Kenetrek boots?

[flatlander51]

I bought a pair a kenetrek boots for my last hunt and they absolutely destroyed my heels. Has anyone else had this same problem with these boot and if so have you found a boot that is better for this type of issue? Thanks

 

[fillthefreezer]

i have tried kennetreks on and figured they would, do to the amount of heel lift i got in the store. ive tried on quite a few other boots that have the same symptom. i have skinny feet. lowas tend to fit me best when trying on every boot rei had. hanwag alaskans are the best fitting so far..

 

[Matt Cashell]

Lots of heel slip for me in Kenetreks. I also have a narrow heel.

Well-made boot though.

 

[sk1]

i never made it out of the store with kenetreks they were so uncomfortable for me

tomorrow i am ordering hanwag alaskan gtx from lathrop and sons, they are $100 off right now. call customer service and ask some questions, i did today and explained issues i typically have, and they are basically willing to work with you and do whatever they possibly can to make them fit right. so i am taking some measurements we talked about today and calling him back tomorrow to place my order. i absolutely cannot speak from experience with them, but hearing what others have to say and speaking directly with an owner about what steps they will take if they dont fit right, makes me excited to place an order and get a boot that fits right

the other option i was looking at was lowa tibet gtx, which my initial impression is i would rather have those, but with the customer service lathrop and sons showed me on the first phone call, it's almost impossible not to choose them

 

[Matt Cashell]

L&S is awesome. Good choice.

 

[CM]

For what it's worth, I have several pairs of Kenetreks I've picked up for cheap. They have all torn my heels up the first 30 miles or so, but after that they are great. I also have a pair of Lowa Sheephunters, they were great from the start. If i was paying full price I would definitely go with the a boot from Lowa or Hanwag but if you can find Kenetreks on a deal or if your stuck with the ones you have you might want to try wearing them longer and see if anything changes.

I have one pair of uninsulated mountain extremes that have had been resoled twice and are still going strong.

 

[flatlander51]

They are definitely great boots just not for my type of feet. I plan to continue wearing them on my whitetail hunts here at home but I can't risk Wearing them on my western hunts. I only get one hunt out west every other year so I need to be 100% for my hunt. I'm going to try another brand for the next hunt and put as many miles on them as possible before my hunt to avoid any issues in the future. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Kotaman]

Yep...Owned two pair of Kene's and both shredded my heels. I've owned well over 20 pairs of mountain boots and none have ever shredded my heels like Kenetreks. Decent made boot, but why go through the pain to get them to work when there are so many other great choices out there? My two favorite boots of over 20 plus pair: Lowa Sheep Hunters followed by Hanwag Trapper Elites.

 

[TEmbry]

My Kenetreks have been great to me. I put about 70 miles on theme the first week I had them and they fit perfect now.

 

[thru-hunter]

My firs hike in kenetreks was about 9 miles with numerous waist deep water crossings. I never had a problem with blisters but I wasn't impressed with the torsional rigidity. The leather also broke down on me with less miles than I would like to have seen. They are hard to beat for mixed terrain but for a mountain boot I will not be purchasing them again.

 

[gobbler1662]

The first question did you do the 50 mile break in before your hunt. I have a pair of hardscrabbles and after the break in period they have been great. But you have to do that 50 miles.

 

[flatlander51]

No can't say I did. I did about 40 miles on my hunt. So I'm probably right at the 50 mile mark now and they still rub my heels pretty bad.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I had 60+ miles of hard hiking and scouting on mine before I sold them. They still killed my heels every time...

Mike

 

[bowuntr]

I love my Kenetreks.... I found that I have to tighten them after initial warm up to get a perfect fit. Once that is accomplished... they are the best fitting boot I've ever owned. Several hundred miles on them... Ed F

 

[actionshooter]

They didn't work for me, but I think they are really well made boots.
They are definately a "love them or hate them" boot.

 

[Aron Snyder]

+1 for actionshooter

I have friends that like them, but they tore up my heals something fierce!

 

[Cindy Wamsley]

I've liked mine. I wouldn't say they fit perfect or are my last hunting boot. I hiked the first 50 miles without after market inserts and had some real sore feet and some hot spots. I expected that. I could never get the right boot to fit the way I wanted it so I tried the inserts. Now I have the opposite problem, the right boot fits great and the left doesn't. I could pull the left insert but the fit with inserts in both boots is better than without. I've picked up a pair of Crispi's for my husband for Christmas and I'm real interested to see how he likes them. He was going to go with the Kenetrek's but didn't like the fit in the store either. I hope he doesn't read this post!

 

[2ski]

For what its worth, I played on a golf league for a few years here in Bozeman, and summer before last I golfed with the owner of Kennetrek and the owner of the cobbler shop that I bought my Kenetreks from. They asked me how I liked them and I told them I did like them, but had issues with them blistering my heels. I will say I have issues with quite a few shoes blistering my heels however. Golf shoes, hiking shoes, ect. I have to have a few miles on the boots before I start to get blisters and the blisters are generally not too bad. They feel bad, but only take a day or so to heal as opposed to other blisters I've had that take upwards of a week to heal. They told me that the newest Kenetreks had the heel problem fixed. I didn't ask if this is what they were refering to. I do agree that fit is something on them that needs to be adjusted after you have had them on for a half hour or so.

 

[Biggs300]

I put just over 30 miles on my Kenetreks to break them in for a CO elk hunt earlier this year. During the break-in period, they were comfortable and I never had a blister or even a hot spot on my heels. It was a different story after a couple of days of climbing in the mountains. I did get a minor blister on one heel on the hunt so, I think they will need a bit more breaking in before next elk season. I've read that it takes 50 miles or more to break them in.

 

[Solitude]

I have a wide foot and have worn them successfully for the past 4 seasons. Tried on over a half dozen manufacturers wide boots and I am happy with the Hardscrabbles. Bought a couple others and returned them before landing with this pair.

Finding a wide boot that fits is tough for me. They provide exceptional support and no heel slip for my wide foot.

I did break them in on several local 5 mile day loop hikes getting ready for the initial hunting trip I took them on. I even ran with them for a few miles to ensure they fit properly.

Good luck on your search for the perfect boot as it can be a frustrating journey.