Kennetrek Heel issues

[squeekieslayer]

Has anyone figured this out yet? It seems that about half the people that wear kennetreks end up with destroyed heels. I LOVED the feel of them, I wore them for 3+ years, but I gave them up for Lowa tibets instead.

LOng story short, I like the feel of the kennetreks more, and if I could figure out the heel issue I would wear them... but I get sooo tired of messing with duct tape and torn heels

Joe

 

[CoHiCntry]

I'm not up on the "heel issue" with Kenetrek. Do you mean your heel is slipping causing torn up heels?

 

[gobbler1662]

Man, same boat I wore the Hardscrabbles for 2 plus years. They tore me up changed the insoles multiple times, finally sold the dam things

 

[GFY]

Same here can't seem to get them to stop rubbing quarter size holes in my heels. They are about done after 3 years of hard use and I will be going with something else next year for sure. For now I just tape up before I leave and have tape to replace as necessary, darn tough socks and insoles helped a little but still have to tape every time. Like a dumbass I had taken my insoles out and put them in a pair of light hiking boots before a 5 day trip into the Sapphires this year.... grabbed my Desert Guides off the shelf and headed out... drove several hours, crossed the river in shorts and crocks, dried off and put the boots on and was like UH-OH no insoles. 7 hours and 3000' later we were at camp and my heels were toast even with tape. Still managed to hunt but was not pleasant. To make matters worse didn't hear a bugle or see an elk. I really do like everything about the boots except for the fact that they hammer my heels. If anyone has any suggestions im all ears.

 

[5MilesBack]

Well......where do you think those heel pics in Lathrop's ads came from?

The best I can say is throw a couple layers of Leukotape on your heels BEFORE you even put your boots on. I do this and leave it on the entire season, and I never have any blister issues. However this year I did feel some new hotspots late in the season right on the outside of my foot where the bone sticks out behind the toes. But put some tape on when I felt it and was good to go for the next few days to close out the season.

It's hard to keep your heel perfectly flat in any boot when you're climbing steep slopes every day. I think the stiffness of the Kenetreks just adds to that.

 

[littlebrotherC]

It's not different than any other boot. I have several boots and the Kenetreks are by far my favorite. There's a ton of variation in feet. If you're trying a redeem a bad situation I would suggest a taller arched insole . It's going to reduce some of the volume of the boot and keep your foot more stable. It doesn't always work but it's sure nice when it does.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Ive had the Mountain Guides since spring. Used them all through turkey season and now this fall on 3 different elk hunts. I bought what might have been a half size to big but wanted to make sure I had enough room for thicker socks etc. I could tell immediately that the heel slip would be to much and blisters would be a sure thing. I was able to use a common lacing technique I'm sure most of you are aware of which all but stopped any slip. The boots are now thoroughly broken in and I've never had a blister. Just my experience...

 

[squeekieslayer]

It's not different than any other boot. I have several boots and the Kenetreks are by far my favorite. There's a ton of variation in feet. If you're trying a redeem a bad situation I would suggest a taller arched insole . It's going to reduce some of the volume of the boot and keep your foot more stable. It doesn't always work but it's sure nice when it does.

Im thinking it is different from some others... Heel slip seems to be a major factor for kennetreks... use the search function or google and you will see it is a very very common issue they have. I have absolutely hammered these Lowas in the same spots as I use my kennetreks and not a single issue. I know that everyones foot is different, but it seems to be pretty consistent with kennes. I really like my kennetreks... I just can't stand constantly having to use tape

 

[waterrat]

Ive had the Mountain Guides since spring. Used them all through turkey season and now this fall on 3 different elk hunts. I bought what might have been a half size to big but wanted to make sure I had enough room for thicker socks etc. I could tell immediately that the heel slip would be to much and blisters would be a sure thing. I was able to use a common lacing technique I'm sure most of you are aware of which all but stopped any slip. The boots are now thoroughly broken in and I've never had a blister. Just my experience...

