Every day boot for $150-200 ??

[Sapcut]

I am looking for a good quality boot to wear every day as I work in the woods and for hunting elk.

I like the big name mountain style boots that are popular with elkers but they seem like they are too heavy. How do you deal with the weight?
Thanks

 

[nphunter]

I’ve been wearing mountaineering style boots for years and have never thought to myself that my boots are too heavy? You can find great boots for discounted prices in the classifieds often from guys buying them and them realizing they are the wrong size but they already wore them.
Keen makes a decent cheap boot if that’s what your after. I wear my hunting boots anytime I’m in the woods though, hiking, hanging cams, mushrooming, huckleberry picking, etc.

 

[Sapcut]

Thanks. I am looking at a couple used options but debating to take the risk of them not sizing correctly. From a distance I really like the Kenetreks, Crispis and Lowas but need to find them cheaper than retail for sure.

 

[nphunter]

You may have to size up a half to a full size depending on the boot from your street shoes. I was able to find a place to try on Crispi, my lowa and scarpa boots I had to buy and try. I have to run a full size larger in Scarpa. Crispi and Meindl I wear my regular size and lowa I’m the same but should have gone a half size bigger.

 

[HeathH]

Crispy Valdres aren’t too tall, 8” I think. But aren’t too hot or heavy.

 

[HeathH]

Crispi.
Damned autocorrect

 

[Tauntohawk]

Hanwag banks are fantastic the banks II is on sale lots of places since the next edition is coming out

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Catahoula]

I have two pair of Crispi. The Nevada and the Crossover Pro Light GTX. Both are wonderful for my feet and fit real nice.

 

[Sapcut]

Yeah I like the crispy Nevada’s. Size and height seem perfect for what I am looking for but I need to find them at a used price.

 

[Jimss]

Several places have models of Crispis on sale for around 20% off. I now own 2 different pairs and really like them! I wear mine at work each day. My preference is mid weight hikers rather than full length boots that weigh a tad more and are stiffer.

I use and abuse my boots year-round and have found that all leather boots with the smallest amount of stitching last longer. I've had good luck with Lowas, Scarpas, and now Crispis. The Scarpas generally are a bit narrow. Lowas and Crispis often have different widths available.

 

[Bowhunter-tw]

lots of people running Crispi boots, What about high end brands like Zamberlan, Lowa, Kennetrek, etc? Also looking to replace some 6yr old danner High grounds. Need something with good ankle support, just curious why Crispi are so popular?

 

[nphunter]

There are a lot of boots out there that are great boots. Crispi has great advertising in the hunting world. Personally I’m not a huge fan, my Scarpa, Meindl and Lowa’s are a much better mountain boot than my Nevada’s IMO. The Nevada isn’t stiff enough and doesn’t perform nearly as well in steep terrain as my past hunting boots, they also started out with significantly less tread.
The Nevada’s are super comfortable out of the box but so we’re my keen Ketchum’s which perform similar and cost 1/3 of the price.
I’ll update with a picture of the Nevada side by side with some others for comparison.

I purchase them based off of all the great feedback on these hunting forums and others. After wearing them shed hunting I honestly question if a lot of other reviews are comparing them to some of the others or have used some of the others prior to giving feedback. Had I never worn a good high end mountain boot in the past I would have thought the Nevada’s were awesome. They would be a great boot for less steep terrain and covering miles but IMO you don’t need a $400 boot for those days.

lots of people running Crispi boots, What about high end brands like Zamberlan, Lowa, Kennetrek, etc? Also looking to replace some 6yr old danner High grounds. Need something with good ankle support, just curious why Crispi are so popular?

 

[nphunter]

Left to right, Scarpa Grand Dru, Crispi Nevada GTX, Meindl Alaskan Hunter, Lowa Tibet LL.



The Nevada defiently has less tread than the others and way more rocker in the toe as well as being much much more flexible. The Meindl has been resoled in this pic.
The Scarpa is a 42.5, Crispi a 41.5EE, Miendl 41.5EE and Lowa 41EE. The Crispi is the lightest less substantial boot, way less volume of boot than the Meindl or Scarpa and slightly more than the Lowa.

This view from the front shows how much smaller the Crispi is than the others the Scarpa even thought it isn’t a wide is on a much bigger last it’s has way more volume than the Wide Crispi or Meindl and far more than the Lowa




From the rear you can really see the size difference of the boots. I think the Nevada compares most to the lowa, the lowa is much stiffer and performs better in rugged terrain though

The number one biggest downfall to the Crispi is the price. I paid double for the Crispi as for either the Lowa or Scarpa and $100 more than the Meindl for what IMO is a lot less boot. Even though the Scarpa is a $500 boot and the Tibet is $400 there are so many distributors and the market is so huge for those manufactures you can constantly find discounted boots or barely used boots for a fraction of the cost. Scarpa, Meindl, Zamberlan, Lowa and La Sportiva are huge mountaineering boot companies that build very well built boots and have been for years.

Hopefully that was helpful to the OP as well. Not entirely on topic but all of those boots except the Crispi’s were purchased at not much more than $200. I’ve also had several other pairs of Lowa, Scarpa and Zamberlan boots I no longer own. I would much rather a slightly used high end boot than a new cheap one.

 

[Sapcut]

Thanks for the info. That Meindl has a honker of a sole.

 

[nphunter]

Thanks for the info. That Meindl has a honker of a sole.

The factory sole wasn’t quite that gnarly, Hoffman’s in ID just resoled them.

 

[Jimss]

The boots in the above photos are fantastic boots and built for a fairly specific purpose. Stiff with lots of support. A lot of guys don't need that type of support.

I actually prefer more flex plus thinner soles. It's a lot easier to be stealthy and quiet with lighter weight and more flexible boots. It's also a lot easier to cover miles upon miles of country. I often don't like being bogged down by stiff, heavy, taller lengthed boots.

My preference is to have a selection of boots. That way I can pick and choose depending upon the terrain, weather, and type of hunt.

As mentioned above it's worth shopping around. Lowa, Scarpa, and Crispi all make great boot. The secret is to find the right ones that fit your particular feet and your style of hunting.

 

[Sapcut]

I have some used Kenetrek hardscrabbles on the way. I will give them a try. My issue and concern is dealing with the boot weight. I once had Asolo 520s. They were very comfortable but too stinkin heavy. Not to mention the soles coming loose in the middle of an elk hunt. Never again with those.

 

[Ian Ketterman]

Do you need steel toes? I wear square toe Irish Setter Marshal's with a steel toe for work and hardly change out of them.

 

[Sapcut]

negative

 

[Lowg08]

I just recently swapped to the Solomon 4d gtx 3 and love them