Nevermind
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 12:00AM 
If you were not paying attention you may have missed the news that Simms is getting back in to the felt soled wading shoe biz. Other than Chandler and Barton, who to their credit called it like it is, the industry press just parroted the return to felt announcement without much comment. Not surprising considering they were complicit, along with TU, in spinning the Simms marketing hype surrounding the decision to walk away from felt and the performance of the product.
Not only did the industry parrot the talking points coming out of Bozeman, they also equated rubber soled wading shoes with the second coming of David Brower. There are better ways to be a good environmental company other than putting petroleum based soles on wading shoes? If you were really committed to being an environmental company you would be using organic cotton and recycled polyester in your ever expanding apparel collection. If dropping felt was truly the right thing to do foe the planet why not stick to the program despite the continued demand for felt in the market? Turns out it was all just about the bottom line, nothing more.
I'll give Simms and the whole rubber sole push props for helping highlight the problem of invasive species but other companies have been committed to the issue since 2004 and the industry has ignored them.
felt sole, sticky rubber in Business
Reader Comments (24)
Remembering Simm's predatory marketing strategy when moving to rubber two years ago I sincerely hope that their backpedaling now has their customers in uproar.
The honest way would be not to return to felt but to improve the rubber soles. Simms has lost any credibility.
how dumb do they think their customers are?
Buy this, no now buy this, Nevermind, now buy what we told you not to buy. If I were a Simms customers (which I never will be) I would be pretty bummed if I bought into their rubber marketing BS
Simms - concerned about the environment?
I just shorted my pants laughing so hard...
T Man
I wonder how John would have handled this?... I wonder if Walsh even cares?
But hey, he's an "entrepreneur" with a passion for things green...
and, sadly, it ain't the Environment....
glad we stuck to our gut B2
Screw Simms. Buy Patagonia.
Now before we go all medival on Simms, let's keep in mind that perhaps after so abruptly dumping felt, they then realized two things: 1) People would rather wear felt if they could (because they're old and flimbsy waders. If the current is THAT strong, don't wade idiot) and 2) Many fisherpeople do not fish outside their home river - so there is no real concern for the spread of invasives. And let's all be honest with ourselves. If you know anything about invasives, a ruber tredded sole is not going to eliminate them. You still need to scrub your shit and let it sit out in the sun for a day. We are fooling ourselves if we really think any company is worried about anything other than thier bottom line. Even Yvon says they're there to make money and they don't fool themselves about their footprint - they just try to mitigate the damage. I forgot where I was going with all of this. Go fish.
only problem with that Silver is patagonia waders/boots suck. i sincerely wanted them to be amazing but blew through 2 pairs of waders in the span of 7 months.... they were cool about replacing a crap product but once the second pair started leaking like a sieve, i went straight back to simms... that pair is still going strong. plus the river walkers straight fell apart, sole and toe cap came right off.
i love a lot of their gear and don't think there is a company with better ideals, i have some layering piece that have lasted for 10 yrs.+ but their waders and boots are still playing catch up and they have a lot of work to do. a lot.
bottom line is when it comes to a wading line... no one else comes close to simms gear. regardless of shitty marketing decisions...
Gosh, this is so different from what I read on Angling Trade...
Patagucci, pardon me, Patagonia has always, and will always, be one of the most environmentally conscious clothing companies out there; particularly in regards to it's line of fishing oriented gear. Simms has become a giant in name and industry, thereby losing their roots and foundation. They're the misguided step-child of the fishing world, now. While I'd love to say that they've stayed true to their roots, that can't be said. They've stayed true to the almighty dollar. It saddens me that what once used to be a really awesome company has come to this.
What's the environmental footprint of a company who gross' over a quarter billion dollars a year while having the bulk of ALL things they offer made overseas, shipped in barges across oceans, then shipped to distribution centers, then shipped to retailers? It seems to me that both companies use petroleum based means of getting gear to their customers. Don't be so high and mighty chum. We know Yvon pays your bills. And that's cool, but take the high road. Organic cotton and recycling spun polyester is the tip of the environmental iceberg. You and Simms could do a much better job. Help them see the way rather than lambast them.
Corporate is always about the bottom line.......nuff said
The truth here is that rubber soles suck ass. They are slippery as shit, even with studs attached. Anyone who thought that Simms was out of the felt game was kidding themselves. There is no better thing to be walking in a river with than felt, period. Money, marketing, corporate image, etc, etc, etc, who cares, if you are making wading boots and you are not using felt YOU ARE KIDDING YOURSELVES.
Once Patagonia starts making gear that lasts more than 20 days on the water, I will go back. But after 3 pairs of waders, and 3 pairs of boots, blowing out in less than a year I'm going to transfer everything over to Simms. I want my gear to work, with a "product lifetime" that exceeds 20 days.
I gotta say that my rubber bottom boots with studs are great. Perhaps you have to have a beer gut like mine to penetrate the didymo completely. Simms won't sell me a pair of felts cause I don't want the nasty mothers any more.
Good topic Moldy!
It truly amazes me that there are still people that believe companies are there for the good of the people! Let's not forget that they are in business to make MONEY!!!!! That being said, Simms makes a damn good product, much better than Patagonia. I have used both P waders and boots and they suck. I don't buy from companies based on what they have been doing for the enviroment or what they will in the future, I buy for quality and durability. It's up to everyone that's breathing to make a difference.
I totally think Simms was pushing new products that everyone would think they would have to go out and buy just based on some pseudo-science of felt being the key to AIS. Yes, felt can carry AIS, but so can waders, boot material, seams, zippers, and any gear. I personally really like most of Simms' gear but saw that the felt bashing was marketing hype during a down economy. I think Simms bottom line drove their decision to go back to felt, period.
Jed
I have had a pair of Patagonia boots for several years and they have held up well.
I bet the new non- rubber product will have: " Guide" somewhere in the name. Simms and their 700.99 waters sucks.
I think it is great that they pushed the damn issue so far as to have states establish felt sole bans. Thanks for that one. Now I'll have to get a pair of Vibrams to transfer didymo and mudsnails from Maryland to Montana, then Alaska.... it was much easier, cheaper, and more effective with felt... So how do the Montanians feel about this, their hometown boys pushed the felt ban, now are making it again.... have fun blowing your dough on those $219 G4s... lmao. Let it be known...Simms is superior to Pat wading gear..FACT... but they deserve a punch in the nuts for this one...
So does this mean that SImms will take back all the rubber-soled boots they sold and replace them with new felt-soled ones? When they do, I'll get much better traction on the ice when I'm fishing down in hell :)
Ironically, I've found that the Simms rubber-soled boots with studs perform remarkably well, even on notoriously treacherous bottoms like the Ausable.
If a BUSINESS, makes any decision that is not based on the bottom line," besides some philanthropic activities they are absolutely stupid and will be out of business quicker than it took them to start up. As for the rubber soles for those that love them I'll meet you at the Pit River in Northern California with a video camera to tape the comedy show and cell phone ready to call 911. I'm surprised, but I'm proud that so far California has not been stupid enough to get on the felt ban bandwagon. If a company ever comes up with a rubber sole that works as good as felt I'll gladly buy rubber sole boots and if a company ever makes waders and wading boots as good as Simms I'll consider switching until them I'm not drinking the Coolaid.
Tom, you get cell reception down at the Pit? Whose your carrier?
I tried the Simms rubber boots and they don't work better than my Cabelas studded felts. Using a staff and them I can go anywhere. Just freeze your boots after your trip and invasives die. I loved my old Danners, what happened to that company?