Boots on a budget?

[Cheezhunter]

Looking for a pair of boots for hunting/ hiking. Leaning towards keen, merrell or danners. Don't have an unlimited budget so looking for something that will get the job done. Any insights would be great!

 

[Team4LongGun]

Salomon's have been the best bang for the buck I've found

 

[Cheezhunter]

What's the price range on those? I know boots aren't the thing to skimp on. But got a lot of gear to buy and trying not to freak out my wife.

 

[nettereo16]

Keep an eye on Sierratradingpost

 

[elkyinzer]

My experience, in that $200 range if you look out for the seasonal sales, you can get into a pretty solid hiker. I've had good luck with Lowa Renegade and Salomon Quest, both boots fit me really well. I'd give a slight comfort nod to the Lowas, on the other hand GTX seems to hold up a little better in the Salomons. Upgrading the insoles is usually worth the spend also.

 

[Seth]

Sierra has some Scarpa Goretex boots for just over $100 right now. They are a decent boot that I picked up to replace my worn out Lowa Renegades.

 

[Wapiti1]

What are your hunting needs for these boots? Season, and terrain?

Jeremy

 

[MThuntr]

The three brands listed would be the last three I'd choose especially Keen...those are hiking shoes designed for people that never leave town.

Watch sales for discontinued models from companies like Lowa, Zamberlan, Hanawag, etc

 

[Laelkhunter]

Boots and optics are two places you should never "buy cheap". Do what you can to get the best fitting boot in Kenetrek, Crispi, etc. They will be about $200 more than the lower priced options mentioned, but they will last longer than the cheaper boots/sneaker options. If you have to replace them after a year, then you would have spent the $$$ that you could have spent on the high end options. Final fit will dictate which boot is for you, turned out to be Crispi for me. Good Luck !!

 

[CougarBlue]

I started down the road of more expensive boots after having been through way too many pairs of more economical options. I'm just hard on boots.

Of all the sub $200 boots I've owned, by far the most comfortable and longest lasting were the Salomon Quests. Amazon will have deals every so often on them that gets them down around $160.

 

[elkyinzer]

I started down the road of more expensive boots after having been through way too many pairs of more economical options. I'm just hard on boots.

Of all the sub $200 boots I've owned, by far the most comfortable and longest lasting were the Salomon Quests. Amazon will have deals every so often on them that gets them down around $160.

Just a cautionary tale I got what I'm 95% sure was a pair of counterfeit Salomon shoes on Amazon a couple years ago. I wore them for a few weeks and they just didn't seem right. Fit was a little off from a prior pair and the lace do-hickey broke after about 3 weeks. Started looking them over and compared to my previous pair and there were a bunch of little component differences. Since then I only buy from them what I absolutely can't find anywhere else.

 

[ckkone]

Where do you live, what kind of hunting?

 

[Cheezhunter]

I live in Michigan. Whitetail hunter for 30 years. Finally going to get out of state and try something new. Looking at antelope this year, hoping to go elk hunting next year. Just never had a big budget for gear. Doing what I can to make a few trips

 

[ckkone]

For antelope any type of hiking shoe is good, flatter terrain, summer heat and lighter loads. For something that will work for elk and Midwest whitetail you probably want something insulated or at least with enough room to give you different sock options. I’d look into Meindl, value per dollar is best I’ve found:

Ultra Light Hunter 400

Discontinued Style We are making way for new inventory! Our current Ultra Light Hunter program (Uninsulated, 400 gram, and 800 gram) is being discontinued and sold out sizes are no longer available. Meindl USA is in the process of designing a new and improved replacement style set to launch in...

meindlusa.com

The Salomon quest 4D are also great I’m on year 5 with current pair, I agree don’t buy clothing/footwear from Amazon never know if it’s real goods or counterfeit.

 

[Felix40]

I like the Oboz bridger a lot. I wear them for work every day, sheep hunting, elk hunting, everything. If they fit your feet they would be a good option.

 

[mdp22]

I like the Oboz bridger a lot. I wear them for work every day, sheep hunting, elk hunting, everything. If they fit your feet they would be a good option.

I'll second the Bridger, worn mine for three elk hunts in NM from the Wheeler Peak area to mesalands around Quemado. No complaints.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Check out CamoFire as they'll periodically have boots on sale.

 

[Windigo]

I'll second the Bridger, worn mine for three elk hunts in NM from the Wheeler Peak area to mesalands around Quemado. No complaints.

I never wore the Bridger, but I used the Wind River's for a season with the USFS doing field work, and they began to fall apart pretty quickly. It seemed like the adhesives were low quality.

 

[TheArdentOutdoorsman]

Looking for a pair of boots for hunting/ hiking. Leaning towards keen, merrell or danners. Don't have an unlimited budget so looking for something that will get the job done. Any insights would be great!

I bought a $130 pair of Keen hikers for my first trip. No blisters, feet felt good, stayed dry the entire time and they are still in good shape after 2 turkey seasons also. High end boots are great if you can buy them but guys have hiked that country for a long time killing game before $500 boots existed.

 

[Cheezhunter]

Thanks for all the help. Don't know which boot I'll go with. But definitely some good options I wasn't aware of.