Any advice on good hunting boots

[jjw4413]

I will be retiring my old worn out hunting boots and looking for replacements. I hunt the mountains of Montana during the winter an do a bit of climbing. Does get cold so I need an insulated boot. Will pay good money for a good product. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


John

 

[turbo1967]

last year I took the plunge and got Kenetrek boots, they did great, verfiy good at staying warm and extremely good for comfort and water proof , the only complaint is they could be a little better for traction in wet snowy side hill conditions. my wife got hers this year and not yet broken in but so far she loves them . expected life of these boots from people i talked to is 5 to 10 years so they are not bad priced considering.

 

[WesternElkHunter]

I have been hunting in Meindl boots for years now.  We have late Mule Deer and Elk seasons here in Alberta where temps can drop into the -20s and the insulated high boot works very well for me.  Very good vibram sole that is good in ice and snow.  For early season I have a lighter weight all leather Meindl.  The Meindls do not require a great amount of breakin as mine were a couple of days walking the dog and then they are good to go as the footbed forms nicely under foot heat and walking.  I am on season 4 of the lightweight boot and I replaced my late season boot this year after 9 years.


Very good boots in my opinion and great for the price.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Boots are a very personal choice... What works for some usually doesn't for other. Every foot is different. That said in terms of quality lowa, zamberlan, crispi, kenne's, meindl, all have excellent reputations. Hanwag are great too but I've never tried em

I have a narrow foot and run 2 pair specifically. I have a pair of lowa cevedale's (not much for the color but a dang fine boot) for earlier season and a pair of meindl Alaskan hunters for later (200 gr insulated). If you buy meindl make sure they're the German made ones... Some of the cheaper models are made in Asia I think. Before I splurged on the lowas I almost, ALMOST pulled the trigger on sportivaS trango cube Gtx's. Those were such a good boot I still wonder sometime and light as a feather (if you can get past the color). For my narrower foot I never liked kenne's or crispi, the craftsmanship is there but there was too much slop. Zamberlans were a little too wide in the heel but not the toe box. Try a bunch but expect to pay $300+.

FYI if you're only looking for a September archery boot Solomon quest GTX 4d would be tough to top for the price.

I wear whites every day for work and as far as I'm concerned my feet are in constant nirvana. I wouldn't want to hike those for 8 days in the elk woods though  8)

 

[hank4elk]

I only wear my hunting boots scouting or hunting,so they last.
My Meindel Ibex are 15 yrs old,maybe older & are getting stiff.Would get cold feet if it got below 20 & was not moving.
Kenetrek Pac boots 10(I do wear them all winter).
Cabellas hunting sneakers for hot times,15 yrs.Not good for packing.

Needed new warmer solid mtn. boot and got Lowa Tibets last year & no regrets.
Felt good from 1st time putting them on thru 7 days of mud,rock & rain hell in the Gila elk hunting,snow & cold later in deer season.
Several friends wear them all year ,even on oryx,ibex hunts, summer time in NM.
Paid less than half price for the new boots on ebay.Took a friends advice and had tried them on before buying & knew I wanted a half size larger than normal boot to fit thicker socks. Guy I got them from hadn't and needed different size.

 

[bow_dozer]

Schnees Granite has been the ticket for me. No matter what boot you go with make sure you condition them often to prolong their life.