Hey guys, well my good old Korker convertables finally died on me last fall after a solid 6-7 yrs of use. One of the best wading boots I have owned so now I’m in the market for another pair of Korkers. I see they have changed the design of the way the soles interchange now and have a new system called OmniTrax 3.0
Just wondering if anyone here has korkers with that style sole system now and how you like the way the soles fit, stay on…better or worse than the old sole attachment system?
I’m in the same boat as you! But mine aren’t completely destroyed yet. After this season I’m sure I’ll definitely be buying a pair. I’ve been doing my homework on these and I’m pretty sure about Metalheads but also considering the Redsides. Just a tossup between the Boa laces or standard.
From what I’ve seen and heard from friends with them that they kick butt. The soles cover the entire bottom and the locking system works wonderfully. They definitely stay on better than the old system from the looks of things. I almost broke down and bought a pair a few months ago, but found a studded felt replacement sole for 5$ and that will last one more season.
Have a pair with the Boa Lace and love them. Heard some had problem with the Boa system bu tI have used them rather hard for going on three years now and no problem. Both fishing and duck hunting so they got a decent work out and performed well. I like them so much I bought another similiar pair of boots to store so when mine do bite the dust I will have them for replacement in case similiar is no longer made. Tried to do same with pair of Rocky hunting boots but they stopped making the model I wanted before I acted. Like someone said. If you find something you really like get a lifetime supply before they either improve or discontinue it.
I just got back from a trip to MT with a fishing buddy. He had the new Korkers. He had one sole that would not stay attached, and he had to take off his boots a couple times per day to reattach them. In one day of wearing the studded felt soles, he lost a stud from BOTH of them. He took his boots back to get a new pair (and a new pair of studded felt soles), and NONE of the ones he tried in the shop had soles that would completely attach properly. He asked for his $ back.
So… I aint going to buy any. The concept is great, but the engineering needs work.
Edit: I forgot to mention that I routinely find the old style Korker’s soles as streamside trash, presumably from someone losing them upstream somewhere. Also, when I was in Sportsman’s Warehouse the other day, they had a big rack of the old style soles on clearance, so if anyone needs replacements before they vanish, try there.
The whole Korker sole swapping concept seems to be a work in progress. Why is the attachment method of each NEW version completely different from the one that preceded it? I’m guessing because it doesn’t work all the time or fails over time as the shoe wears and gets broken in.
The first generation which I own, suffered from soles that popped out and lack of full coverage of the sole. The second generation addressed the sole popping out but not the lack of coverage, the third, (or is it the 4th?) has addressed the sole coverage issue, although there is STILL a large area of the permanent sole with rubber on it at the TIP of the bottom of the shoe. If you wade where rocks are everywhere and try moving by getting a toe hold on a rock, you will quickly find out why having that rubber at the tip of the sole isn’t so great a design. Wading perfectly flat footed isn’t the answer either, at least not where I fish!
I’m sure there will be other issues with the latest system once they get a year or so of service under their belt. One thing I discovered with my Korker’s is as the shoes get soaked, ESPECIALLY when wearing them on consecutive days without drying out, the fit of the swappable soles was noticeably looser. I don’t know if it is because of a lack of support from the wet leather and other materials or the rubber midsole absorbing water but regardless, the fit is WAY sloppier on a wet pair. I’m the betting new version with soles that extend to the edge with a gimmicky attachment method will get pulled off on extremely rocky bottoms where your shoe can get wedged repeatedly in tight spots. Trust me, if you can take these NEW, REDESIGNED soles off without a tool, I’m sure some crafty rock will figure out a way to get them to come off as well!
Keep in mind the first generation of Korker’s boasted soles that stayed on and for the most part with careful wading they did…
…but at some streams they didn’t! I also think sand, grit, dirt or debris will eventually get wedged under the gaps at the edges of the NEW sole forcing another complete redesign in the next few years. I’ll betcha a beer on that one!
On my pair of the first generation Korker’s I modified them and resolved the sole popping out issue but I am very disappointed in the durability of the shoe. I bought the top of the line shoe and the leather has cracked and split, especially at the welt. The rubber toe cap and molded shoe bottom has also de-laminated in several spots. I should add that I take VERY good care of my wading shoes and own more than a few pairs with leather which I clean and dress and none of them has deteriorated so quickly. While I realize I am NOT talking about the latest version of the Korker’s which don’t appear to be leather, the construction of the shoe is similar so the falling apart issue has given me enough reason to wait another few generations before I decide if I would even consider another pair.
Besides, I almost never found the need to swap soles on the go. I usually decided ahead of time what would work best, (which in almost every case was studded felt) and I went with that. I realize with felt bans, having a rubber option is a good thing but when I factored in the price of the replacement soles, ($25-$35 per) I quickly decided it was better for the resource and my wallet to buy two separate pairs of wading shoes with different bottoms.
After it is all said and done the BIGGEST advantage to the entire system is the ability to easily replace a worn outsole without visiting your local shoemaker or investing in a quart of Barge. Unfortunately in my experience the soles appear to be lasting longer than the shoes!
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?
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.
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.
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.
But mine aren’t completely destroyed yet. After this season I’m sure I’ll definitely be buying a pair. I’ve been doing my homework on these and I’m pretty sure about Metalheads but also considering the Redsides. Just a tossup between the Boa laces or standard.