Footwear for Caribou

[Gobbler36]

Flying out of Kotzebue in August likely hunting a lot of tundra and streams and lakes wondering what you guys use for footwear on your hunts? I was thinking about stocking footwaders in case it started getting really wet, do you need wading boots or just leather boots if you go this route? Is this overkill or do I just need rain paints gaiters and my regular stuff?

Thanks

 

[soggybtmboys]

We lived in ankle fit, hip waders last year up on the slope. 1 of our guys wore Zamberlans and gaiters and was ok, except downstream crossings, where he did catch a soaker or two.

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[brisket]

I'm flying out of Kotz in August as well. Never done it before, so take this with a grain of salt. Transporter suggested Chota Hippies and wading boots, as well as rain pants/gaiter/mountain boots. Said we may find the caribou are in more dry places where the mountain boots will provide more support, or they might be in really wet places where the "hip boots" would be a necessity.

 

[shanny28757]

I had the same question and I’ve never been caribou hunting so I asked my transporter. We are going to the north slope and our transporter said that waders were not necessary. He suggested one or two pairs of hip boots for the group to get in and out of the plane. Otherwise he said regular hiking boots with gators or mid calf boots were ok.

 

[jhm2023]

I wear my Lowa Tibets with OR croc gaiters. They work well at keeping water at bay as long as you are mindful of where you can and cannot go. Rubber boots and waders with no ankle just doesn't work for me with a heavy back and tussock filled terrain. I'd rather wet feet than rolled or broken ankles. I have crocs for all the creeks, streams, and deep water areas. Typically the caribou don't like to be in the swamp anyway unless just passing through. Bring a set of goretex socks along for use as an outer sock when your boots are wet. This allows you to wear a dry sock in a wet boot.

 

[mcseal2]

Anyone tried the Neos Trekker hip boots that go over your hunting boots? I was looking at options and thought maybe those would be better than taking both simms waders/boots and my rain pant/gaiter/hunting boots. Id just take the second option and put the neos over them if it got deep.

 

[BillB]

My hunting partner two years ago brought neos on our hunt out of Bettles. The Neos actually worked good in our scenario. I brought wiggys- they didn't work out so good. Problem is they're not readily available anymore.
For regular boots I used muck artics. My buddy used good leather boots which provided good support but the trade off was that they froze before they dried out overnight.

I'm just bring mucks and a pair of breathables this year.

 

[mcseal2]

I am thinking of dropping to much money and getting the scarpa/kuiu boots with the built in gaiter. Then doing rain pants and a gaiter over that. I need to much ankle support for muck boots. I was hoping to have neos to go over my whole other set up for water crossings or deep water. I didnt want to pack the weight of all that plus my simms set up. I might though and save weight elsewhere. Cant hunt with foot or ankle issues nearly as effectively. We are going in by airboat doing a river based hunt.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

The Simms G3 Guide boot over stocking foot waders was a great combination for me. We did a float hunt, so something waterproof was essential. The Guide boot fit like a hiking boot and was comfortable for all day wear.
I ended up with light Asolo leather hikers, the Simms wader / boot combo, and a pair of ultralight camp shoes on that trip, and was thankful for each of them.

 

[OXN939]

Flying out of Kotzebue in August likely hunting a lot of tundra and streams and lakes wondering what you guys use for footwear on your hunts? I was thinking about stocking footwaders in case it started getting really wet, do you need wading boots or just leather boots if you go this route? Is this overkill or do I just need rain paints gaiters and my regular stuff?

Thanks

Hip waders for sure. Those and a pair of comfortable ankle boots for wear around camp.

 

[Gobbler36]

The Simms G3 Guide boot over stocking foot waders was a great combination for me. We did a float hunt, so something waterproof was essential. The Guide boot fit like a hiking boot and was comfortable for all day wear.
I ended up with light Asolo leather hikers, the Simms wader / boot combo, and a pair of ultralight camp shoes on that trip, and was thankful for each of them.

This was the combo I had in my head just didn’t know how the hiking would be in the Simms wading boot, but I figured I’d bring that combo with my mountain boot/ gaiters and camp shoe

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I really liked them. Don’t get felt soles. I believe those are against the rules in AK

 

[KChunter71]

Lowa Tibet’s with gaiters and Lacrosse boots for me


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[Carrera72]

I did a river boat hunt in Kotz with "Muckmaster" Muck boots. My feet were dry and warm but the ankle support was a bit lacking for me. I have bad ankles and needed a little extra support.

 

[mcseal2]

I'm still weighing options. I'm not going until 2020 so something better might come out by then.

I have the Simms G3 waders and wading boots that aren't terrible to hike in that I used on the moose hunt. They were absolutely the ticket for that hunt, I'd have gone over hip boots several times. I also like that I can sit on anything wet and not worry about it with them. I sat on a lot of wet stuff around camp in my Kuiu Yukon pants also though and never had them leak. Both worked great. I think we will be a lot more mobile and hike a lot more on a caribou hunt and I am just not sure I want to be in waders the whole time. My feet did sweat a lot on the moose hunt but I never had any trouble with them and they never really got cold. I had Darn Tough full cushion boots socks on inside them. I treated them every night with Lotrimin and put on dry socks before bed. If the info helps anyone my size 12 Simms G3 boots weighed 64oz and my chest waders weighed 42oz. Figure that info might be handy for someone doing a fly in hunt.

