Hiking in Felt Soles

speedbird

speedbird

Life of the Party
Considering purchasing a pair of felt soles. After a few close calls while wading (Almost got swept away trying to get on a fish trap I was working tops the list as the scariest) I've become a very anxious river wader, and having more traction on slipper rocks would definitely help me feel more confident. My buddy swears by felt, but I am concerned by the traction I will lose while getting to spots. I can think of lots of spots I like to fish that require steep hikes to access, and the thought of walking in with a shoe with no tread is...not great. Does not help that I am 6'4 with very poor balance. For those of you that use felt soles, do you have a separate pair of shoes for accessing steeper fishing spots? Does felt provide any sort of traction on inclines? How good of an alternative are studs?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zak
I've been working the water I fish for 30 years, steep brushy banks with smaller algee covered cobbles, so this relates to the terrain and slippery river bottom I encounter.
For years as a surveyor we did flood plain and restoration work. Whites with vibram are awesome on shore, but when cross sectioning in stream they suck. Rubber boot foot waders were worse. Fishing, I like felt in stream, always confident. Felts fine on trail, scree it is about the same as rubber, but felt is slick on dead grass, leaves, and especially in the snow.
Gonna be trade offs. I prefer felt because I like in stream traction and can find a way on land.
I have Korkers so for a long walk like s. frk. I'll use the rubber sole then put the felts on when I get upstream but really I don't use them often, just hike in the felt and buy new felt every two years. The extra soles get heavy in the back of my vest. Tried the Korker rubber with studs and didn't care for the footing. Haven't tried felt and studs.
 
Last edited:
I too have Korkers and love easy switch out. Felt with metal studs rock on mossy rocks and crossing g downed timber in western wa streams, but absolutely suck on bare boulders when fishing saltwater beaches. Hiking up steep grassy or hard pace dirt sketchy with felt
 
I've never owned or tried Korkers with their interchangeable soles but this system does seem like it's an answer to hiking in and fishing.

Regarding walking in felt soles - @Tom Butler says no in snow, me too. If you wade, get your felts wet and walk in snow you may encounter what I once did: I got taller as snow stuck to the felts until some of that crust broke off and then I had one leg longer than the other. Not fun. Wet grass or rocks and felts: a fall waiting to happen. A rock slope and felts: A deep bone bruise on your elbow if you manage to save your fly rod.

A number of years ago I followed a friend into a lake, he lashed his float tube to a backpack frame with his waders, boots and fins stuffed into the backpack. Genius for float tubing: saves wear and tear on your wader booties, you can dress appropriately, with good hiking boots, and perhaps not get all sweaty when you get lakeside and the water is 40°F. The backpack thing may not be a solution for you since your inquiry is about wading rivers.

Good luck. / iPad Dulique

Ps. A wading staff is a good thing; I always used a folding staff when I used to wade rivers for steelhead.
 
Old406Kid said:
I find that my Korkers with the rubber soles that have aluminum bars are pretty good all around.
View attachment 161901
Click to expand...

I use the korkers too and that sole is the best all around but heavy to hike in. It's good on trails and really good in water. It works well on mossy rocks because the aluminum cuts through. Felt great on rocks but not on mossy rocks. Wading staff! Don't leave home without it.
 
Another Korkers fan here. But some things to be aware of. The aluminum bars or hex studs don’t work on some types of rocks. In northern ID the aluminum just seems to slide and slide and I fall. The felt on the other hand provides much better traction. Here in OR the aluminum works great in most rivers. I just change soles based on where I’m fishing. Have found felt to be less grippy when heading up/down steep slopes with lots of gravel/rocks. Use my wading staff all the time for the extra stability in/out of the water.
 
I got a pair of Korkers back in 2010 thinking I'd save money by replacing the soles when they wore out, but the boots themselves wore out before the soles did. It was the most basic pair they had at the time, so maybe their higher end ones would last longer. Are they making a better boot now than they were 15 years ago?
 
