Vibram Soles

Who has Vibram soles? I know Buffalo96 brought the topic up last year. Wrote a short article a week ago on Vibram soles vs. felt soles. I've come to love Vibrams. Some people say they're excellent. Some folks believe felt soles are much better. What end of the debate are you guys on?

Andrew and I do got rubber soles with cleats for Christmas. Not the Vibram brand sole, but still happy with the grip on rocks so far. The boots are a little heavier, but that's a small price for protecting our streams. No real difference otherwise versus felt so far.

I think I mentioned over on the THFF blog that I've managed to face-plant with both felt and rubber, so I made the switch to rubber for ecological purposes at least. I carry the felt as a backup.

I will add since I finally got some Simms Rivertek BOA boots last Christmas. I got the carbide and aluminum cleats for the treads and I tried to follow the very limited guidelines for placing them on the soles. The basic principle is that the carbide grips on the harder rocks and the aluminum is soft and deforms into the rocks enhancing the traction.

I have used them once and I liked the feel of the boot overall, comfortable and easy to put on. Like most boots I have used they need some slight re-adjustment after the boot gets wet. That is where I came into some trouble. Wet hands and a wet BOA knob don't tighten well.

As far as stream traction goes the boot performed good.... almost too good. With felt soles I was able to place my foot on a rock and gently slide it down until I could fins a steady place to place my considerable weight on. Unfortunately the aluminum and carbide cleats don't allow much sliding. So, I stumbled a few times because I was used to the old way of doing things.

Overall, it is a good boot and worth a try. Nice to know that the treads are more eco friendly.