Love my new Korker boots, easy to get in and out of, with all my boots I like to add to the traction. Normally I just sink in machine screws into the soles. It give you good grip and safety especially when the bottom boulders are coated with slime or weed. Footing can be like walking on butter, I have always loved felts for their traction and take pains to be sure they are cleaned of evasive species between trips. I ran across a product by Simms and decided to add them to my Corkers. The “HARDBITE™ STAR CLEATs ” Definitely a good looking system. The only thing is that the screws that bind them down are longer than the interchangeable Korker souls. The screws are extremely hard and won’t take to hack sawing to shorten them. I hit upon this that worked. I pre drilled holes in my soles first with a drill bit smaller than the screw, then screwed in the cleats. The ends of the screws did stick up above the surface of the inside of the souls. A quick run across the screw ends with a grinder solved the problem. have been out with them once so far but am extremely satisfied with the grip on slippery rocks.I can use the rubber souls for hiking to the water then flip to these.
By the way here is an observation, I’ve always loved felt for good traction, with the advent of evasive species felt has been banned in many areas. I guess they have to target something but it’s a shame as safety is now a question. I have tried a number of “new and improved” rubber type soles from different makers. They are slippery. If you use felt be sure to either dry them out between trips and treat them with a good wash recommended for cleaning off the nasties. I use diluted Bleach. The really nice thing about Korkers is you can pop off the souls and easily clean them. Korkers also offer replaceable souls with cleats that I haven’t tried as yet.