Like others say, felt and wading staff.
Korkers would be nice, except they don’t come in a wide size so never bothered considering them.
 
I'm a large dude (6'3 and change, 280) and I wear korkers felt and recently upgraded to the felt/studs combo. They are like glue on slick rocks. Every step sticks, where with felt there was wiggle and with rubber I need to brace against a rock to not get pushed downstream.

For walking in, what everyone else is saying is true. My biggest struggle is wet leaves on steep ground. I'm not sure theres a sole that keeps wet leaves from sliding out from underneath you, but felt definitely ain't it.

Mud isn't great either, definitely more sliding than in rubber soles. Snow/ice buildup is absolutely a thing as well.

All that said, I rarely ever use a hike in boot. Only on a couple mile plus walkins over muddy ground, otherwise the weight/hassle of extra boots isnt worth it for me. I've considered bringing extra soles, but havent for the same reason.

My rule as a big boy in felt is to go slowly downhill in all scenarios, so as to avoid an unplanned rapid descent to the bottom. Small steps when not on rock, but I can damn near run across the river. I've found that tradeoff well worth it.
 
Have hiked many hundreds of miles in felt sole boots (longest hike 12 miles round trip) and after more than 50 years of that sort of travel they still remain my choice. On longer treks I would remove my waders, (stuffed into a day pack) and use my wading boots as hiking boots (saving weight) adding thicker socks for the dry land travel. During the summer with minimal stream time, I would frequently wade wet

For the past 40 years I hike with a folding staff and deploy it whenever I encounter ground that may be slippery (whether in the water or on land). The only exception was in the snow (generally avoid those conditions now). In extreme cold while pausing to study the water I once froze my felt to a larger boulder - not a great experience.
 
North Umpqua river rat here. Nothing but felt with cleats for me. Falling down on land is usually way better than falling in the water. The aforementioned provisos apply: significant snowfall (rare around here) and or long treks (say > 5mi) might require wearing different shoes for the approach.
 
I agree that there is no single perfect solution for both wading and hiking. I haven't tried Korkers because from observation I'm not convinced that the detachable soles will stay attached when most needed. The combination of felt soles and studs work best for me for wading. Sometimes they are not great for hiking, but usually work fine with the exception of wet leaves and snow and mud as noted above. Just be careful when you have to. I also carry a wading staff since I don't seem to be getting any younger. Even when I was young, I would look around and find a stick to use as a staff for the more dangerous river crossings. Just like all aspects of our gear, wading gear is a system and series of compromises.
 
I use a set of micro spikes for when things get slippery


I keep a pair in my pack. They work great on slippery barnacled rocks or fresh water slime/algae. And they can be taken off so ya don’t rip up a boat floor as studs might.

They’re not cheap when new but depending on your shoe size and karma, they can be found for much less on Craig’sList or the like.

Like anything else, their life depends on usage. I think I got 2 years outa my last pair.

and FYI don’t bother with YakTrax or any brand that has anything other than metal on the sole area….barnacles and sharp rocks cut thru non metal (rubber, zip ties, etc) super easy.

And regarding wading staffs….I drag an old metal cross country ski pole on a bungy. They’re a cheap find at a second hand store, very sturdy, and who cares if ya lose it 👍
 
Last edited:
Salmo_g said:
I agree that there is no single perfect solution for both wading and hiking. I haven't tried Korkers because from observation I'm not convinced that the detachable soles will stay attached when most needed. The combination of felt soles and studs work best for me for wading. Sometimes they are not great for hiking, but usually work fine with the exception of wet leaves and snow and mud as noted above. Just be careful when you have to. I also carry a wading staff since I don't seem to be getting any younger. Even when I was young, I would look around and find a stick to use as a staff for the more dangerous river crossings. Just like all aspects of our gear, wading gear is a system and series of compromises.
Click to expand...
I ended up gluing my last replacement sole on. You gotta take em through some seriously grippy muck to pull em out, but I do and it happens. A dab of superglue and they're bulletproof and still ultimately replaceable if you focus your rage properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top