Alright guys, let's have at it...

Which one do you prefer and why?

Get some korkers with the interchangeable soles they come with both and you can also geto rubber with studs and/or felt with studs

Well felt is going away since it carries organisms stream to stream. Rubber with spikes seems the way to go.

Missouri has outlawed, all felt in their parks, they will become less prevelent, but imho, there is not a better alternative than felt out there right now. And if you believe the only way diddymo is transported from stream to stream then I have a bridge to sell you.

I happened to buy a new set awhile back. Had a set of rubber sole with removable studs in my hand. I know the Cabela's sales clerk was just talking, but I really don't think I need to here the lectur about spreading organisms from stream to stream, lake to lake, pond to pond and so on. It was so bad my kids had to drag me away to go look at the trout swimming around the little pond at the Buda Store. I have never owned felt soles, so I can't really say what the benifits are. but the soft sticky rubber and studs have always worked for me.

i like felt with cleats. no better way to go, you dont slip, and your cleats dig into the rocks.

New vibram outsole works phenomenally well, without studs. J.

I've had rubberized felt boots and switched to Simms Guide boots that are full rubber. I fished northern Ohio on some very slick shale in water that was moving around 300cfs in the middle of winter with both pair. I never put studs in the Simms and I did better than my friends that were wearing studded felt. I vote rubber.

VIBRAM IS THE BIGGEST MYTH PERPETUATED ON THE FISHING PUBLIC, EVER!

When the evils of felt were being touted, people never stopped to question or think that the shoe's exposed fabric above the sole and below the gaiter is actually a better harbinger for aquatic hitchhikers than the sole, but Vibram won out because nobody posed this part of the problem.

Vibram is slicker than snot, after all, it is a very concentrated, hard rubber, and when wet slippery is its nature regardless the grooves and tread created. I have slid downstream with the moving current when wearing the Vibram soles without cleats. I know some older people who have fallen quite hard as the Vibram-soled shoe slipped, instead of purchased, on the rocky riverbed. I never slipped with felt soles, nor upon talking with those whom I saw fall, did they experience falls (and injuries) until they went to Vibram soles.

Felt is superior and the only way to go, but with states jumping on the "aquatic hitchhikers can only attach to a wader's sole" bandwagon and outlawing felt, many options are not available. I resorted to Simms HardBite Star Cleats and have been happy with cleats and do not slip any more, although I do take my wading staff with me more often than I ever did with felt.

I prefer the interchangeable soles, so I can fish with felt whenever possible and switch to the Vibram when legally required to do so.

I have both and the rubber is NOT as rock solid slip resistant as reported.

I have Vibram soled Simms boots to which I just added carbide star cleats. They worked fine for me on Spillway Creek and other parts of Broken Bow. I have some carbide studs and Alumabite cleats on order and will test them as well. I've heard the Alumabites are the best, though softer (and less wear resistant) than the carbides.

Vibram offers many different types of compounds used In a variety of different outsole patterns. Everything from dress shoes to wading boots, and all sorts of applications in between. Each compound is a unique formulation.

I too have used traditional felt soled wading boots and a late model pair of Simms featuring Vibram outsoles.

I do not profess to have an in depth understanding of the ecological pros and cons of felt vs rubber outsoles on wading boots; I will defer participating in that debate, leaving it to people more knowledgable about the topic.

I have never fished in boots equipped w older versions of vibram's outsoles... So I can't speak to those either.

But I own a pair of 2011 vintage vibram soled boots and can personally testify to their performance. They work great. Better than felt soled boots I have tried.

That said, to each his own. Felt soles have been around a long time, for a reason. But everything new, fangled and new-fangled are not automatically a bad thing.

I used Hodgman felt-soled boots for 15 years on the White River in Arkansas and several Montana rivers, mostly the Yellowstone. I will say the Yellowstone is much more slippery than the White.

Last year I bought a pair of Simms Freestone boots with Vibram soles and put some cleats on. Those have been used on the both the White and Yellowstone rivers. The "feel" with the Vibram is different compared to felt soles. I think the grip is better with the Vibram, and I felt more secure with the Vibram soles compared to felt.

I also thought about the other areas that are fabric. That is why everyone should clean their gear. On the topic of felt being better, everyone has an opinion, I formed mine by watching 3 friends slip and fall into 36* water with felt on and I did not even come close to doing so. I really thought since the weather/water was so cold that the rubber would be like ice skates, but they performed well beyond my expectations and I don't think I would ever go to felt again.

You can slip and fall with either. Riverbed compositions are different, and what works well with one substrate might not perform as well with another.

I think back about all the swiftwater rescue training I did several years ago - we all wore rubber soled boots and somehow did just fine.

I can tell you this for certain, though - felt soles and slick muddy banks don't mix well at all. There's no question in my mind that I have slipped far more entering and exiting a river on slick banks than I ever have wading around in the river itself. In the case of muddy banks, treaded rubber is *much* better than felt.

Ever?

Where does the Banjo Minnow fall on this list?

