“Comment on the 3 stars - I may increase after I have used this product some more. I don't usually write a review of a product until I have used it several times to see how it will fare, but in this case, some others might find my comments helpful.
I purchased 3000A studs to replace the worn out "sheet metal screw" type studs that came with my wading boots. My boots have relatively soft rubber soles with raised stud recepticals like the first boot shown in the installation video. The auger penetration length and the prominance length matched my original studs. The auger width was almost 2x as wide as the thread width on my original studs.
I inserted/augered the studs in until the shoulder of the stud was even with the rubber in the stud receptical, even though the soft rubber was slightly "puckered" or depressed around the stud shoulder.
I wore the boots one day on the river, covering just over 2 miles on the trail & in the stream. At the end of the day, I noticed that about half of the Grip-studs shoulders were below the stud receptical surface and the prominance was level with or below the top of the stud receptical "crown." This resulted in those studs not providing adequate bite. Apparently, the "pucker" of soft rubber "mushroomed" back to its pre-installation position throughout the day of use, resulting in the Grip-studs being inserted too deep.
A closer observation of images of installed Grip-studs (e.g., Grip-stud installation video, Troutbitten, ...) it appears that the shoulder of the studs are slightly above the adjacent sole surface. My take-home message from this is to install the Grip-studs slightly higher above the adjacent rubber if the rubber shows signs of puckering around the stud shoulder. Then I can adjust them for depth after the first couple of uses.
I've backed off the studs to raise the prominance/shoulder. I'll see if they give me better grip & stay in the boot. I'm optimistic given the design and performance history of this product. I hope to be back with a higher rating. As always, "your results may vary" from mine.”
Hi Gerry, we are sorry to hear your studs are pressing into the sole. We have seen this happen in certain cases when the boots have already had studs in them. Over time, walking on studs softens the mid-sole and rubber surrounding the stud, so when a new stud is put into that spot, it can press in a bit. One thing you can try is adding some Aquaseal adhesive to the studs to help reinforce the material a bit during installation. We also offer that product. Grip Studs love fresh boot soles! We hope you find better results your next trip
“I have tried studs on my wading boots before and did not really feel secure on freestone rivers with large boulders. Grip Studs are very different. These smaller but very hard studs bite in much better than those I have tried in the past but allow my soles to flex and grip as well. I have already recommended to friends.”
“Use these studs for wading boots based on recommendations from TroutBitten Website. Glad I read that particular post! I have used other products in the past including aluminum bars and various other steel screws. None of them would last longer than a 7 day fishing trip on rocks fly fishing out west. The Grip studs are easy to install and have, so far, lasted two seasons! Great traction on slippery rocks.”
