wading with rubber bottom boots
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I’ll be making my trip to the Madison river this fall and was there 6 years ago when I first purchased my simms rubber bottom wading boots. They are really starting to show their wear and was wondering if I should opt for a new pair of wading boots, get the simms re-soled or just buy a pair of crampons or yaktrax stream trekkers. I was looking at the Korkers and maybe going that direction if I purchase new. Any input would be great. Having waded the madison previously without felt and just plain rubber bottom soles was an accident waiting to happen.
Eric
Eric, I wet wade with Simms RipRap shoe (rubber vibram soles) in the Firehole, Madison and Gibbon in the park without any issues. They also work fine on the Big Hole, Yellowstone and lower end of the Upper Madison. From a traction standpoint they are great. However most of the upper Madison in Montana has those large, bowling ball size rocks that are not only slippery but very hard to walk on. My rip rap shoes don’t provide the ankle support you need on that kind of rock.
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Mike,
I only had issues with them on the upper madison, added the carbide inserts and they were fine. The soles of these boots need replaced, the uppers are fine. I figured I could always replace the soles, get some alum bites screws in for the upper madison and be good with it. I was really interested in the patagonia Crampons or the yaktrax stream trekkers which are 1/10 the cost of the patagonia crampons.E
I have the Simms rubber soles and put the studs in them right away. I really like them and have had them for 4-5 years. If the the uppers and the insides are in good condition I would resole them and save a few $$ and either stud them or get the yaktrax or crampons. I hike a lot in my fishing and will need to get new when these wear out. I like the rubber soles over felt in the winter as the snow sticks to the felt and freezes and you have to keep knocking it off every 100 feet.
IMHO, plain rubber soles are not very good.
I have Simms star cleats on guide boots and they were very good in NZ last spring.
The only thing they don’t stick to is some bedrock like Basalt, though with care I wouldn’t even call that particularly dangerous..
Felt would have been better, but is banned there.
On the bank, the cleats/rubber were much better than felt.
In a 2 week trip with lots of hoof work, the cleats near my toes and heals showed the most wear, but would do another trip.www.dsaphoto.com
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I bought the updated G4 Guide boots with rubber soles that came out this year. I haven‘t put studs in the boots yet, and havent found that I really need to. The soles are now a softer rubber compound compared to the previous versions, so they grip a bit better. Thats not to say that all rocks are sticky, I have encountered some slippery ones for sure. But I haven‘t taken a dunk yet.
I‘ve talked to several guys in fly shops that sell Korkers, and they all didnt recommend them. A few have stopped carrying them because they had so many pairs returned due to defects.
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