Studs

[briansII]

No, this is not a poll.

I'm replacing my worn out wading boots. Bought a pair of Simms, with rubber soles. Where I fish, not putting studs in the soles is a eventual trip to the emergency room. I have some leftover Simms Hardbite studs, but I thought I'd try something different this time.



$29.95 for 20 Hardbites, or $23 + shipping for 250 Kold Kutters.

The Simms studs were a tad long, and if I stepped just right on a rock, it felt like an ice pick to the sole of my foot....even though the studs never came all the way through the boot soles. I put in a pair of Superfeet insoles and that helped, but did not totally cure the problem. I bought the shortest Kold Kutter studs.



The Simms work well, and have lasted the life of the boots. I've got a few extra Kold Kutter studs if they wear faster than the Simms.



Performance report to follow........

briansII

[midger]

They work great. You can also find them at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Kold-Kutter-1-2-Ice-Racing-Screws-250-Count/301095922041?_trksid=p2050601.m2372&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D207%26meid%3D5242393556882331369%26pid%3D100085%26prg%3D1112%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D301095922041%26%26clkid%3D5242394506564900217&_qi=RTM1562569

Looks the same and a lot cheaper than Simms and Patagonia sell them.

[BrownBear]

Those are real popular on 4-wheelers for winter use back home in Alaska. I haven't heard of anyone getting less than a year out of them even in years with little ice, so you ought to be good for quite a while on boots. I'd try them on boots too, but the Simms are already in place. Sounds like I won't need to change them out any time soon.

[fivefish]

What are the performance of these on granite out of the water? I spend just as much time boulder hopping out of the water as I do in the water, so I want to be sure I don't trade one hazard for another.

[midger]

Fivefish,
I don't know about Brian's experience with these, but my experience with any type of stud or sccreeew is "don't do it". I have never fallen as hard as I did on the granite boulders on the Kern while wearing studs. Studs/screws and dry granite boulders do not mix. Now for wading a river like the Klamath or Trinity, don't leave home without them. The screws bite into the mossy rocks and keep you from doing the perpetual fish dance.

[fivefish]

Thanks. I was thinking that but didn't know for sure. I know for sure if I was fishing near Fresno I'd probably want these studs for the greased bowling balls that were a pain even for felt. I don't think my rubber soles are horrid on the Kern, but I do have to think and step more carefully in them than I did with the felt.

[midger]

I have some Patagonia rubber soled wading boots. They work great on the Lower and Upper O but are horrid on rivers with large rock bottoms--like the Kern, Klamath, Trinity. You'll be doing a lot of fish dances on those rivers. Studding them would just make them worthless (for me at least) for fishing any river with large, slick granite boulders. I still prefer felt for granite boulders and studded felt for rivers like the Klamath and Trinity.

[briansII]

What are the performance of these on granite out of the water? I spend just as much time boulder hopping out of the water as I do in the water, so I want to be sure I don't trade one hazard for another.

Pretty much what Midger said. I find metal studs grab ok on some granite, but the hard polished stuff is dangerous with studs. I've literally skated across a big slab o granite. Had to use my butt brake to stop me from going into the water. I will say, I've had scary things happen with plain felt soles too.

briansII

[Benny]

I saw Rock Grip Aluminum Bars for Wading Boots in a magazine the other day. They are way to expensive at about $40, they can easily be made from the aluminum bars sold at the Home Depot. All you'd need is a drill, hacksaw or other metal cutting saw/tool and a file to round off the aluminum off if you wanted. I have read some reviews on the Rock Grip Bars and all are good, with the exception of the aluminum wearing fairly quickly do to aluminum being soft. Might be something to consider as well.

I'm going to go to Home Depot and get a few bars of aluminum and cut them down to size and try them out. It's nut's how much they want for these things.

[midger]

Benny, I have heard that the aluminum bars work well even on the slick granite boulders. Let us know how it works for you. I'd rather someone else be the guinea pig on this one as the last fall I took while wearing studs on the Kern like to have fractured my tookus. I do look forward to your findings.

[acorad]

I'm going to go to Home Depot and get a few bars of aluminum and cut them down to size and try them out. It's nut's how much they want for these things.

I'd imagine they'd use pretty soft aluminum.

You can easily order soft aluminum here: http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-alumi ... ts/=qyadn4

(Edit: The 1100 and 2024 would probably be the softest. Cost about $2 - $3/foot for 1" x 1/8" and 1" x 1/4.")

Really looking forward to hearing how your experiment goes, I've taken numerous falls in the Kern!

Andy

[Benny]

Here is a how to article on the aluminum bars. These would cost you $40 bucks. Still very pricey. The gears are turning in my head and I will make some and test them out and let you all know how it goes

Slick to Stick

[briansII]

I've read the same about aluminum and have no doubt about it's gripping abilities. While those bars look unconventional, I bet they work really well. As an option, you can buy aluminum, self tapping screws. I read they can be expensive, even at hardware stores, but they should work on just about any wading boot. The other downside is they wear quickly, and if you fish a lot, you'll need to change them often.....like every 3rd trip often.

Got my new boots today, and will try and * in the Kold Kutter studs I bought. Hope to hit the river for an hour tomorrow, and will report back if I do.

briansII

[silverlaker]

Not sure what grade aluminum Patagonia uses - whether it has manganese or other additives. It would make a difference in how it machines and wears. Maybe start with 6061 aluminum. Can't remember if that's better for weather or 6063. I think the 5000 series is more ductile - but don't have any reference material with me right now. Also matters if its treated in some way. Check out industrial metal supply - more shapes and better prices than Home Depot. I've got a bunch of 6061 if you want some Benny. My office isn't to far from you either - near Chinatown and the 5.

[meb]

What I've found when using * in studs is that that pattern you put on your boots has a lot to do with how they work. If the entire bottom is covered in studs, it's easy to slide on dry rocks. If you leave some areas without studs exposing the felt, then you can use that portion on dry surfaces. Also, in agreement with Midger, lots of studs seem to work well on rivers like the Trinity or the Owens, however, they wouldn't work well boulder hopping in the locals. I use different boots for different place, but I think you could add or subtract the studs depending on where you are fishing.

Mark