How long are your boots lasting?

[Muleyczy]

I must be doing something wrong. I get two, maybe three years out of my Kenetrek’s.

 

[nobody]

I live in Oklahoma. You can go for a morning walk in the spring through ankle high grass and your boots are saturated from dew.

if your boots are ever saturated with water, that means the leather is thirsty and needs treated. Leather should never take on water if you want it to last. Properly treated and waterproofed boots should have water bead up and roll off.

Judging by the cracks elsewhere on the boots, they’ve been soaked through a lot and dried too fast and never “lotioned” back up with waterproofing. No boot will survive that sort of neglect.

If you’ve worn them with any type of regularity and only treated them 4 times since you’ve gotten them, they’re under treated. They should be treated much more often than that, at the first sign of any water saturation, and treated until the leather doesn’t take on any water at all.

 

[BRTreedogs]

The renegade/evo are the top end of the hiker category imo.
They are a molded sole, lighter weight, lower cost option that is an easy button for out of the box comfort.

They are not a serious boot imo

And if I chose to run them I’d be happy it they stayed waterproof for 1 hunt season.

You need to find a full grain leather mountain boot that talks about leather thickness in the description and also has a full rubber Rand.

They will be heavy, expensive & most likely require breaking in.

Also imo trying to keep mud to a minimum is not good enough, especially if it’s clay.

They need to be fully hosed off every time a hose is available.

When I worked in clay mud in the ditch we determined it to be one of the biggest killers to our boots.

The stitching would rot out.

I also even try to keep the foot heat in the truck to the absolute minimum required. And consider blasting the footwell heat in the truck to be a leather killer.

If I remember correctly.
My zamerlan 980s made 3 seasons waterproof.& probably 1k miles

There still going, but my feet are always wet.

At this point they have to at least have 250 days

 

[S.Clancy]

Lowa renegades fail at the toe seams consistently. Lots of guys like them because they are comfortable out of the box, but it comes at the cost of durability. It looks to me like your boot has likely gone through several wet/dry cycles without good care so they start to crack and dry rot.

I have gotten up to a few years out of their more robust boots with near daily wear.

I was gonna say, the leather on those boots looks hammered, ie not good care by the owner.

 

[LongWayAround]

I was gonna say, the leather on those boots looks hammered, ie not good care by the owner.

He mentioned dealing with a lot of mud. My experience is that if you aren't proactively treating them before mud and getting it off asap for retreatment, the mud sucks all of moisture out of the leather and causes the cracking.

 

[S.Clancy]

He mentioned dealing with a lot of mud. My experience is that if you aren't proactively treating them before mud and getting it off asap for retreatment, the mud sucks all of moisture out of the leather and causes the cracking.

Yup

 

[LCguy]

If you like the way Lowa's fit, check out the Caminos.

 

[Okie-hunter]

if your boots are ever saturated with water, that means the leather is thirsty and needs treated.

The leather on the renegades would absorb water from day 1… it would take longer to soak through but would eventually. Do people normally treat their boots before even wearing them?

When I worked in clay mud in the ditch we determined it to be one of the biggest killers to our boots.

This is good to know. These boots have definitely seen wet ag fields more than once.

 

[BRTreedogs]

The leather on the renegades would absorb water from day 1… it would take longer to soak through but would eventually. Do people normally treat their boots before even wearing them?

This is good to know. These boots have definitely seen wet ag fields more than once.

I believe the first defense is the boots ability to shed water. Similar to a pickup with a good wax.

This is why I’ve gone away from boots with cloth in them. And nubuck aka ruff out leather.
I believe the water sitting on the material while be moved is a contributing factor.

And the more you can do to keep the water from sitting on the material/leather etc is helpful

 

[BRTreedogs]

I also feel that waterproof sprays, cream etc are not that great.

I’m currently in the boot/leather Wax belief.
I want the water beading up and rolling off as much as possible.
Currently Kenetrek wax is what I have on hand.

I’ve used a lot of obenhaufs on work boots. It seems decent at waterproofing, but I consider it more of a conditioner to soften super stiff leather.

But I’ve heard multiple manufacturers blame obenhaufs to get out of warranty claims.
Specifically danner and failed stitching.
I haven’t decided on what I believe.
My red wing and thorough good work boots have seen a lot of obenhaufs and no problem.
But I don’t typically work in mud often anymore and if I do I try to hide off.

I smeared the heck out of those 980s with sno seal to try get more life out of them.

