R
RLeeP
Member
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2006
- Messages
- 800
I recently bought a pair of the new ( I think they're new, anyway..) Orvis Navigator Clearwater wading shoes. At 90 bucks, it was about time. Where I fish these days, I need tread for climbing mud/clay banks as much as I need felt/studs for stream bottom gripping. These shoes have studded rubber soles.
Along the lines of the old saw, "Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play", I have to say that these would be a very nice shoe if they hadn't started falling apart with less than 50 hours on them.
The rubber tread sole is pretty thin and is glued to the bottom of the boot. The left one began to peel about 20 hours in. The right one started to peel about 40 hours in.
The studs are not well anchored. Two of them have popped out of the left shoe already.
Still, this shoe does what Orvis says it will. It is pretty light and you can darn near climb a phone pole with them. Just the ticket for the high-banked, often muddy places I fish these days.
But they need to improve the QC some. Or move the manufacture to a factory farther from Beijing where everybody isn't distracted by the Olympics...
And while I know Orvis will make it right if I complain to them, I don't like all the fiddle-diddling around this entails. Taking or sending them back, pleading my case and telling them how heartbroken I am that an Orvis product would fail this way, etc. etc. etc.
So, I'll aquaseal them and put a nice bead of aquaseal all around the soles. That will hold them probably for as long as the uppers last.
So, if I have any advice, it would be not to buy these through the mail. Put your hands on them so you can check the seal on the rubber soles.
Also, I'd aquaseal them before I wear them the first time. Because, like I say, they're a nice shoe except that they fall apart pretty quick....
Along the lines of the old saw, "Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play", I have to say that these would be a very nice shoe if they hadn't started falling apart with less than 50 hours on them.
The rubber tread sole is pretty thin and is glued to the bottom of the boot. The left one began to peel about 20 hours in. The right one started to peel about 40 hours in.
The studs are not well anchored. Two of them have popped out of the left shoe already.
Still, this shoe does what Orvis says it will. It is pretty light and you can darn near climb a phone pole with them. Just the ticket for the high-banked, often muddy places I fish these days.
But they need to improve the QC some. Or move the manufacture to a factory farther from Beijing where everybody isn't distracted by the Olympics...
And while I know Orvis will make it right if I complain to them, I don't like all the fiddle-diddling around this entails. Taking or sending them back, pleading my case and telling them how heartbroken I am that an Orvis product would fail this way, etc. etc. etc.
So, I'll aquaseal them and put a nice bead of aquaseal all around the soles. That will hold them probably for as long as the uppers last.
So, if I have any advice, it would be not to buy these through the mail. Put your hands on them so you can check the seal on the rubber soles.
Also, I'd aquaseal them before I wear them the first time. Because, like I say, they're a nice shoe except that they fall apart pretty quick....
