I would like to replace the felts on my wading boots. I have found some info out there but would like to know who makes the best replacement soles for the money? Chota, Hodgman, Cabelas? Also, I would like to put studs in these. I see simms offers studs for $20 but wonder if there is a cheaper option that will work as well? I appreciate any input and recommendations on this. Thank you
I think the chota soles have been around the longest, but the important thing is how they’re put on. If you have a shoe repairman or saddle shop that can grind down the old sole, then use barge cement(google for the way to use it) to put on the new soles, and use duct tape to hold them on till it dries. The Simms studs are made with carbide in the “working” area, and will last much longer than the sheet metal screws.
Korkers offers a studded felt sole replacement kit for $25.99 (link below)
http://korkers.com/catalog/product/view/id/256/s/studded-felt-re-sole-kit/category/8/?SID=2b4ff576b2df9187158ffd6197a29aec
I did the replacement on my boots in the fall of '07 and have gotten two good seasons of use out of them without a problem. This was my first experience at re-felting and my first time with studded soles and I would NOT go back to plain felt.
The key to refelting is to get ALL the old material off the soles of your boots. After peeling off what I could I took the belt sander to the bottoms and ground it down to fresh rubber over the entire sole. Next follow the directions on the barge cement VERY CAREFULLY and you should be fine. Coat both the sole and the felt completely and let it dry thoroughly, I think it may require a second coat (check the directions) once both surfaces are completely dry carefully position the felts on the soles of the boots and press down. Then take a hammer and hammer down the felts over the entire surface of the boot sole. AFTER they sit for an hour or so take a VERY SHARP knife and trim the felts to match the sole of the boot.
Good Luck
I have not had to replace the felt on my boots. But I did add studs. I just bought a bag of Simms and screwed them into the felt and I have not had any problems. I even have taken them out and screwed them back in.
I switched to Korkers so I can change felt out with studded felt when I needed to. So far, no problems and changing the soles is easy once you do it a few times. Plus the entire replacement sole is only $20 and you just pop it in. Way better than when I was gluing, cutting, and re-gluing my old guide boots.
Thanks everyone for your input. The Korkers look good and I will probably go with them. I got to give this a shot, after contacting Patagonia to resole these for me they recommended me sending them to a shop in Colorado. Between shipping and the cost for the service it’s worth my time to do this myself.
The Cabela’s I bought were not worth a tinker’s damn. Plus, I needed to buy more cement than what was provided.
In addition, I figured out that by the time I had worn out the original felt, the internal “structure” of the boot (Orvis) had gone south. I won’t bother with the hassle again.
Buy the best bed and wading shoes you can afford–if you’re not in one you should be in the other.
I attempted the re-sole of my Chotas once with the glue -ons from Dicks. I should have deduced by the price , $20 original reduced to $4. Absolutely worthless product and procedure. Getting the old worn out soles off was where I gave up. Probably spent $6 in gas to return this junk. Now if the soles wear off, I buy new shoes.
Mark
You guys are making me think twice about this. Shame of it is these are good shoes and very comfortable, I hate to give up on them. They are Patagonia riverwalkers, maybe not the best but I really like them. They are a year old with alot of miles on them and the rest of the shoe is in great shape other than the felt. I have read some success stories and some failures on felt sole replacement but figured it has to be possible to do at home. What do you guys consider the best wading shoes out there? I have heard alot of good things about Korkers, any others that make the top of the list? Thanks
Nautilus,
If you like the shoes and they are comfy and such, try it. Where people mess up with contact cements is that they don’t take the time to get the surfaces to be joined CLEAN. ALL of the old cement and sole must be removed.
For Barge, use 2 coats of cement, letting each dry the recommended times. Yes, this means you have to read the instructions. Put a piece of waxed paper between the two surfaces that you are wanting to stick together, align and slowly remove the paper as you stick things together. Now put something inside the shoe to support the sole and, using a rubber mallet, dead-blow hammer, or something besides a steel hammer, beat the heck out of the sole to stick every square millimeter down. They are ready to go.
It isn’t tough to do and if you follow the instructions, it will work.
Remember… CLEAN
I have replaced the felts on several pair of boots and found it to be a fairly simple job. I have also removed and reinstalled felts to replace worn or damaged studs.
If the old soles are glued on the easiest way to get them off is with heat. I lay the old shoes in front of a small space heater with the soles facing the air flow. I wait for heat to penetrate the felts, 45 minutes or so, and they peel of quite easily. I use a heat gun aimed at the glue line if they resist any. Use the heat gun and a putty knife to remove any residue thats left.
The tube of adhesive supplied with most kits is too small for the job. Purchase some good quality contact cement like ‘Plio-bond’ or ‘Barge Cement’ at the hardware store. While your there pick up a 1" disposable paint brush, the little brush in the cap is inadequate for the job.
Brush a thin coat of the cement on the soles and let it dry overnight to seal the porus felt, sometime it takes 2 coats. Then brush a thin coat on both the boot sole and the felt. Let it dry to the touch and press both the glued surfaces together firmly for an instant bond. Use a rubber mallet or hammer to insure a solid firm contact. No need to clamp or use duct tape if you follow the directions on the can, that’s why we are using ‘contact cement’ (for the instant bond on contact.) Trim the soles to size after they are attached, its too hard to line things up if you trim them ahead of time.
I’ve used Cabelas brand soles without problems, also the ones from Chota.
Thanks everyone for their replies and input. I ran into a bit of a problem the other day after deciding to do this on my own. My felts are stitched on and I didnt notice it until I tried to remove the old felts. I dont want to proceed any furthur with this and will hopefully find someone locally that can replace these for me. Thanks again
I’ve put new felts right over old ones …but then I use screws along with glue…