Alaska Gear Company Bunny Boots

[Travis Hobbs]

Has anyone had a chance to try Alaska Gear Companies new “Bunny Boot”?

I haven’t seen any reviews besides the AGC website, don’t know anyone with a pair…..

The wife surprised me with a pair, she knew how much I loved the originals back when we met 20 years ago.

Bunny Boot

100% Waterproof - Fully Encapsulated Insulation System Engineered for extreme cold weather protection, the Bunny Boot delivers unparalleled warmth, dryness, durability, and comfort. It is built using 100% waterproof vulcanized rubber and utilizes the same techniques deployed by the US military...

alaskagearcompany.com

Back in the day, the original US issue bunny boot were IMO the warmest boots made. Not comfortable, and you weren’t winning any fashion contests but man were they warm, durable as hell and waterproof.

This new take from Alaska Gear Company seems pretty legit, I’ll know a lot more in the coming weeks/months….

Much more ankle support, better lace system and insole. -70F rating

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I’ve heard of a few reports from here in Alaska that they are not as warm as the original, though they are more comfortable.

 

[Nick Muche]

Same as Ben, I'll stick with my Baffins and original Bunny's for now.

 

[North River]

The military figured out pretty quick that a chamber boot with no ability to equalize pressure doesn’t work well with altitude changes. Unless Alaska Gear Co has come up with something real clever, they’re either not sealed - which means they’ll soak up water in overflow - or they’ll swell at altitude. Neither is great. But I’m sure they look nice over skinny jeans in front of Knik Glacier on Instagram….

 

[Travis Hobbs]

The military figured out pretty quick that a chamber boot with no ability to equalize pressure doesn’t work well with altitude changes. Unless Alaska Gear Co has come up with something real clever, they’re either not sealed - which means they’ll soak up water in overflow - or they’ll swell at altitude. Neither is great. But I’m sure they look nice over skinny jeans in front of Knik Glacier on Instagram….

So I have no experience with altitude changes over much more than 3k-4k feet of elevation while wearing the original bunny boots in cold conditions (mostly trapping high mountain valleys via snowmobile) I definitely didn’t jump out of any planes…..but I can say this, I never touched the air valves, they didn’t even function in the many pairs I owned…. but I never got cold feet.

I can’t tell and maybe I’m missing the point of your response….but if you’re referring to the original bunny boots as a failure, there are thousands of pretty hard core guys recreating/working in the cold wearing them to this day that would whole heartedly disagree with you.

If the point you were trying to make is that these new boots are some trendy piece of junk, well you could be right! I do have to say, if people are wearing these giant white boots as a fashion statement for an IG post in front of a glacier, I have no sense of fashion as imo there is nothing fashionable about them quite the contrary. I guess wearing your sisters pants doesn’t seem very fashionable to me either… yet it’s pretty popular.

 

[North River]

So I have no experience with altitude changes over much more than 3k-4k feet of elevation while wearing the original bunny boots in cold conditions (mostly trapping high mountain valleys via snowmobile) I definitely didn’t jump out of any planes…..but I can say this, I never touched the air valves, they didn’t even function in the many pairs I owned…. but I never got cold feet.

I can’t tell and maybe I’m missing the point of your response….but if you’re referring to the original bunny boots as a failure, there are thousands of pretty hard core guys recreating/working in the cold wearing them to this day that would whole heartedly disagree with you.

If the point you were trying to make is that these new boots are some trendy piece of junk, well you could be right! I do have to say, if people are wearing these giant white boots as a fashion statement for an IG post in front of a glacier, I have no sense of fashion as imo there is nothing fashionable about them quite the contrary. I guess wearing your sisters pants doesn’t seem very fashionable to me either… yet it’s pretty popular.

I am definitely NOT referring to the original as a failure. They were a purpose built boot, and at that purpose there was nothing else to compare. For a generation of bush Alaskans, they are the ONLY winter boot.

I was poking a little fun at AGC’s online advertising campaign, but don’t mean it harshly. I applaud their innovation of bringing useful items to market. They do have a history of having ‘the perfect answer’, only to find out that details matter later…..

As I pilot I can tell you that the valves are necessary. If you can’t feel a swelling of the boot over a change of several thousand feet then the boots are cracked internally, or the valves are stuck open. Either way, when you step into the overflow over your boots, they will slowly take on water, making them heavier and compromising their insulation value. Which was the point of having a double wall rubber boot for winter, even when wet they don’t lose the R value. But even crappy old cracked out bunny boots are still warmer than most of the rest so many don’t realize it anyways.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have the old ones and new ones, it hasn’t been cold enough this year for me to use either pair.

I’ve used my old ones for about 10 years now, long snowmobile rides, winter hunts, working outside etc wtc.

The new ones are more comfortable but I do believe their marketing campaign was a bunch of people who just have fancy Instagram accounts and I think I heard they only got to use them for a few weeks before giving them back.

I hope the new ones are as warm and long lasting as the old ones but I doubt it, when my AGC ones arrived in the mail it was obvious that a large part of the money they charged went into marketing with a big shiny box and a stupid wool carry bag. I pre ordered mine and the day mine came in the mail there were like 15 other people picking up theirs.

With that in mind, at least from my viewpoint and what I’ve seen, the old white bunny boot supply has sort of dried up. I remember being in a surplus store in Fairbanks and they had shelves full of good ones, now days all of them seem completely trashed out and in odd sizes.

I hope I’m wrong but I think these are nothing more than a winter fashion statement for 27 year old Anchorage girls to wear to the middle way cafe and take selfies with .

Also, when I got mine and all the other people were picking theirs up, all of them were asking each other which color laces they got….they all thought it was weird when I said I’m just using the lashes that came with them and I don’t care about color. So I guess it’s sort of a fashion thing.

 

[Travis Hobbs]

Finding old bunny boots down here has definitely become more difficult especially in average sizes. Every once in a while some stash becomes available but it seems like they are getting few and far between…

I know I’m not super impressed with cold weather boots I have tried as of lately. It seems sorel has went into the fashion market, and I’m not much of a fan of baffins as I have yet to find a pair that doesn’t leak water.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Finding old bunny boots down here has definitely become more difficult especially in average sizes. Every once in a while some stash becomes available but it seems like they are getting few and far between…

I know I’m not super impressed with cold weather boots I have tried as of lately. It seems sorel has went into the fashion market, and I’m not much of a fan of baffins as I have yet to find a pair that doesn’t leak water.

Sorrel is 100% a fashion company now, you can still get good pack boots from Hoffman’s, kenetrek and scones though. After I typed my first response I went to AGCs Instagram and after looking at it for a bit I’m worried the new bunny boots are trending toward the fashion side of things. Give it a look.

After that place up in delta junction sold out of their bunny boot supply, things just havnt been the same. I should have bought 2 pairs of bata boots when I bought mine. The lady tried to tell me and I figured she just wanted to make a sale. 5 years later….good freaking luck finding a like new pair of size 11 white bata boots.

 

[z987k]

I don't feel I have a use for them, so I won't be getting a pair.
The thing that would give me a lot of pause is getting anything made of rubber from Airframes and expecting it to last all that long.