I've been lacing sheep hunting boots for 35 years, thankfully I was just breaking in a pair of Kenetreks on a spring brown bear hunt when I discovered the heel destroying tendencies they have. I've had such good luck with Cabela's Canada Hunters getting 2 good guiding years out of them then a couple more here at the house, maybe I was just being trendy,,, it didn't pan out.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I know it's a simplistic approach, but instead of trying to make a boot NOT blister my feet I've found it easier to buy a boot that fits my feet and won't blister it without taking a bunch of other measures.

Kennetreks are great boots, but if they don't fit they don't fit. Making hamburger out of your heels all the time means they don't fit.

 

[7mag.]

I finally gave up on them and moved on. Boots are a tough one because they are so expensive and you often don't know they won't work for until you already own them.

 

[airlocksniffer]

My brother has had some Mountain Extremes for 3+ years and he finally said they fit and felt great after tearing the shit out of his heels for those years. I also recently recommended Leukotape to him so that may have something to do with it. I run the Lowa Tibets and I was taping as a preventative measure early in the season but haven't been lately. Feet must have gotten tougher as the season progressed. I do think the lacing system on the Tibets does a great job of locking your heel down.

 

[Vids]

I like my Mountain Extremes, after owning them for two years they are broken in nicely and work great now. I had the same issues for awhile, and had to use duct tape and blister pads all the time.

One thing that helped me was I stopped wearing liner socks. Seems counterintuitive, but when I started wearing only Darn Tough socks and no liners I never had blisters again.

 

[twall13]

When I was in Scheel's trying on every high end boot they had the guys at the store all swore by Kennetreks. They said everyone complains about heel slippage because they get the wrong size. They claimed that with Kennetreks you get a size smaller than normal and the toe of the boot will drop a little after the 50 mile break in period and you'll be good to go. I really liked the feel of them on my feet buy my normal size had a lot of heel slippage, a size down and my toes were jammed in the front and I still felt a little heel slippage so I passed. If you have any toe room to play with sizing down might be something worth looking at. Keep in mind though, these were Scheel's employees giving me this advice, I wouldn't consider them experts by any means.

The Crispi's I tried on fit my feet much better so that's what I went with and I've been very happy with them. If you can make the Kennetreks work they seem like solid boots, but for the rest of us that can't make them work for our feet there are plenty of other options out there. Figure out what works for you and go with it.

 

[JDZ]

They said everyone complains about heel slippage because they get the wrong size. They claimed that with Kennetreks you get a size smaller than normal and the toe of the boot will drop a little after the 50 mile break in period and you'll be good to go.

That does not sound like good advice. I had my feet measured and went with the size recommended by a very reputable local dealer. I have never had issues with the fit of my Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots.

 

[twall13]

That does not sound like good advice. I had my feet measured and went with the size recommended by a very reputable local dealer. I have never had issues with the fit of my Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots.

It was certainly advice that didn't work for me. There were three guys at Scheel's all claiming it worked for them so I throw it out there as something to consider. It obviously doesn't work for everyone and I did give the caveat that these guys work for Scheels... Ultimately everyone has to make their own decisions on what works for them. I really, really wanted Lowa Tibets to work for me, but as hard as I tried using different socks, lacing techniques, insoles, etc. I could never stop the heel slippage on just the left foot. As a result, I ended up with a different boot. If the OP is dead set on Kennetreks, he has to consider different ways of making them work for him.

 

[cowboy]

I bought a pair of Kenetrek 400 gr insulated and after a short break in off I went. Most comfortable boot I could imagine. Couple years later I thought go with what works and forked out the money for a pair of Uninsulated hardscrabble hikers. Put in over 50 miles breaking them in 2-4 miles at a time. First archery backpack in I was so hobbled up with blisters by the time we set up camp I could scream. With Leuko tape I got through the week. Taped up and had no further problem. Wore them all through rifle season with no problem.
This year was a repeat of last year - first day was OK but I could feel hot spots on both heels. 2nd day I only had duct tape with me and got pretty crippled up. Used Leuko tape this year during rifle season and no major problems.
So - I've got a couple questions:
1) is there a difference in heel cup between their insulated versus non insulated? Anyone ever had heel problems with any insulated Kenetreks?
2) someone recently told me to send them back and have them stretch the heel - anyone heard anything about this?

