I have had 4-5 pairs of Patagonia's River Walkers, all but one pair have had the sticky rubber sole. Although I really like the light weight and general comfort of the boot and I have logged a ton of miles in them, they have durability issues. My most recent pair lasted from the end of August through the end of October. Granted I put nearly 50 days on them in that time frame, but they fell apart way too soon. They have a few design flaws and all pairs have failed in the same place/way. I connected with Patagonia's fishing product development folks and passed on some notes and photos.







They sent me a pair of these to check out as replacements, but I haven't had them in the water yet.