In Depth Fly Fishing Reviews

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Grip Studs - Screw In Stud Kit Monday, 08 March 2010 12:26 Written by Philip Light

Every once in a while, you're faced with the decision to replace gear, or upgrade it where possible.  In my case, it's with a pair of felt bottom LL Bean wading boots that I bought about 3 years ago.  The boots are in great shape, and they fit me perfectly.  They've got good strong upper supports and they're still in great condition even after the 3 years of abuse I've given them.  They are, however, lacking one feature I've wanted for a while now.  They aren't studded.

Thankfully, there is a solution, and the solution comes from a company called Grip Studs www.gripstuds.com.  Grip Studs manufactures screw in studs for everything from ATV's to wading boots.  I'm a fan of buying from companies that specialize in certain goods.  For example, when looking at flat screen monitors, you could go with a general electronics company that makes everything from toasters to cell phones, or you could go with a company that specializes in displays, like Viewsonic.

The Grip Studs pack comes with 20 studs and a tool to install the studs in your existing wading boots.  There's also instructions included.

I installed the studs on my pair of LL Bean felt bottom wading boots in a matter of minutes.  I marked the locations (with the help of the installation guide) of the studs on the felt with a sharpie and set to work screwing the studs in.  A trick I discovered the hard way, if you're installing the studs on felt bottom boots, use an exacto knife and insert the knife straight  into the felt and sole of the boot first.  If you don't create a pilot hole of sorts, the threads of the studs tends to bind up in the felt.  Once I made the cuts into the felt, screwing in the studs was fast and easy.

I like the fact that the studs are only semi permanent.  I could remove the studs if I wanted, though after spending the day on the stream with them yesterday, I think they're a permanent component of these boots now.  Grip Studs also sells stud kits in case you abuse them to the point that they need replaced.  The studs I got are the shallow version (#1100A) and I drove them into the sole to where the studs were really only protruding about 1/8 or so out of the felt surface.

The studs made a big improvement in traction when I tested them out on the river yesterday.  We still have ice and snow on the ground/banks here in Pennsylvania, and the studs were definitely a help.  I actually did a good bit of digging in and waded in some pretty fast water to get a good feel for the studs working.  They really are the best of both worlds.  You can buy felt bottom boots and buy the grip studs so that you can add the studs when you need them or take them off when you don't.  Once you have the tool, you can simply buy replacement stud sets to add them to other boots.

I'm curious about mixing these screw in studs with the new rubber bottom grip boots out there.  Once I get my hands on a pair of Riversheds or stealth boots or the like, I'll do a review on the boots without and with the screw in studs.  I realize the rubber bottom boots are supposed to be "grippy" by themselves, but I would imagine it wouldn't hurt to try the studs on them either.  Again, with the grip studs, if you don't like how they perform on one pair of boots, simply remove them and put them on another pair.  I'll probably never buy a set of boots with permanently fixed studs or proprietary screw  in studs as long as grip studs are available.

Brown trout I picked up while testing the new studs

You can purchase Grip Studs directly from the manufacturer by visiting: http://www.gripstuds.com/