A few points:
- Boa system is tough, if you snap the "lace" then you must be wading with wire cutters.
- Also they do sell repair kits for the Boa system.
- I do not own felt soles but I do own Korkers Svelte II soles.
- Finally, Korkers fit true to size. You should not need to buy a size up. I wear a size 14 shoe and the size 14 wading boot fits perfectly.
Thank you, Mike for your valued input.
I dont doubt that the boa system IS fairly tough, and I dont see a scenario of actually breaking the wire lace, but when I did crank down on them in the store, I did come to a point where I felt that I could easily over-tighten and possibly strip out the knob. Would it happen? probably not, but I cant say that I have been troubled enough by conventional laces to warrant a change. I have a history of finding ways to break things that are unbreakable, I guess its 1 of my special talents
. I suppose if I was in/out of my boots a few times a day, it might be more of a gain, but for me this is rarely the case.
A better way to state this may have been: "I question MY prospects of being able to repair/replace the boa system on the fly." Someone with a reasonable mechanical inclination would probably not have an issue. Unfortunately, Im not sure I fit that category. On the + side, I am pretty confident in my abilities to change out a shoelace (without a manual, too!). Besides, the spare shoelace has come in handy for a lot of other things besides re-stringing boots
.
I saw those svelte soles, but I didnt look much after seeing the cost of them
. I sort of gathered that they were made for felt-like performance in places where felt is banned? Again, not an issue for me(as of yet, anyway).
I wear 11.5's, and have yet to find 12's on a shelf anywhere.I tried on 13s last yr, and while they were big, I wasnt sure they wouldnt be better for wearing 2 heavy socks in colder water. Would like to try it side by side vs a 12. In any case, not in a huge hurry as I wont be putting waders on for another 3-4 months, I would just as soon get it right the 1st time. They told me same thing regarding sizing on my last pair of Guideline(awesome), Simms(good-very good),&hodgman(complete crap) boots, and I havent always found it to be exactly accurate.
Again thanks for the input