really work well when wading. never used non-studded, but I'd think they may not be as good as felt.

 

[whheff]

Thanks to all for your input. I checked the Orvis site but they did not have my size on the sale boots. I will check out the Simms and I also want to see the Chota's. I hope the have some at the Summerset show in a couple of weeks.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Bill - you might want to give LL Bean another look. The boots the other posters were complaining about from the Bean are no longer made. The new boots are a very different animal. I own 6 pairs of wading boots:

Simms Guides - studded felt
Patagonia Beefy Wading boots - studded felt
Cabelas Ultralights - felt
Weinbrenners - studded felt
LL Bean Rivertreads - studded aquastealth
LL Bean Rivertreads- unstudded aquastealth

Of all these boots, the LL Bean boots are by far my favorites. The Simms shrink when dry. The Patagonias were my favorites until I tried the Bean boots. Weinbrenners - Herman Munster can keep them. My Cabelas boots are surprisingly good, but not a lot of support.

The Bean boots are built like tanks. They show little sign of wear even though they're all I've used for the past two years. I prefer the studded aquastealth over felt and studded felt for traction. No sheetmetal screws - these are carbide studs like you find on studded snow tires. I rotate the studded ones with the plain aquastealth pair, and for all but the nastiest wading conditions, the unstudded aquastealths work surprisingly well. I've had exactly one fall while wearing the studded aquastealth, and it was at the Steelhead Jam. I slipped on a muddy bank covered with leaves and landed on my butt.
I'll never buy a felt soled boot again.

LL Bean had some sizing issues, and two years ago, you had to buy a boot a size bigger than your normal size. They've finally fixed that issue, and if you buy a pair, try them and don't like them, they'll gladly refund your money - at any time - no time limit. No one stands behind their products like LL Bean.

 

[skiltonian]

For the record - I'm certainly not saying Beans boots aren't good -
Thanks for setting the record straight HA. To further support LL bean - for what you are gertting your can't beat their prices. Probably best bang for the buck on wading boots.

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear skilltonian,

Because I quoted your post initially I figure I need to respond.

I do like my LL Bean boots, my seconding of your comments about the "shrinkage" apply to almost all of the wading boots made today. It's a function of the materials they make them with.

My brother in Colorado keeps his Simms Guide boots in a cooler full of slop water because otherwise he'd never be able to put them on.

Ed knocked the "Herman Munster" boots above and I will agree that they are almost unbearably heavy, but they always slide right on your foot. I have a pair of Simms Freestones that I feel the same way about. They are heavy as concrete, but they always fit nicely.

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[MattBoyer]

The new Bean catalog has a boot called "River Treads" that are studded or unstudded rubber soles and are designed to minimize transportation of aquatic invasives. Finally someone makes studded rubber boots. I may have to give these a try.

Boyer

 

[Heritage-Angler]

MattBoyer wrote:
The new Bean catalog has a boot called "River Treads" that are studded or unstudded rubber soles and are designed to minimize transportation of aquatic invasives. Finally someone makes studded rubber boots. I may have to give these a try.

Boyer

Matt - LL Bean was the first to offer a sticky rubber soled wading boot years ago. They've had studded versions all along. I've had them for three years, and prefer them to my felt soled boots. It takes a bit to get used to the characteristics of them, but once you do, I think they're more predictable, grip wise, than felt or studded felt.

The catalog still lists the West Branch boot as available with felt soles, but I suspect they're just left over from last year. They don't sell any felt soled boots online except bootfoot waders. Going, going, gone.....

 

[wetnet]

Cloudveil made a great rubber soled boot. I don't know why they changed it. Last year we got a newer version and they changed the dot pattern and I never watched my son drink more water. We called a shop out West and found a left over older model in his size. They are super! Sometimes change is not good.

 

[maxima12]

i am an older guy, are the felts not friendly to the enviroment. i have felts, and are the only thing that keeps me steady wading. had cleats way back. found them to be slippery when crawling around the canyons.

i have had those good boots but the way i fish i always seem to tear them up. it usually is only a couple times out and i am leaky. and also i always go over my boots.

i have been seen numerous times in a suit, tie and wing tips. in the middle of the stream fishing. that is a true story. just something about fishing that i love. like i said i am older. chest deep is too much anymore. and a lot of money for boots. guess i wll never know what it is to be dry.

maxima

p s i don't have any boots, i threw them away. one leg soaked and the other wet. get out of the water and have to grab a tree and lift my legs like a ballet dancer. the old boys laugh. but they have been laughing for years. gives us a topic.

 

[wetnet]

OK,

It would take me a year to figure out your whole message but......

I believe that first and foremost should come safety. If you need to wear felts to be steady, wear them. I wear felts with studs all year long.

If anyone wants to tell me I shouldn't, I'd ask them the last time they broke their back?

The next is if you need to wear them be responsible and clean and dry them. The same with your waders...Why doesn't this come up? Your dog? Clean your gear and don't get hurt on the stream. No one wants to see anyone get injured. Stay safe.

 

[JackM]

I am with wetnet. No need to lose your felts if you take care to clean and dry them and don't walk into a didymo stream and then enter a non-infested one if there is any chance that the algae can still be alive. There are tons of places on the Interweb to learn good didymo-sterilization practices.

I used felts from the start 9-10 years ago. I never tried studs. Now that I have tried studs, I believe that a studded rubber sole would be preferable to my felts alone. I only wish that someone will come out with a rubber studded replacement sole. I would gladly strip the remaining felt on my boots and mount a rubber-studded sole instead.

Has any one seen such a replacement tread? If so, can you shoot me a link?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

wetnet wrote:
I wear felts with studs all year long.

What do you wear when you're not fishing with us? ;-)

 

[Maurice]

Jack,

I wonder how something like this would work...12" x 12" sheet of 1/8" for a little over $20. Could get a pair of boots out of it. Drive trimmed off roofing nails through it for studs and use maring goop to cement it.

I have Korkers so I can just buy new soles for $30 or so....I think $39 with studs. But at this point, the tops are wearing out. I am beginning to lean toward buying junk every year and replacing it.

 

[JackM]

Maurice, after going through a pair of boots a year buying the lightweight ones, I splurged and crested the $50 mark with a pair of Simms Freestones off e-Bay. The uppers have lasted well over a year and now the felts are a little worn, but the uppers are perfect. I am sure if I re-soled them, I can get another year or two out of them, maybe three. If the boot manufacturers are really concerned about the spread of invasives instead of just wanting everyone to replace their boots, they'd be making the replacement aquastealth or rubber sole.