Most of the vets here know about this, but I discovered (almost the hard way) last summer that going from the water, to sand or light gravel and then to standing on a dry rock is NEVER a good idea. A guide noticed I was wearing felt sole hip boots when we were fishing the Bruneau River (mountain whitefish and wild rainbows) when I stepped out onto some dry sand. He advised me not to step on any of the dry rocks nearby for good reason. With the sand now on the bottom of the felt it creates a non-friction dry surface against the dry rock and you’ll go sliding off.
If I’d have had a cleated felt it might not have been much of an issue but these were straight felt. Just thought I’d pass this along as a reminder. It’s one of those things we don’t think about. A lot of people like me get felt for walking along and over the slick rocks and don’t think about what to do once OUT of the water.
jdubach thats a good heads up on that one, most folks don’t think to much… until… then its to late. I had a friend go with me last Thursday deep in the woods from cell phone range, so I gave him a short class on Chest waders and the no felt boots he had on. He listened and I guess he got brave or Just didn’t totally realize until he was falling down a set of water falls plunging into ice cold water. I was there as he came sliding past me, (did holler my name as he was falling) and by the Grace of God He did not hit his head on the initial fall because of his back pack and made no contact with rocks hitting the water below. I got his gear off of him helped him out then on our way to dry Jeep and cloths at swift pace to prevent hypo. so to me your post is a good idea. How my friend ended up with not a scratch is beyond me, and we had a co worker the same day go bowling and break her leg in 2 places…
Jared, thanks for the heads up. I already knew that, but I’m getting old and need to be reminded from time to time about stuff like that.
Grubb. That’s a scary story with a good ending. Jimsnarocks
I was wading boot tester. I may be wrong but I guess your hip boots had a one piece felt sole like on this pair of Simms. Am I right?
If you have a higher quality boot like this Weinbrenner Borger Boot that has a “stacked” heel made of separate stacked, glued and sewn pieces of felt, the corner of the heel forms and edge that “grabs” onto the surface of a rounded rock and gives you a stable hold on the top of the rock.
I tested wading boots for Weinbrenner and they were thinking of importing cheaper boots with one piece soles, and I fell wearing those boots on rounded rocks. I dinged up my new Ross Evo reel as well. I told them the boots were junk.
The boots even had studs but the stud pattern was wrong and they projected way too far out of the felt. The stud pattern must allow both felt and studs to contact the ground/rocks. That way, when you are on a rock, you are not on just the tips of the studs.
The bottom of the Borger boot shows that the area under the ball of the boot has no stud but as you rock your foot forward, the studs begin to grab. Also notice that on the side view of the boot above, you cannot even see the studs because only the tips project from the boot. As you step on the felt, the felt compresses and the tips of the studs contact the rock and river bottom.
It’s not the felt, it’s the design. You can’t just put a layer of felt on a one piece sole with a rounded elevated one piece heel and expect it to grab the top of a rounded rock. Note that the felt of the Borger boot is not only glued to the welt but sewn to the welt.
Quality boots cost more but if they save a fall, they are worth it. I wish they could make them lighter but these boots last forever. I was a tester for the the prototypes of the Propex (ballistic nylon) boots above. I still have them and they are going on 10 years although the need new studs and soles. The boots are solid and have not blown out the sides or the toes.
Thanks a bundle. I have never used felt soles in all my years of fishing and was totally unaware of this situation. Yesterday my first pair of felt soled wading boots arrived in the mail. I will try to be careful.
Silver Creek, I have a question for you after reading all the great advise, can you add studs to your felt soles and if so what is a best method, what would you use for the studs and how would you secure them from coming out of the felt? I have thought about this in the past since I didn’t purchase a pair of boots with studs in them, I thought maybe I could just use sheet metal screws but what would keep them from coming out.
John, the moral of the story is for me never to decide or assume the out come of anything, cause I never know, I would have thought the two outings would have produced different results, but the final out come is not up to me, or in my control…;):)
I would have thought the one would have been hurt and the other not…
“Life, ya never know”
But I do know felt is better than cleeted rubber down here in these waters…
Anyone who has ever stepped on a wet, steep mud bank with felt soles can also testify that they don’t do well in this medium either. Heels or no heels, studs or no studs your position is space is going to change rapidly. Going up the bank, you are in for a knees and sometimes full face landing that is very likely to snap a fly rod and anything else you have in your hand. Going down the bank, you may have the quickest trip to the water you have ever taken. The landing depends greatly on the steepness of the bank and the athletic ability of the skier. At worst your feet will stop in relatively shallow water and the rest of your body will fall forward into considerably deeper water. A firmly packed trail with no ground cover down to the river can be worse than snow and ice when it’s wet. Don’t ask how I know. 8T
Definitely learned these the hard way. I learned them while hunting, however. Wet leaves are like trying to cross a concrete floor covered in marbles… If you learn how to walk sideways, using only the edge of your shoe, in the least comfortable and most unnatural position, you can do it. But just barely.
Investing in a wading/walking staff has been a GREAT help, as the mud in montana can be tricky at times.
