As snow and ice become a regular occurrence on rivers throughout the winter, wading boot traction becomes a big question for many anglers. Even throughout the summer months, some of our local waters like the Arkansas and Eagle Rivers are notorious for being slick.
Depending on where you fish and when you fish, it helps to know a few things about wading boot traction. What’s the real difference between rubber and felt? When does it make sense to add studs to your wading boots? Here, we’ve compiled some answers to those frequently asked questions…
Felt Versus Rubber Wading Boot Soles
Felt wading boots were the standard for decades. When whirling disease and other invasive species became an issue, felt was seen as a likely place to carry these micro hitchhikers from one watershed to another. So fly fishing companies began putting energy into developing rubber-soled alternatives to felt.
While felt can be a vehicle for spreading invasive species, it has become clear that rubber-soled wading boots aren’t exempt from the issue. The fabric on the boots, the neoprene gravel guards and other nooks and crannies provide plenty of hiding places for dangerous organisms. So before you travel, always rinse and thoroughly dry your gear – no matter which material you’re using.
These days, knowing sole material isn’t the only consideration to hitch hiking micro organisms, anglers have excellent options in both felt and rubber-soled wading boots. Each has its pros and cons. So when does it make sense to choose a rubber sole over a felt sole?
Felt Soled Wading Boots
Felt is still a great choice when wading rocky and gravely freestone rivers. Felt offers anglers excellent grip when standing in rivers with algae-covered rocks. If you spend most of your time standing in the river, or stepping out of a drift boat directly into a rocky-bottomed stream, felt may be a great choice for you. There are even some locations across the world where felt boots are all but required to keep anglers safe in slippery conditions in big water.
The downside of felt is that it isn’t very versatile. If you spend very much time hiking or on dry ground, the smoothness of a felt sole has less of an advantage. On mud and wet grass, felt can be downright slick. And felt is no friend in the snow. Snow sticks to wet felt and before you know it, you’ll be walking with giant snowballs on the bottoms of your feet.
It’s also worth noting that felt is banned in a handful of states including Alaska, as well as in Yellowstone National Park and several Canadian National Parks. If you fish in these locations, you’ll need to bring a rubber-soled boot.
Rubber Soled Wading Boots
While felt has the advantage in those rocky freestone rivers, rubber soles are hard to beat for their versatility. Specific types of Vibram and other rubber compounds have been developed specifically for wading boots. These offer solid traction in the water, but their advantages go well beyond the water. Rubber tread is versatile for hiking on dry ground, through mud, grass and snow. It’s also a good choice when getting in and out of a boat.
If you spend as much time out of the water as you do standing in the streambed, rubber could be the best choice for you. With its grippy tread, it acts much more like a hiking boot or walking shoe than felt. For pure versatility, rubber is a clear winner.
Shop Women’s Wading Boots and Men’s Wading Boots.
Adding Studs to Your Wading Boots
Studs & cleats can be added to felt or rubber-soled wading boots to increase the traction. Studs are available in aluminum and carbide. When does it make sense to use cleats, and which cleats are the right choice?
First, it’s important to know that most anglers or guides with a drift boat or raft aren’t going to let you anywhere near their boat with studs on your boots. Either felt or rubber can be a good choice for a float trip, depending on the river. But you’ll need a pair of boots without cleats.
Studs can improve your traction when wading fast, deep water. It’s also a good way to improve the traction of rubber-soled boots in those slick freestone rivers where felt would normally have the advantage. And if your home is in those slick, rocky rivers, studded felt can be a bombproof combination.
Of course cleats do have their downsides. If you spend a lot of time hiking, they can be cumbersome and noisy on dry ground. Speaking of noise – if you’re fishing shallow water, small streams or anywhere with spooky fish, cleats are loud and can make stealth very difficult.
If it sounds like studs are a good choice for your fishing style, you’ll need to decide which ones make the most sense. Aluminum cleats offer the best traction. Aluminum is a soft metal, softer than the rocks you’ll be walking on. Therefore, because they mold and flex around hard rock, they offers the best grip. The downside? It will wear down more quickly than a harder material like carbide.
Carbide studs and cleats may not be quite as grippy as aluminum. But they’ll stand up to more abuse and will offer the angler a bit more longevity. If you spend most of your time wading in a slick river and do very little walking, aluminum could be a better choice. If you tend to cover quite a bit of distance on an average day of fishing, carbide may be the way to go.
Finally, there are a few models of wading boots that come with wide aluminum bars such as the Patagonia Foot Tractor. Going even beyond cleats, aluminum bars arguably offer the best possible traction for wading. The soft aluminum material grips onto slick rocks with a greater surface area than cleats. If stability and traction is a major issue for you, then aluminum bars may be a great choice. Of course the downside, is that it’s no fun to hike in boots with aluminum bars. And again, climbing into a drift boat is out of the question.
Shop cleats and other wading boot accessories here.
Installing Studs or Aluminum Bars
First, if you’d like us to install cleats or aluminum bars, we are happy to do that with any boot and cleat purchases here in the fly shop. If you’re going to do it at home, here are a few quick tips.
First, start off with clean, dry boot soles. Secondly, and maybe most importantly is to avoid over-tightening the screws. If you are using a power drill, be extremely careful. Over-tightening can strip and bore out the hole, causing you to lose cleats down the road. If you use a drill, keep it on a very light setting. Or, use a drill to start the studs and then use a screwdriver to finish them by hand.
Next, consider adding a drop of Blue Loctite to the tip of each screw before you put it in place. This will add an extra layer of security.
Wading Staffs and other Accessories
Lastly, any conversation about wading safety wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the usefulness of a wading staff. A lightweight, collapsible wading staff is easy to carry and it provides a ton of extra stability, especially when crossing swift moving rivers.
In addition to wading staffs, we carry a selection of wading belts, net holsters pouches and other helpful wading accessories. You can check those out on the website here.
Contact Us With Questions
Have questions about wading boots or cleats? Please don’t hesitate to ask. You can stop by and visit us at the fly shop in Littleton. Or, give us a call at 303-794-1104. We’d be happy to answer any questions and help you feel ready for your next day on the water.