Now that's funny! But really, Vibram did a better job of wool pulling than those grade-schoolers at Banjo Minnow.

I completely agree hunterag! Felt does trap and transport organisms from place to place, but so do laces, leather, cloth, waders, boats, trailers, fly lines, flies, and waterfowl - just to name a few. The way to minimize the introduction of invasive species is through education. Our local TU chapter setup and maintained sanitizing dip tanks each year at various access points on our local streams to help protect our waters and reinforce the importance of cleaning and maintaining your gear. Banning felt soles makes folks feel better about the situation, but really doesn't address the problem.

In the felt vs rubber performance debate, most folks tend to overlook the differences in wading style and water type.

Back in my guiding days, I spent 200+ days a year on big western rivers. Shuffling clients around the stream, physically holding my drift boat in heavy current, launching and trailering my boat in fast water all proved much more hazardous in rubber soles (and I tried many different varieties). While not a super-aggressive wader, I often found myself in precarious situations attempting to keep my clients safe. Spider rubber, Aqua stealth, Vibram - none of them offered near the performance in my rivers for my activities. In slower streams under different conditions - especially if there is a lot of hiking involved - I can see where rubber soles might do just fine (felt sole are super slick on dead, dry grass).

Just in case felt goes away completely, I have stocked up on felt soled boots and sandals and will continue wearing them responsibly despite the threat of fines.

Hilarious!

Regarding the felt v. rubber sole debate, I think this debate's biggest tell is that Simms, the company who deleted felt-soled shoes from their inventory entirely in 2010, is re-introducing felt soled shoes for their 2012 line-up, and they are $20 - $30 less than the Vibram-soled boot--Simms Headwater Boot, their new Simms Guide Boot, and their new Simms Freestone Wading Boot.

My problem with the rubber-soled shoe is that it does not act like the rubber soles on my Wellies, which I wear when it is raining, torentially downpouring, slick, going to rain, and I muck around without slipping or falling, even in the swift water on the concrete. Vibram's nature is not conducive to safety. A gentleman in our fishing club, in trying to be a conscientious fisherman, sent his felt-soled shoes off to be re-fitted with Vibram soles. He brought them to the club, and they did look impressive. Watching him navigate the water, which was far from a new fishing spot for him, and then watching him fall because he was slipping down the stream is frustrating, not to mention the obvious fact--it hurts to fall. Older people particularly, but all of us in general, find falling uncomfortable to say the least, and fearful in reality. Vibram increases the fall rate drastically, so now with felt being outlawed in Maryland, Missouri, and Vermont, with who-else-knows jumping on the bandwagon, what options are left to older anglers in particular?

The real issue at heart is being a responsible fisherman, and washing everything you own that has the potential to transfer the aquatic invasives, which is everything and not just the soles of one's shoes--really!

I had a couple different pairs of the Aquastealth and now Korkers Kling-on. Never had the Vibrams so I can't speak for them, but I thought the AS sole did about as well on most surfaces as felt, better on some, and then failed miserably on some types of rock (volcanic smooth basalt type stuff like you'd find in canyons). Overall, I like the AS sole best and am disappointed it's gone away on fishing boots. Seems like each companies replacement is a poor substitute, including my current Kling-on soles. At least I have a very good hiking sole now, and I can still get felt, plus studded on either kind.

I agree there are all kinds of other gear that can transmit organisms, so felt is probably really not as critical an issue as it was made out to be. It just took hold and turned into a slogan of sorts. One of the things I hate about felt is how heavy it gets, and the fact that if you spot-hop on a river, it makes such a mess in your car. If I could still get AS soles, I'd stick with those but now I'm thinking about picking up some felts for my Korkers.

flyfshrgrl-

Well Said!

I used to fish (until recently moving back to Texas) the tailwaters in Eastern TN. Several of the rivers did have didymo in them. There was a lenghtly discussion on an another Forum about felt vs. Vibram, and it seems that about 70% of the responders believed that felt gave them better traction, even though they had tried Vibram soled boots. There was also an agreement that didymo can be spread by many factors other than fishers, and fly flingers.

And I applaud SIMMS for re-introducing their felt soled boots.

But your point is well taken about thoroughly cleaning all of your gear, that may have been in contact with the water.

+1 for flyfshgrl
Simms did tell

I have fished with felt, felt with studs, vibram in two brands, and vibram with Simms star cleats. Without addressing the issue of transporting rock snot, for traction in wading I prefer the vibram soles with star cleats.

I went ahead and purchased a pair of Orvis Clearwater II with ecotrax (vibrant soles). I'll let you guys know how it works.

I have purchased both and my vibram soles were so slippery that i had to purchase the star cleats for another $40 in order to wade anywhere on the Eagle or Roaring Fork in CO. Went Fishing with a guide there this last year and he noticed that i had cleats in and told me to take this out because they SCARE THE FISH. Catch rate went up double in the next hour. SOOOOOO back to my felt boots I went. Felt like i got scammed by the fly shop on these rubber soled slick as Sh$T boots. They were a 2010 Simms guide boot so everyone knows. Just Wash your Stuff.