Vibram or felt sole..?

Zak said:
During the brief period when Vermont banned felt soles, I went down hard several times because my "sticky" rubber soles were so slippery on wet rocks.
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My first experience years ago with the “sticky rubber” soles were boots from LLBean. Took them on a trip to the Deschutes and thought I was going to drown! They went in the garbage when I got home. I mostly use felt, but also like the Korkers studded soles, both rubber and felt. I have the lightweight plastic floor mats Clackacraft sells in my drift boat and lightweight carpeting in my motor boat when wade fishing. The Korkers aluminum bars are good as well but are noisy. They also are slick on the dock and in our garage.
 
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Maybe it's not the most ecologically sound choice, but felt is the only material I trust in most of the rivers I fish. Glacial rivers are fine for rubber soles (even without studs in some cases), but freestones and tailwaters call for felt. I have found studs do not always improve felt; indeed, they sometimes become a slipping hazard on big, slippery rocks (or ice, but I guess not much is great on ice). I'm sure the aluminum bars improve grip, but I think they would add more weight than I like, and as others have mentioned, they are loud.

I think the only reason to have anything besides felt (where I fish; I don't deal with much snow) is to avoid running afoul of local regulations. If I am allowed, I'm generally wearing felt. I've noticed you don't hear much about whirling disease and the like these days, so I also think some of the concerns around felt spreading parasites and disease may have been somewhat overblown (at least I hope so). Still, I take steps to prevent spreading stuff between streams (rinsing and drying my boots after each outing, for example).
 
Nothing will beat felt in rivers IMO. That said, it’s not great for hiking in, ice and snow or where prohibited by regulation. Rubber with studs or bars in the next best thing. Bare rubber is close to useless unless you are in a boat where felt is prohibited. Have both on hand if you can.

One thing I never did until last year is use a wading staff. I’ve been fishing rivers going back to the 80’s as a kid and never used one. Pride probably. That thing that gets a lot of men in trouble. They are useful though, especially if not using felt. Add that to your wading gear too if you have not already.
 
jasmillo said:
Nothing will beat felt in rivers IMO. That said, it’s not great for hiking in, ice and snow or where prohibited by regulation. Rubber with studs or bars in the next best thing. Bare rubber is close to useless unless you are in a boat where felt is prohibited. Have both on hand if you can.

One thing I never did until last year is use a wading staff. I’ve been fishing rivers going back to the 80’s as a kid and never used one. Pride probably. That thing that gets a lot of men in trouble. They are useful though, especially if not using felt. Add that to your wading gear too if you have not already.
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Pride holds us back often. Age teaches us we are not invincible. I started using a wading staff 3 years ago. More confident but still careful to not go to extremes.
Studded felt
 
Vibram with studs because 99% of my fishing is walk/wade. Studded rubber is the best compromise you can do if you are walking and wading. It's not the best, but not total disaster, either.

If I had a raft/boat, I'd probably wear a pair of studded felt soles because they are superior in the water.
 
I too am a wade fisherman that has arrived at vibram with a mix of carbide studs, and aluminum stars. Almost as good as studded felt in the water, and better for walking on land.
If using my Korkers I will usually walk in straight rubber, and put on studded felt for wading.
 
I fish some rivers where when wearing only felt soles the rocks May as well be coated in grease. I’ve since switched to vibrant with carbide studs and they are the best things going. Those carbides just bite into everything. I guess that’s why rock drill bits have carbide inserts too. Also I find that the vibrams do less damage to the life covering the bottom. I’ve seen where I’ve scared the bottom with my felt soles still visible the next year.
 
Westcoast said:
I fish some rivers where when wearing only felt soles the rocks May as well be coated in grease. I’ve since switched to vibrant with carbide studs and they are the best things going. Those carbides just bite into everything. I guess that’s why rock drill bits have carbide inserts too. Also I find that the vibrams do less damage to the life covering the bottom. I’ve seen where I’ve scared the bottom with my felt soles still visible the next year.
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Felt scarred the bottom! Wow, I’ve never seen that. What kind of bottom? Hard to see where carbide biting into the rocks like a drill bit is less impactful than felt but I’m curious about your experience.
 
Matt B said:
Felt scarred the bottom! Wow, I’ve never seen that. What kind of bottom? Hard to see where carbide biting into the rocks like a drill bit is less impactful than felt but I’m curious about your experience.
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The rocks and bedrock of the bottom has a thick coating of algae and growth. The felt soles tend to smear it off the rock as it grips to the felt Yet the rubber soles just slide right over and the spikes make an imperceptible scratch. I’ll have to take some pics next time I’m there.
 
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