guess it depends on where your fishing, if youre going gonna be fishing the eastern tribs the banks are mostly mud and felt can be a pain, but then again in the east most of the time you just hop across the creek, no real wading involved.
Since i assume youll be fishing the credit go for the felt, they provide great traction on the rocks in the credit, but rubber will do just fine as well, its really your call. You dont have to worry about the felt wearing away though as its alot more durable than you might imagine.