Felt Bottomed Wading Boots

[spinner]

Felt wading boots are absolutely worthless in southwestern wisconsin.

I owned one pair of them about 16 years ago. Felt was trendy because the "real"

trout anglers from outwest wear them so i was feeling the peer pressure and purchased

my "felt" bottomed boots.

Wisconsin early season is lots of snow and lots of frozen banks to get up and down.

Before long my boots looked like 2 big clumps of snow. They were new so I was

giving them a real look at to make an informed decision on an opinion.

I was getting tired of walking like "Herman Munster" and decided to go down a bank

to walk in the stream to get the snow and ice build up off my boots.

I started down a sheer bank and the next thing you know I was skiing down it.

I made it all the way to the bottom without falling. I was so proud of myself.

There I stood in the water and I noticed I was tangled up in some old barb wire and

I had a small hole in my new waders above the right knee. I fished a short time

and my wader filled up with water.

I took my waders off to check my right leg for leaks. My right bootie of my waders

was filled with water. Upon closer inspection it was NOT water it was blood.

My skiing trip down the bank and hitting the fence in full flight caused a huge

cut above my right knee that required 13 sutures to close. I threw away the piece

of crap felt boots at the clinic in the dumpster after one use.

I now use ONLY lugged soled wading boots and my favorites are Cabelas Back Countries.

[Timotha7]

Dang, that is a hard way to learn a lesson-
Sometimes "trendy" just doesn't translate into "serviceable"

Tim

[troutrageous1]

I'm a lug sole guy myself. Never really liked the felt either.
It's funny how you said felt was "trendy" at the time you tried them...now the trendy thing is back to rubber to prevent the spread of invasive species.

All sounds like a way for manufacturers to sell more boots/waders anyway.

[trouthunter]

Depends on the terrain I guess, where I wade in Arkansas the felt is invaluable as the smooth moss covered rocks we wade on are really slick, the felt just grips them. I love mine for that, but if you go somewhere muddy they work exactly the opposite. I was actually thinking of getting a hybrid pair with felt and lugs.

Alot like lures the boots, different kind for different times. I understand the frustration, sounds like a pretty bad day.

[kenneth V]

dang man sorry for the luck. If it wasn't for bad luck some of us would have none. i hate felt Wading boots because they transfer bacteria and algae as well as foreign foliage and water plant spores from one lake to another even after cleaning them. which can and will cause serious problems.