I think I've finally found a solution to this and believe me when I say, I've been fighting and cussing over this for years. Lacrosse must've changed something in their manufacturing process or something because I don't recall the older boots carrying that rubber smell through a season. Anyway at the end of deer season last year, I took my boots(2 pair), a rubbermaid tub, and a shovel to a mudhole at my hunting club and started digging. I filled the boots about halfway with mud, tossed em in, shoveled the tub about half full of mid (enough to cover the boots), and the rest with muddy water. I put the lid on it in early Feb and it sat on the side of the house until last wkend when I took my uninsulated ones out for bow season. Much to my suprise, no rubber smell. I rinsed em out good and put on the dryers. I'm going to give em a good charcoaling soon. Whether or not the smell stays gone, I havent a clue but initial thought was success.