Kenetrek boots VS. Crispi Boots?

[sonofthegriz]

Insulated vs. non-insulated... for me it comes down to whether I‘m sitting still or moving when it’s pretty cold out (snow on the ground cold). I hunt Colorado deer and elk in archery and rifle seasons. My feet run hot, so my early and late season mountain boots are both non-insulated. I sized up a 1/2 size (without going up to the next full size) and use a thin liner sock in my late season boots. That’s worked well for me so far, but your body and your hunting style may be different. I do like the taller boot for when I’m busting through deadfall and moving through the timber when there’s snow on the ground. Archery season, I like something lighter and quieter.

Last season, I tried on just about every Crispi on the wall at my local Scheel’s looking for a new early season boot. My late season boot is the Mountain Extreme NI from Kenetrek. This boot has worked really well for me, so I knew the Hardscrabble would probably work well for me but I still wanted to play the field a bit. Crispis are built well and have a huge “in crowd” following, but they just don’t fit my feet. There’s a big difference in fit from model to model, and I tried as many variations of width and model as they had, but nothing felt as good as my Kenetreks. Still went home with a pair of Thors but, after 2 weeks of every day wear, wearing them on the field course range, and going for a hike in them, it just didn’t work out. Wound up bringing them back and getting the Hardscrabbles, and haven’t regretted it at all. Try on as many boots as possible and be as honest as you can about the fit - your feet will thank you when you come out west.

 

[xturns06x]

Stiffness of kenetrek compared to crispi and Schnees?

 

[sahunter06]

I’ve enjoyed my Crispi summit GTX for early season. Broke in right out of the box. I’ll even wear them into November in Georgia with a good pair of merino wool socks. #3 flex. Put over 100 miles in one year on them.

 

[blacktail sniper]

love my crispis I Have kennetrks danders and a host of others all blistered my feet. Now have Idaho gtx, and the Nevadas in 200 love them. Just picked up a pair of crossover as well for early season and jus about anything.

 

[andylew1980]

I have used Crispis, kenetreks, and Salomons. By far the most comfortable are the salomons but what you gain in comfort you lose in durability overall. But I love those boots. They breathe well and dry out quickly. I’m talking for early season boot. Downside to them is ankle stability but you can motor with them anywhere. I had one pair of Crispi Thor’s and while they are fairly broken out the box and I broke them in pretty well down here in the flatlands of Louisiana in I still blistered up like crazy on the mountain. These were fit to my normal shoe size and my toes jammed in the toe box big time.

The kenetrek mountain extreme non simulated are a solid boot. I like them. They took a lot more breaking in than did the crispis but I really enjoyed them on the mountain, especially with regards to lateral stability of the ankles. Provided so much more support. That being said, the Thor is probably not the best boot to compare to the mountain extreme from the standpoint of apples to apples. They are two totally different styles of boots with regards materials and stability.

I agree with the other fellers on here that say...this is what worked for ME. Definitely go try out as many boots as you can if you have that ability. I ordered boots and returned what I didn’t like. THAT BEING SAID...with a boot that is not broken in you don’t necessarily know if you are gonna like it until you put the miles in to break them in.