Has anyone gone through the actual process of having their wading boots resoled from felt to Vibram? I have a pair of Simms Freestone boots with felt soles and am considering having them resoled to the new Vibram Streamtread soles. The boots are only 2 years old and while the felt still seems to be in good shape I’d like to do my part to limit the spread of Didymo and other nasties. Also the cost to resole vs. new boots is about half.
I’ve read bunches of reports and reviews and I know some like the new material and some still like their felt - I’m not looking for reviews of one material to the other, I’m looking for anyone who’s had their boots resoled and how the process worked for you, who you used and if you were happy with the results, workmanship, etc?
The Simms site lists various companies who will do the conversion and I’ve got emails out to them asking for quotes (I also called the ones that had no website) so any suggestions or advice relative to getting the boots converted would be appreciated.
I wouldn’t even bother converting them. First off, Simms loves for people to think that the felt soles are the main way hitchhikers are spread when in actuality it is the insoles, tongue gussets on the boot, and gravel guards that hold the majority of hitchhikers. Tons of articles by independent studies that show this. Sure, felt will hold hitchhikers, but switching to felt does not mean you shouldn’t clean your gear before going from one watershed to another. You need to clean all of your wading gear to keep hitchhikers from spreading. You really don’t get an advantage from Vibram soles other than easier walking on the bank and on gravel. Both felt and vibram boots have to be cleaned the same way, so I say if your felt is still good, just keep it until they wear out, then visit the Vibram alternative if you want.