I think it’s a decent waterproofing. But I also feel it clogs the leather pores and holds in more sweat so it’s a double edged sword.

 

[S.Clancy]

I also feel that waterproof sprays, cream etc are not that great.

I’m currently in the boot/leather Wax belief.
I want the water beading up and rolling off as much as possible.
Currently Kenetrek wax is what I have on hand.

I’ve used a lot of obenhaufs on work boots. It seems decent at waterproofing, but I consider it more of a conditioner to soften super stiff leather.

But I’ve heard multiple manufacturers blame obenhaufs to get out of warranty claims.
Specifically danner and failed stitching.
I haven’t decided on what I believe.
My red wing and thorough good work boots have seen a lot of obenhaufs and no problem.
But I don’t typically work in mud often anymore and if I do I try to hide off.

I smeared the heck out of those 980s with sno seal to try get more life out of them.

I think it’s a decent waterproofing. But I also feel it clogs the leather pores and holds in more sweat so it’s a double edged sword.

Of all the things I've used Kenetrek wax is what has worked the best. I'm conditioning my leather boots multiple times a year if I want them to last.

 

[BRTreedogs]

As far as value is concerned.
Time of ownership means nothing per say.

It’s use days.
Over 5 years some people may hunt 4x more days then others.
So if those Lowe’s cost $250 and you wore them 14 months every week. That’s about 120 days?
Good value in my book

But it’s it’s only 30 use days yeah. Not good enough.

For instance in my mind my $700 exo pack has so many use days, not only was it free it’s almost paying me back at this point

 

[Okie-hunter]

I’ve been using some sort of Nikwax nubuck leather spray. I’ll get some kenetrek ordered and try it out as well on my next pair.

I also feel that waterproof sprays, cream etc are not that great.

I’m currently in the boot/leather Wax belief.
I want the water beading up and rolling off as much as possible.
Currently Kenetrek wax is what I have on hand.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I’ve been using some sort of Nikwax nubuck leather spray. I’ll get some kenetrek ordered and try it out as well on my next pair.

Good luck

I reserve the rite to completely change my story at any time if I find something else out

 

[isleofGough]

I use Kenetrek wax. Crispi boots last 600 miles or so or about 18 months. Kenetrek hardscrabble are going strong at 2.5 years and Zamberlain Tofane and hanwag ashcash show no signs of wearing out. My trail runners last only 300 miles, so I use Chaco sandals in the summers.

 

[Xperimental]

I'm still using a pair of Zamberlan Dakota 7" high boots that I got in early 2013, so four seasons use now. I don't normally check my mileage in a season, but in 2015 I used my GPS to track every mile. It was over 200 miles for the season at 20+ days hunted. That season was pretty much average for the previous two as well so I figure over 600 miles on them through those three seasons. This season wasn't quite as much as those but I figure the boots have over 700 miles on them now. I'll keep wearing them as long as they hold up because they are by far the most comfortable hunting boots I've worn, and they've been discontinued so I can't replace them with the same thing. I have a pair of this version in a 10" boot, but I much prefer the 7". The best thing about them is they only cost me $86 on clearance......because they were being discontinued....last pair of 13's.

 

[brancher147]

Kenetreks usually last me 4 or 5 years for hunting and hiking if I take care of them. If I wear them to work also they don’t last as long.

When they “wear out” I give them to a friend and he wears them another couple years.

 

[nobody]

I’ve been using some sort of Nikwax nubuck leather spray. I’ll get some kenetrek ordered and try it out as well on my next pair.

Amen on the Kenetrek wax. I wear crispi’s, and they recommend the nikwax stuff, but it’s never actually performed. Kenetrek boot wax flat works. Put it on thick and give it plenty of time (I like to do a week) to soak in and dry and reapply as soon as you see the water saturating.

And yes, treat boots when new. All companies say it’s not needed, but it doesn’t hurt either.

 

[Ross]

2-4 years and on to a new set.

 

[Okie-hunter]

Update on Lowa CS. Spoke with Chris (warranty manager) & they’re replacing the boots. After asking if I could pay for expedited shipping to have in time for an upcoming turkey hunt he offered to send them 3 day air free of charge. Also sending some waterproofing solution they recommend but he said they certainly do not recommend Nikwax.
Overall good experience with Lowa CS & will continue wearing the renegades for light duty hunting.
Also looking at a few different heavier duty pairs to try out this year.