Dangerous hip waders

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Reeltight
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Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:14 pm

Dangerous hip waders

Post by Reeltight » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:14 am

I have a pair of rubber sole hip boots that are unbelievably slippery on the rocks. I’d love to glue felt to the bottom of them. Anyone ever try it? If so what kind of glue and felt would work best?

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Twism86
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Location: Basking Ridge, NJ
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Re: Dangerous hip waders

Post by Twism86 » Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:28 am

I would also think that putting some studs in them would also help if the soles are thick enough.
"Stupidity is scary but genius can be frightening.
Genius built the atom bomb. Genius topples nations."

onemorecast
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Re: Dangerous hip waders

Post by onemorecast » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:22 pm

Don't laugh, but I glued pieces of thin outdoor carpet onto a pair of old amphibious shoes for wet wading one year. It was for a trip to Montana. I think I used Shoe Goo and it worked great. Seal-All should work too. Scratch up the rubber bottoms before gluing.

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Pete
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Re: Dangerous hip waders

Post by Pete » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:54 pm

There are felt sole kits available in many tackle shops. Depending on your boot, you may have to separate the "heel" section from the main sole.
A synthetic carpet scrap might work just as well as felt, and you won't be paying "fishing tackle" prices.
The conventional wisdom calls for "Barge Cement" but other quality rubber cements like "Shoe Goo" or "Goop" will suffice.
Like Jess advised, clean and roughen the surface.

At home, with boots designed as rubber soles, you're not going to get the same kind of bond they get at the factory.
Occasional repairs will be needed.
If you fish frequently, you're not going to want to wait for everything to get perfectly dry so you can use a rubber cement product.
Temporary in season repairs can be made with Water Activated "Gorilla Glue but you'll have to improvise a way to press the sole on tight overnight while the glue cures. (I use a wooden carpenter's vice, and a bunch of lead ingots).
OR
If you used a carpet scrap, just replace it with a dry one, and use Barge Cement or equal.

Vance
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Re: Dangerous hip waders

Post by Vance » Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:23 am

Hello, I put on felt soles on my hip boots. I bought the felts in a fly shop and put them on with sportsman goop. What I did was grind the rubber on the boots down as smooth as I could get them. I then put goop on the soles and on the boot and the pressed them together and taped them tight over night. So far they have been holding very well and it has been a little over a year. I also put an edge on them with goop about twice a year for added support. I’ve done this with outdoor carpet also. With the carpet do not get the carpet with backing as it does not hold up as well as the outdoor carpet with out backing. Hope this helps, Bill themailman

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