Adding Felt to Boots for Slippery Rocks?

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Has anyone ever tried felt or similar material on their boots? I saw a pair of felt-soled dive boots somewhere online and felt soles are/were also popular among stream fishermen to get sure-footing. It seems like no matter how soft or hard the rubber is, all of the boots I've tried slip and slide.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[spoolin01]

I highly recommend felt-soled boots for anything except boat diving, they're slippery as heck on fiberglass. I use 5mm felt-soled boots in Hawaii and wouldn't go without. They can be bought at Walmart and Kmart there, though selection is chancy, and some of the dive shops carry them. Deep See is one of the brands, Aropec is another. My preference is to stay away from the Tabi-toe fisherman/stream style, I find the toe divider rubs.

I'm a little surprised they aren't more common, maybe shore diving from rocky areas just isn't that popular.

Hard felt soles are available as a DIY for fishing waders. I glued a pair of those on some dive boots once and they worked fine, though you can end up with a pretty thick sole that way, and it may not fit your fins. The commercial models have typical sole thickness.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Felt boots are the norn in Okinawa and rubber boots will often find the diver on his / her back side. I also never had urchins stick thru them.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be getting a nicer/thicker boot soon so I will have to also get a bigger fin. My plan was to attach a felt sole to my current boots (since they're cheaper) and use with the bigger fins. Can't wait to try them.

A lot of rocky entries here but I've never heard of them. Ended up on Google trying to figure out how the hell not to slip all over the rocks and break my neck.

 

[agilis]

These have been standard equipment for fresh water fly fisherman's waders for at least 40 years. In recent years they are being restricted and in some places forbidden because they trap destructive exotic plants and algae in the mesh and introduce them into rivers and streams where they were not previously found.

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Should that be a concern for salt water? I had read something to that affect about trout fishing, but wasn't too concerned about it since I'll only be using the felt boots at one particular spot anyway.

 

[agilis]

Should that be a concern for salt water? I had read something to that affect about trout fishing, but wasn't too concerned about it since I'll only be using the felt boots at one particular spot anyway.

No salt water restrictions that I am aware of. I mention these waders only because they are far from a new technology and have been in wide use for decades.

 

[spoolin01]

Thanks for the tips. I'll be getting a nicer/thicker boot soon so I will have to also get a bigger fin. My plan was to attach a felt sole to my current boots (since they're cheaper) and use with the bigger fins. Can't wait to try them.

A lot of rocky entries here but I've never heard of them. Ended up on Google trying to figure out how the hell not to slip all over the rocks and break my neck.

FYI, there are felt outersoles available, like sold for waders, and felt inserts. Make sure to get the hard felt outersoles, not the inserts.