I recently received a "News Release" from Korkers regarding their filing for an additional patent on their soles to cover 'improvements.' I'm wondering if the new improvements are being used - or held until the patent is pending or accepted. Hmmmm?
I recently received a "News Release" from Korkers regarding their filing for an additional patent on their soles to cover 'improvements.' I'm wondering if the new improvements are being used - or held until the patent is pending or accepted. Hmmmm?
I got replacement soles from Korker - they have some left, though not all. And a better price than originally.
For what it's worth, I've worn a pair of Korkers wading boots for three years, and really abused them. From the beginning, I made sure to attach the soles properly, and never once have I ever had a single problem with the soles coming off, sliding around, or getting dislodged. They've been tough, long lasting, provided great traction, and, when I wanted them to, I was able to remove the soles without much fuss. I've used them in stream bottoms ranging from sand, silt, mud, and moss covered rocks, to gravel, boulders, flat sheets of shale, and jagged rocks, and they've always been 100% for me, never causing the slightest problem.
The only reason I'm looking to replace them is because, after three years of being worn hard and put away wet...spending entire years in the trunk of my car, the material on the upper is starting to wear out. Some cracks are appearing in the rubber, the brown fabric has worn down, and the laces are starting to go. The laces are probably actually my biggest gripe with them, as they need to be retied after an hour or so of fishing (they absorb water, then work loose...a single re-tie secures them while wet, and they're good till you're done fishing thereafter). I'm looking for the new boa system to cure that.
I've used the trail lug soles, flat felt soles,sticky rubber soles and studded felt. In my experience with these soles, they're just like other wading boots in terms of traction: in the water, if you don't want to slip and slide, get some felt under you.
I owned a pair of the original design. The idea was novel but all in all did not work very well. In 2 or 3 years I gave up and did not replace the with generation 2 Korkers. I am much happier without them.
David
There's a lot of "operator error" with Korkers. People can't, or won't, follow instructions. I have ZERO complaints with either of my pairs of Korkers wading boots, and I have a pretty large number of professional and hard core amateur angler friends who have worn Korkers for years and swear by them, too. I watch how "the average angler" treats his/her gear...especially things like waders and boots...and it comes as no surprise to me that a certain percentage of folks think the soles fall off of Korkers, that they're too hard to change, etc. LOL I'll bet half the folks wearing Korkers don't even know where their sole tool is.Originally Posted by Featherbender
Yep, gotta be operator error. I will tell my buddy that he is too careless, lazy, or stupid to know how to follow the instructions. I mean, even sitting in a chair in the shop he must have got it wrong, with two other people watching him. Oh, yeah, and the fly shop guy too. So many idiots!
My korker outfitters shrank to the point I couldn't wear them. Must have been operator error also. Yes, I kept them wet. Toward the end, I kept them in a bucket of water. Sold them on CL and am happy with my Simms guides.
DG, I'm not saying every unsatisfied customer isn't using the boots properly or treating them right. Every good company with great products has a "lemon ratio." You can find dissatisfied customers for anything. But I have seen a couple of things with Korkers and helped folks fix their dissatisfaction, myself..."in the field." A lot of what y'all get in CO (and in places like MT, WY, ID) is the "tourist angler" who buys a new pair of boots and waders pretty much just for that trip out West. Korkers with OmniTrax soles come with the lug soles installed. So they change out to the felt, studded felt, that new soft rubber stuff, or the studded version of that. And if they don't pay attention and use the key in the right spots, they won't get them seated properly. Do you really think the typical shop employee takes the time to teach every buyer to change the soles properly? I think we all know better! Don't get me started on fly shop employees. FEW of them know squat about their merchandise anymore.
Last edited by flyguy66; 04-26-2011 at 09:15 PM.
I could be wrong but I believe the newest version of the Korkers, OmniTrax 3.0 does NOT require a tool. That may eliminate operator error or absolve lazy fly shop employees of the blame for the problems described by DG as he was describing a problem with the NEW shoe.
Actually, that's a good point. I can't speak to the 2011 line of Korkers boots led by the Korkers Chrome. I wear Korkers Guide boots and Ultralights, both from their 2010 line. I'm also pretty familiar with the prior few years' models, including the Outfitter model. I do know that the Outfitters didn't require a tool and some folks felt the soles didn't stay seated properly and/or were hard to attach. Those boots did shrink, too. They were leather. You had to wet them before putting them on. And if they dried out on your feet they'd start to bind and you had to get them wet again. I also had that problem out West with my old Chotas and Simms leather boots. I have had none of those negatives with the Korkers Guides and love the BOA lacing system. The greatest value I've personally found in interchangeable soles is for hike-in fishing: lug soles on the trail and wading soles while fishing. Saves having to haul an extra pair of boots...which is a big deal. If they've returned to a "keyless" sole changing system, it wouldn't surprise me if they're having some issues. The way the soles attached in the 2010 line was more work, but it worked. There's a very high premium these days on "ease of use." And sometimes "easier" just doesn't equal "better" no matter how hard you try to engineer it to be that way.
I'll talk to the guys out at Korkers and get their take on this and report back to y'all here. I truly didn't realize they had changed the sole attachment for 2011.
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