I have seen a lot of info lately on the migration away from felt soles due to the transmission of micro-organisms that they permit. I haven't seen any mention of the pros and cons of convertible boots for the same problems. Is there any issue with all of the nooks and crannies that might carry things along? I'm curious, I own a pair a of Korkers and I'm debating whether to invest in additional soles or moving to a new boot. Any opinions here as to which would be better for the environment?
I have yet to see a wading shoe without nooks & crannies. Remember microorganisms are just that, MICRO.
Just about every wading shoe I've seen has fabric covered or Neoprene insoles, padded collars, mesh or perforated drain areas, leather areas, laces, honeycombed mid-soles and numerous other areas where fugies can hide. It's one of the reasons eliminating just the felt doesn't alleviate the responsibility to thoroughly clean and dry the entire shoe along with your waders. Studies have shown that the Neoprene booties on waders can harbor just as many microscopic organisms as felt. It's just easier to clean and dries faster.
All things being equal and factoring in the competition, I'd say no wading shoe out there is or ever will be 100% hitchhiker-proof.
One big advantage with Korkers is you at least have three sole options in one great shoe that aren't felt, any one of which may offer the best traction depending on conditions.
Not breaking you neck has certain advantages too!
Personally I've never understood this argument. Sounds too much like 'nothing's a sure thing, so why we should bother trying?' I tend to consider it more a matter of probabilities. Felt has a higher probability of transferring invasive than Aqua Stealth does, all else being equal, therefore Aqua Stealth is the better choice. Yes, the probability of transference is still undoubtedly higher than zero, but with better equipment and conscientious equipment cleaning/rotation, the research shows that there is an observable difference. Granted that latter is in very short supply, which is probably much more problematic.Originally Posted by Bamboozle
Getting back to the original question, I personally don't think there's much difference between hiking soles and plain Aqua Stealth. Both would serve equally well in light wading situations, but if you are dealing with a lot of rocks or a mossy bottom, you have to have studs in the Aqua Stealth for there to be any difference. With studs, I haven't faced a situation in the west yet that my studded Aqua Stealth boots couldn't handle.
I totally agree. With the studs, they work great. Without them, they're pretty much useless. I like the studded version not only for stream bottoms but also snow and mud. It doesn't build up on them.
The question and my response had nothing to do with felt; it had to do with nooks & crannies and the OTHER materials on the shoe that can harbor microorganisms.
Besides I've decided to take the 100% approach and put my money where my mouth is; I WON'T fish where there is rock snot PERIOD because I KNOW anything else is NOT 100% no matter how much folks want to believe it and only 100% will ultimately make a difference.
A laudable strategy similiar to the one I've decided to follow myself, but we are deluding ourselves if we think this strategy is 100%. At the risk of belaboring the point, there is no reason to believe that any of the "safe" water you choose to fish is not also contaminated. In the west, whirling disease and NZMS are in more waters than have been reported for a host of reasons. Part of it is that stakeholders are reluctant to advertise that their waters are contaminiated, but probably the overarching reason is a complete survey has never been done. Furthermore, there can be some debate about if such as survey could ever be done, because a body of water could be contaminated by an invasive at any time, before, during, or after any survey.
So unless you are prepared to give up wading completely -- again not 100% effective because even a fly line might serve as a vector but closest to 100% I can conceptualize and still fish -- then one must take every precaution possible to reduce the probability that you as an individual are serving as a vector for contamination. I would argue that this must include using equipment that can be cleaned effectively and properly decontaminating that equipment after fishing each water. Yes, I realize this is a horrendously fatalistic view of the problem, but modern transportation has only made the problem worse and angler awareness is still woefully inadequate.
I have a pair of Korkers' Guides. The aquastealth soles (without studs) work great on snot-covered rocks and steep, slippery clay-mud banks. In fact, I think the aquastealth soles work better on slippery surfaces than the studded felt boots I previously wore. I fell a few times with my old studded felt boots on the slick clay-mud banks in the area where I currently live. I have not had any problems on those surfaces with the aquastealth. I have not had any need to purchase the studded soles.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote