Boots on the ground

[LarryB]

August caribou hunt on the haul road doing the 5 mile hike to the rifle zone and undoubtedly many more miles during the trip.
From those that have actually been there and done that… are $700 boots (Kennetrek, Crispi,..) necessary to stay dry and injury free on the tundra or will the more common and less expensive waterproof hunting boots (Redhead, Danner,..) work just fine?

 

[rickyw]

You will benefit from boots that really stabilize your ankles and have stiff soles. The danners I have had don’t do that very well (military issue and pronghorns) compared to the hanwags that I mountain hunt in

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Kenetrek is a solid choice. If you don't go with the calf-high model I'd encourage gators for boggy portions of the trek.

 

[DawnPatrol]

I like Danner boots for fit, durability and support (and price of course) but wouldn’t count on them to keep my feet dry in swampy tundra. Had two pairs, both leaked. My Crispi’s do not.

 

[mcseal2]

One of my friends boots failed on him, they got soaked and the glue on the soles gave out. He wore my spare Kennetreks most of our hunt. He likes gore-tex socks too with his old boots that weren’t real waterproof.

I’d invest in good boots myself.

 

[Geewhiz]

Last year many areas off the haul road were above a 10 inch boot anyway. Feet were soaked from the get go. Boot waterproofness didn't matter. In fact it might have been better if they weren't waterproof so the water inside the boot could drain out easier.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

When I was doing work for the 11th Airborne 2 years ago (during a discovery phase of gear design), one major soldier complaint against Danner boots was the soles often delaminated after a year or less of grunt work. From that lesson, I won't buy Danner boots because I can't afford a boot to delam when I need them most!

 

[FranklinBluth]

I run Crispi Nevadas with gaiters. If you get the gaiters cinched down good they will keep you dry if you move quickly through water that's over your boots.

Last year we had a couple of long ponds that were 10-14" deep that we sloshed through. Other than that the only time I was over the boot top was the occasional creek crossing. Feet stayed dry.

I've never hunted north of pump station 2 but for hunts south of there the Nevada's have been just fine. Make sure to treat the boots before your trip to maximize your waterproofing.

 

[FranklinBluth]

One other thought - a caribou hunt - more than any other, depends on comfortable and dry feet. While the specifics of foot comfort are personal and different for a lot of us, I would pick something else to cheap out on.

 

[wapitispokes]

I run Crispi Nevadas with gaiters. If you get the gaiters cinched down good they will keep you dry if you move quickly through water that's over your boots.

Last year we had a couple of long ponds that were 10-14" deep that we sloshed through. Other than that the only time I was over the boot top was the occasional creek crossing. Feet stayed dry.

I've never hunted north of pump station 2 but for hunts south of there the Nevada's have been just fine. Make sure to treat the boots before your trip to maximize your waterproofing.

Many decades ago I used that technique with pre-gore-tex gaiters and large oversized rubber bands to form a tight seal on the top and bottom of the gaiter. I was surprised how well my "invention" worked.

That works even better now with waterproof gaiters like OR gore tex gaiters....but these days a properly sized velcro strap is probably easier to deploy than pulling oversized rubber bands over your boots. But maybe those really thick physical therapy bands in a short size would work well too.

I remember carrying my wife across several braided streams in Denali National Park using that technique in 1990 and it worked great...key is tight seal and move quickly.