Do it all hunting boot recommendations

[yfarm]

2 sons and I were pheasant hunting in sw Kansas last weekend. Saturday was 36, fog and drizzle. Hunting in waist high prairie grass with water droplets on the tips of the grass blades. Son 2 was wearing 1 yr old Beartooths and remained dry inside over the 5 hr hunt, Son 1 wearing Rocky Outback 1 yr old had wet feet by the end but ‘mild’. I was wearing Salomon Quest 4gtx, stayed dry for about 3 hrs then went downhill by the end cold feet, took the boots off and could wring water out of the socks. Complete failure of boots that had maybe 30 hrs of hunt time. Suspect with gaiters might have slowed the process some but the worst leakage was in the forefoot of the boot. As others have written, one piece leather upper with a full rand and a wb liner is the best you can do. Probably was a day for neoprene boot.

 

[gostovp]

Check out Hoffman Explorers

 

[DeePow]

I’ve been an enormous fan of my Schnees Absarokas which look to have been replaced by the Granite model. I’d estimate I have over 400 miles in mountain terrain, and these boots are still solid. The sole is the only reason I’ll be looking for a new pair or maybe even mail them off to get a replacement

 

[WiscoShooter]

Another vote for Crispi.

 

[oldskool67]

Any quality brand that FITS YOU the best

 

[tpicou]

I’ve used my schnee’s timberlines for everything including upland and they are great all around boots. That being said, they are little stiff for flat ground upland work imo.

 

[alowell]

Lowa tibet

second this one, just need to make sure to keep up on conditioning leather and cleaning

 

[harrishunter]

Can’t beat a Crispi Nevada.

 

[gostovp]

Any quality brand that FITS YOU the best

This is really the only advise as far as brand that matters. Pick something from Crispi, Kenetrek, Hoffman, Hanwag, Lowa, Zamberlan, Meindl, Schnees, Salewa, La Sportiva, Scarpa, Asolo… and I’m sure I’m missing some …

Also, very important to try and learn about your foot. Go to a running shoe store and see if they have one of those 3-d foot mapping devices, those really help you see the overall size, shape, and volume of your foot. Get measured on a Brannock device for length, width, and arch length. Know what kind of arch profile you have (flat, low, high). Try to figure out what the overall volume of your foot is. For example, I measure 11 length and arch length on the Brannock, and just a hair over D width. I have a flat arch on one foot, and a low arch on the other. I have toes that tend to splay out a little bit, and my overall foot volume is a bit smaller than normal.

Having these data points can really help others narrow down boot recommendations that might fit your foot, because in the end you still need to order and try them on.

 

[mcase308]

Schnees Timberlines would be my recommendation. I just ordered Beartooths for more support on steeper mountain hunts, but the Timberlines have done well for me for everything including turkey and upland.

Curious if you've found that these are overkill? I've been experimenting with lower ankle raise type boots backpacking versus some of the heavy duty ones I use for hunting/backpacking and didn't really see a big difference outside of the smaller boot being lighter.

 

[SteveAndTheCrigBoys]

Curious if you've found that these are overkill? I've been experimenting with lower ankle raise type boots backpacking versus some of the heavy duty ones I use for hunting/backpacking and didn't really see a big difference outside of the smaller boot being lighter.

The Timberlines or the Beartooths?

The Timberlines have been great for flat to moderately steep country. They're pretty old now and don't provide enough support for really steep stuff so I'm actually breaking the Beartooths out this upcoming weekend. Just ordered new insoles for them. I'll keep the Timberlines in rotation for flatter country, but I struggled in them on 20+ degree slopes last weekend. That may simply be a factor of them being 3 years old, hard to tell how much stiffness they've lost.