Great boot but I'm about to cut my losses.

 

[American Grouch]

I own three pairs of Kenetrek boots. The hardscrabble hikers, the uninsulated and insulated Mountain extremes. I've yet to develop the first blister. I do believe kenetrek went through a redesign on the heel cup a year and a half or so ago, I think I read that here in the forums. At any rate I've not had any issues with mine and wear them year round.

 

[KenetrekBill]

I spoke to Jim Winjum today at Kenetrek boots reference this issue and he provided the following information to answer your question.

Heel slippage can be an issue with any stiff and supportive mountain boots especially when they are not broken in properly. Every persons heel and foot shape is complicated and completely different much like a finger print is. So it is important to find a boot that fits your foot the very best. The Kenetrek Mountain Boots have always been a very good fitting and performing boot occupying a “sweet” spot with stiff support good enough for most mountain hunting and flexible comfort that most of our customers love. When we first started out in 2006, the boot we offered had a fit rate of approximately 85% meaning that about 15% of our customers could not wear the boots with the same level of comfort as the rest. That “fit rate” was still the highest in the industry but I was not satisfied so Kenetrek set out to improve the fit and redesigned our own lasts. This project was enormously expensive but the results were extraordinary! By making adjustments to the heel pocket of the boots, we were able to increase the fit rate of our customers to an incredible 98%! We also added a premium molded footbed as a standard with our mountain boots making the current Kenetrek Mountain Boots the most comfortable mountain boots on the market. Even with this incredible fitting boot, it is still essential that our customers break the boots in properly before a big hunt. Any time a customer develops huge ugly blisters on their hunt, it tells me they did not properly prepare and wear the boots enough to make certain they fit their feet correctly. A back country sheep hunt is no place to find out your boots don’t fit! This is a matter of personal responsibility and it is like showing up on a hunt without sighting in your rifle then blaming the gun when you miss. Here is an article I wrote on selecting and fitting your mountain boots. http://www.kenetrek.com/fitting-tips-mountainboots.asp

I hope some of this information helps.

Jim Winjum,

Kenetrek Boots

 

[Manosteel]

I spoke to Jim Winjum today at Kenetrek boots reference this issue and he provided the following information to answer your question.

Heel slippage can be an issue with any stiff and supportive mountain boots especially when they are not broken in properly. Every persons heel and foot shape is complicated and completely different much like a finger print is. So it is important to find a boot that fits your foot the very best. The Kenetrek Mountain Boots have always been a very good fitting and performing boot occupying a “sweet” spot with stiff support good enough for most mountain hunting and flexible comfort that most of our customers love. When we first started out in 2006, the boot we offered had a fit rate of approximately 85% meaning that about 15% of our customers could not wear the boots with the same level of comfort as the rest. That “fit rate” was still the highest in the industry but I was not satisfied so Kenetrek set out to improve the fit and redesigned our own lasts. This project was enormously expensive but the results were extraordinary! By making adjustments to the heel pocket of the boots, we were able to increase the fit rate of our customers to an incredible 98%! We also added a premium molded footbed as a standard with our mountain boots making the current Kenetrek Mountain Boots the most comfortable mountain boots on the market. Even with this incredible fitting boot, it is still essential that our customers break the boots in properly before a big hunt. Any time a customer develops huge ugly blisters on their hunt, it tells me they did not properly prepare and wear the boots enough to make certain they fit their feet correctly. A back country sheep hunt is no place to find out your boots don’t fit! This is a matter of personal responsibility and it is like showing up on a hunt without sighting in your rifle then blaming the gun when you miss. Here is an article I wrote on selecting and fitting your mountain boots. http://www.kenetrek.com/fitting-tips-mountainboots.asp

I hope some of this information helps.

Jim Winjum,

Kenetrek Boots

Ok, so what is their recommended breakin procedure. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what a properly broken in pair of boots are.