Hunting vs hiking boots

[bloom1gr]

If you hike/hunt with what you already have, soon enough you'll learn what you want/need. Then you won't be subject to a zillion irrelevant opinions. I'd say that applies to all gear. When I started out in scouting as a youngster we went on all kind of trips with whatever we had. Im pretty sure I wore "womens" boots until I was 16 or so, cuz that's what I had.

On mtn missions in college and beyond, we prided ourselves in going higher, faster, longer without the showy gear that the mags said "must have gear of 19XX!". That meant we had more money for gas, beer, and more adventure (and because we didn't have to work as hard to earn as much to buy more expensive shit). Still applies now. Though a little extra spent in the right places can result in a lot more comfort.

I agree. I'm trying to be patient but the time stuck at home and preparing to move west has me all worked up wanting to do it all, knowing very well that I might buy a sh*t ton of stuff I might not end up needing or wanting once I'm out in the woods.

 

[Trogon]

What do you think you need?

In the mtn west (CO in my case), I think you are covered with:

• Light weight summer/trail boots. Moderate flex. Can carry over into early season bow hunting.100-150$ range: Salomon X-Ultra, Schnees Kestrel, Scarpa.
• General purpose midweight leather boots, good to mid 20s temp, 200-300$: Scarpa Kinesis, Schnees beartooth, L&S hunters
• Late rifle/ COLD: 300-600gr tall+insulated boots, 300-400$: Schnees granite, etc. I personally dont care for pack boots for steep terrain.

 

[Fisherhahn]

Can you elaborate on pack boots or at least let me know if I'm understanding correctly ....

They're boots with liners ... yet you can alternate the liners to accomodate different temps? or what am I missing...

Sorry when I say pack boots I mean the big bulky heavily insulated boots for very cold weather. Some have removable liners, but I don’t think they adjust for different temps.

 

[bloom1gr]

What do you think you need?

In the mtn west (CO in my case), I think you are covered with:

• Light weight summer/trail boots. Moderate flex. Can carry over into early season bow hunting.100-150$ range: Salomon X-Ultra, Schnees Kestrel, Scarpa.
• General purpose midweight leather boots, good to mid 20s temp, 200-300$: Scarpa Kinesis, Schnees beartooth, L&S hunters
• Late rifle/ COLD: 300-600gr tall+insulated boots, 300-400$: Schnees granite, etc. I personally dont care for pack boots for steep terrain.

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I'm moving from KY to OR in a month, so it'll be quite a fair transition in regards to the area I'll be exploring. I hear a lot out of the coastal PNW being wet and rainy a lot, yet southwest OR in the Medford area experiences forest fires on at least a semi-regular basis. Temp-wise I don't expect it to be frigid during the fall/ early winter. The topo maps indicate there's a fair bit of elevation changes in the areas I'll be wandering, too, though not to the level of CO

 

[Trogon]

I lived and have family/friends in Bend. Medford is in the rain shadow of the coast range. Quite a bit drier there, although they do get a decent amount of precipitation, especially if you head west or south into the siskiyou’s. Summers are hot and dry. A good mid weight boot with waterproof membrane will serve you well. Gaiters might help at certain times

 

[bloom1gr]

I lived and have family/friends in Bend. Medford is in the rain shadow of the coast range. Quite a bit drier there, although they do get a decent amount of precipitation, especially if you head west or south into the siskiyou’s. Summers are hot and dry. A good mid weight boot with waterproof membrane will serve you well. Gaiters might help at certain times

Bend seems amazing, but honestly everything out there looks exciting compared to life around here. I haven't explored too much into gaiters yet, but have seen them a fair bit on all the hunting shows and youtube videos I've been glued to the past couple years. Someone on here suggested pushing into eastern OR versus that Rogue River/Siskiyou area too, but trying to start off a little closer to home to see what is walking around the woods there.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Echo what others said about the boots.

I would note, hunting brands tend to make higher top boots which have fallen out of Davor in most hiking circles. I would also say that I will tend to hunt in a stiffer boot than I might hike the same terrain in simply because I could end up hauling out a much heavier load of meat. I know some people that choose to hunt in lighter boots and then grab a heavier stiffer set from the truck to haul the 2nd and subsequent loads of meat out of the woods.