# Felt sole waders?



## REEDRELLIK (Oct 2, 2007)

I have a $100 gift card to cabelas and want some new WARM waders but dont want to go over $150. They have a 1000 gram thinsulate wader that i want but they only have felt sole. I fish in the late winter, early spring and was wondering what people think of the felt sole. How is it in water? How is it in snow/mud? How long does the felt last?

Thanks,
REEDRELLIK


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## wabakimi07 (Mar 13, 2009)

The 5mm cabelas spring run waders are pretty good. When I combine them with a pair of wader socks I never get cold feet. The felt is good but yesterday I took a nasty spill on a boat ramp with them on and now I can't move my shoulder. Felt is good on ice and slick rocks but not good in snow as the snow sticks to the felt. The felt should last at least 3 or 4 years which is probably about the longevity of the waders if you fish pretty hardcore. Best waders for the price in my opinion.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

wabakimi07 said:


> The 5mm cabelas spring run waders are pretty good. When I combine them with a pair of wader socks I never get cold feet. The felt is good but yesterday I took a nasty spill on a boat ramp with them on and now I can't move my shoulder. Felt is good on ice and slick rocks but not good in snow as the snow sticks to the felt. The felt should last at least 3 or 4 years which is probably about the longevity of the waders if you fish pretty hardcore. Best waders for the price in my opinion.


Whats up with fishing and shoulders..? I was fishing a tributary and was standing on a log over hanging the river, it broke and I caught myself and dislocated my shoulder a few years ago. Now I have problems with it daily.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Wabakimi, hope your shoulder gets better. Hopefully, some regular ice application and working within your painfree range of motion will help speed recovery. FWIW, this will make 3 as I am out of action for now, but more related to a couple of pinched nerves in my neck that affect my right shoulder and arm. 

I was surprised to hear of felts being good on ice. My experience was the otherwise. Maybe there is a difference between the courser black felt and the old white stuff..

From my experience, felts are good for one thing and that is stream bottoms. Ice, snow, mud, clay.......ehhhh, not so much.......


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## wabakimi07 (Mar 13, 2009)

They are good on ice if there is no snow on them, but there usually is, that is the catch. Walking on clay is not recommend and wet leaves are pretty bad. Wow maybe you shouldn't get felt soles and just get a pair of corkers. Shoulder is sore but I hope to be back out tomorrow. I slipped while launching boat and out into the river a bit. Blacked out for a second and looked up and saw the bottom of my boat. Took awhile to catch my breathe. The impact broke through about 4 inches of solid ice.


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## jrv (Nov 11, 2008)

I have the 5mm Cabela Waders, in felt bottom and they are really good for sand, gravel, and slippery rock. They suck for everything else. That's why I bought a $20 pair of ice cleats to attach when fishing on clay/mud bottom or snow and ice.


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## Silver Panner (Apr 15, 2009)

Hey, Just something to keep in mind, the felt soles have been shown to transfer invasive species.

http://www.stopans.org/Science_of_felt.php


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## nategyoder (Oct 23, 2009)

My winter waders are cabelas. They have rubber soles and are camo for duck hunting. I only fish in them but they were the warmest ones I could find. Really warm. My summer waders are felt with the studs. Great in the water! Awful in the grocery store! Busted my butt hard. I would not get the studs again because they tear up the wood deck up north. And wasn't there something about the felt spreading algae or something? Is the new felt better than the old felt? I only fish the PM with my waders so no problem on my part but if you fish several bodies of water something you might want to think about.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Silver Panner said:


> Hey, Just something to keep in mind, the felt soles have been shown to transfer invasive species.
> 
> http://www.stopans.org/Science_of_felt.php


Excellent link, thanks.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

As previously stated, felt soles SUCK in snow. They only are really beneficial on slippery rocks, and there are better tools available. I recommend that you get regular waders, with NO felt soles; and add some Korkers sandals on the side. The kind you can fasten to your waders, and take them off when you are done.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

You could get felt sole and use ice cleats on them..?


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## no lead (Jul 28, 2005)

buy some corkers and get on with the fishing!


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## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

_ I currently own a pair of the spring run waders with the felt soles and bought a set of boot chains to go on the bottom of them. Between the chains and a few screws I have all the traction I would ever need on the bottom of my waders. I fish a in lot of clay, sand, snow and ice and this setup has _proven more reliable than my old lug sole waders. 

Cabela's sells the boot chains in the shoe department and you should be able to find them online. The ran me about 15 bucks and were well worth it.


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## jrv (Nov 11, 2008)

diztortion: "You could get felt sole and use ice cleats on them..?"

I have an pair of ice fishing cleats made by Hodgman that are rubber with cleats and straps you can tighten around the heal and on top of the foot, over the toes. They work really good.


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## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

jrv said:


> diztortion: "You could get felt sole and use ice cleats on them..?"
> 
> I have an pair of ice fishing cleats made by Hodgman that are rubber with cleats and straps you can tighten around the heal and on top of the foot, over the toes. They work really good.


That is kinda what I figured. Then you could get the best of ALL worlds.. Ice cleats for ice fishing. Ice cleats for fishing the river. Just throw 'em in the back of your truck and get them when ya need 'em..


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

I never used ice cleats, but at looking at them in stores, wouldn't you easily lose them in mud/clay, etc?


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## jrv (Nov 11, 2008)

The only time I had them come off was in Manistee, in an area with a lot of clay. That was the first time I used them. Sunk up past the top of my boot and it came off. But it was in shallow water and I was able to get it back. They haven't come off since. If they are on nice and tight they should stay on.


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## pdouble78 (Nov 10, 2008)

I would recommend Yaktrax. I have high arches and bad callouses, and the cleats with screw heads REALLY hurt my feet after wading all day. Same principle as the cleats, not as painful in my opinion. Even the regular ice cleats are better than falling down a flight of stairs at Suicide Bend. Unless you have an audience to add embarassment to the pain :lol:


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