11-12 year old boy, late season rifle boots?

[rcb2000]

Goes without saying cold and wet feet could ruin my boys rifle hunt faster than almost anything else, but there really aren't many great options that I can find.
We'll be hiking a little bit, but definitely plan on wet and cold weather.

Any suggestions?
Loved the clothing suggestions from you @spdrman let me know what boots your boys like.

Thanks!

 

[sndmn11]

@Schnee's @Hoffman Boots

Pac boots vote here.

 

[rideold]

Yep. Pack boots. Simple, warm, affordable. That's what my son wore for the first two or three years of hunting. Replaced them with some Rocky brand boots that were on a 60 or 70% off sale. He's still wearing them at 15 going on 16. I'm quite surprised they have held up as long as they have.

 

[long hunter]

Definitely pac boots with well greased leather uppers and a extra set of liners that can be carried along in a pack with a pair or two of decent wool socks that way if he does get wet it is a matter of changing out liners and socks.

 

[rcb2000]

Sounds pretty unanimous, I didn’t even consider pac boots, thanks!

 

[spdrman]

Man kid boot options suck unless you want to spend a ton of money on something they’ll grow out of in a season. I’m fortunate to have 2 boys close in age so by the time the older boy grows out of something the younger boy can use it so it helps justify spending a little more money on them.

Pac boots are awesome for keeping them warm and dry. Of all the people suggesting pack boots curious of the brands you’re using? For yote and whitetail hunting they work great for my kids. Where we mule deer hunt and elk hunt the terrain is to steep and they wont get tight enough to keep their feet from sliding around and getting blisters and almost impossible for them to side hill.

I ended up originally getting some Women’s danners from sportsman’s that fit him, the laces went all the way down to almost his toes, for the mountains they’ve been great.

I’ve also found some deals on slightly used crispi’s, zamberlan, and lowas that fit them. Being how small they are the market for them isn’t great so you can find them really cheap.

Whatever boots you get buy some good gaiters for them! Kryptek has different sized gaiter options and the small size fits the kids perfectly.

And as mentioned always have extra socks.

 

[sndmn11]

Pac boots are awesome for keeping them warm and dry. Of all the people suggesting pack boots curious of the brands you’re using? .

We use Hoffman's and while I have no problem hiking in them, I would imagine they might be cumbersome for a kid. I don't even know if they have "kid" sizes. Maybe a kid snow boot?

I think my solution would be light disposable sneaker/hiker for the walking, then the pac boots when stationary. My kid is 6, so I haven't had to figure that out yet.

 

[spdrman]

We use Hoffman's and while I have no problem hiking in them, I would imagine they might be cumbersome for a kid. I don't even know if they have "kid" sizes. Maybe a kid snow boot?

I think my solution would be light disposable sneaker/hiker for the walking, then the pac boots when stationary. My kid is 6, so I haven't had to figure that out yet.

Oh yeah, you’re in the really hard age, I remember taking my boys yote hunting at that age with a few extra pairs of boots in the truck and checking them between stands to see if we needed to swap them out.

My boys are 10 and 12, 12 year old is finally starting to hit some of the smallest adult sizes, not that I want them to grow any faster than they are but it’ll be nice when they stop growing and open up a lot more gear options

 

[rcb2000]

Pac boots are awesome for keeping them warm and dry.

Whatever boots you get buy some good gaiters for them! Kryptek has different sized gaiter options and the small size fits the kids perfectly.

And as mentioned always have extra socks.

Thanks for the solid advice, I bought some of those Kryptek gaiters on your recommendation, I’ll take a look at some pac boots and definitely carry extra socks.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I'm going to buck the trend here. I've worn quality pak boots for decades. A few years ago, I switched to LaCross Alpha Burly Pro Zip 1000s. Wish I'd have done it years earlier.
Don't know if they make them in sizes small enough for your boy.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

When my boys were that age I got them women’s boots a lot of the time. Higher quality in appropriate sizes. I agree with the above on pac boots. Nothing wrong with tossing a few options in. Make sure he wears them around first. A kid with sore feet can ruin a hunt pretty quick too…

 

[rideold]

We never had problems with my son hiking in pac boots at 11 or 12 because his attention span and stamina wasn't enough to be out all day in nasty terrain.....or even out all day at all. We focused on just getting in the field and hunting as much as he was wanting to. after the first couple of seasons he was ready for real boots and longer days.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Another option to look at are the youth bearclaw's from Rocky 1000gr of insulation

These will be my son's next boots, warm but can also hike in the mtns of VA and WV in them. I have the adult ones, while heavy, they are extremly warm, and grip like crazy here

 

[Tmac]

Women’s boot sizes can often fit a child. Worked for one of my sons, the other grew too fast, but then men’s worked. Then you can carry booties you can put over boots if sitting in real cold weather.

 

[Meknowy]

My 10yo son's first serious hunt is this fall and we went with Redheads. They are pretty reasonably priced at Cabela's and supposed to be pretty dry and durable compared to some of the other brands. We'll see how that turns out in the real world. They're also taller for better protection and support. They make different combinations of insulation and height - we went with warm and tall for an Alaskan sheep hunt. Other options I looked at seriously were Rocky (also at Cabela's) and Lowa makes a couple youth mountaineering boots that seem decent.

 

[Jimbee]

Neos overshoes! Wear them over tennis shoes or whatever normal footwear your kid uses. Light, waterproof, warm, easily removed, add a toe warmer. I might even have a little pair laying around if you want to try them.