Camp shoes on that hunt I took a pair of the lightweight Tingley rubber boots. They aren't something I'd want to hike in a lot, but they were great for camp shoes when everything was wet. Having them let me get the waders off and inside out to dry as much as possible when I hit camp at night. Also they were very convenient for a quick trip out of the tipi for anything. I went a size up to make them super easy to get off and on. My old pair I even trimmed the top down quite a bit with a scissors to make them lighter, might do that to this pair also. Without trimming the size 12 Tingley boots were 24.5oz for the pair.

I emailed Neos yesterday to check on the availability of the River Trekker but have not heard back yet. I'll let you all know if they reply.

Another option I have is a Ridgeline supply pair of Yoder chaps with the Tingley rubber boots attached. I would not want to hike long distances in them either, same boot as above. They weigh 47oz with the heavier duty chap and could be strapped to the outside of my pack until needed for river crossings or wet areas. They are a hip boot height option. They make them with Lacrosse Alpha burley boots also among others. Mine work well on the river around home for unsticking the boat from sandbars when the water is cold enough I want to stay dry, but it's to warm for waders all day.

We will be dropped off by airboat along a river. I plan to email my transporter and see if crossing the river might be an option with chest waders or not. Crossing might open up more country to our group. That will make a difference on if I choose to take chest waders or just a hip height option.

I am sure I'm overthinking it, but I think footwear might be one of the more important gear choices for this hunt. An ankle injury could really screw up the hunt. I can handle cold wet feet, done it many times, but I prefer not to!

 

[Blockcaver]

I use Cabelas Meindl Perfekt Hunter 10" leather boots (not available anymore) that are well saturated with SnoSeal or Arctic Pro Muck Boots in Caribou or Moose country. I sometimes use OR gaitors with the Meindls, and always carry KUIU Chugach rain gear. When crossing streams I put the rain pants on and either wrap the cuffs very tightly with a Velcro compression strap off a cast (easy), use a boot lace wrapped around the cuff several times very tightly, or use several wraps of 3M electrical tape (not reusable and makes a mess in your pocket, but works well as a water seal). I don't stand around in the stream with the rain pants on but typically can get across about any stream I can wade that is less than crotch deep without getting in my boots.

I did a couple of Brooks Range hunts where I wore Lacrosse ankle fit hip boots 100% of the time. They worked well but aren't as comfortable for long hikes as my first mentioned boots. Good luck on your hunt!

 

[montee77]

We flew out of bettles a couple years ago and wore our regular hiking boots with gators when we came to creeks we had wiggy waters that we slipped on. We our flying out of kotz as well this year and plan on doing the same thing.

 

[Mustard Tiger]

Flew out of Kotz the last week of September 2018, lowa Tibet GTX, Smartwool mountaineering socks with Yukon gaiters over top worked well.

 

[Gobbler36]

I'm still weighing options. I'm not going until 2020 so something better might come out by then.

I have the Simms G3 waders and wading boots that aren't terrible to hike in that I used on the moose hunt. They were absolutely the ticket for that hunt, I'd have gone over hip boots several times. I also like that I can sit on anything wet and not worry about it with them. I sat on a lot of wet stuff around camp in my Kuiu Yukon pants also though and never had them leak. Both worked great. I think we will be a lot more mobile and hike a lot more on a caribou hunt and I am just not sure I want to be in waders the whole time. My feet did sweat a lot on the moose hunt but I never had any trouble with them and they never really got cold. I had Darn Tough full cushion boots socks on inside them. I treated them every night with Lotrimin and put on dry socks before bed. If the info helps anyone my size 12 Simms G3 boots weighed 64oz and my chest waders weighed 42oz. Figure that info might be handy for someone doing a fly in hunt.

Camp shoes on that hunt I took a pair of the lightweight Tingley rubber boots. They aren't something I'd want to hike in a lot, but they were great for camp shoes when everything was wet. Having them let me get the waders off and inside out to dry as much as possible when I hit camp at night. Also they were very convenient for a quick trip out of the tipi for anything. I went a size up to make them super easy to get off and on. My old pair I even trimmed the top down quite a bit with a scissors to make them lighter, might do that to this pair also. Without trimming the size 12 Tingley boots were 24.5oz for the pair.

I emailed Neos yesterday to check on the availability of the River Trekker but have not heard back yet. I'll let you all know if they reply.

Another option I have is a Ridgeline supply pair of Yoder chaps with the Tingley rubber boots attached. I would not want to hike long distances in them either, same boot as above. They weigh 47oz with the heavier duty chap and could be strapped to the outside of my pack until needed for river crossings or wet areas. They are a hip boot height option. They make them with Lacrosse Alpha burley boots also among others. Mine work well on the river around home for unsticking the boat from sandbars when the water is cold enough I want to stay dry, but it's to warm for waders all day.

We will be dropped off by airboat along a river. I plan to email my transporter and see if crossing the river might be an option with chest waders or not. Crossing might open up more country to our group. That will make a difference on if I choose to take chest waders or just a hip height option.

I am sure I'm overthinking it, but I think footwear might be one of the more important gear choices for this hunt. An ankle injury could really screw up the hunt. I can handle cold wet feet, done it many times, but I prefer not to!

Thanks for taking the time to reply
I am leaning towards having this chest wader and wading boot set up as well