Schnee's Beartooth fit?

[murf45]

Wondering if anyone could shed some light on how the Schnee's beartooth or possibly the absoraka fit? I have a narrow heel and wide forefoot.
I've tried a few boots on and just cant seem to find anything that fits. I have the Lowa renegade's and love them, but I need something a little stiffer if im going to be packing up and down some of the steep terrain we'll be hunting in.
1. Lowa Cevedale- great fit in the heel, but way to narrow in the forefoot
2. meindl's- good width in the forefoot, but a little too loose in the heel
3. Lowa Ticam- alright in the heel, but a little too tight in the forefoot (not as bad as the cevedale)
4. Scarpa charmoz pro GTX- tight in the forefoot and a little sloppy in the heel

I was thinking about ordering the Schnee's beartooth's, but thought I would check to see if anyone could give me some insight as to how they fit compaired to some of these boots. I have the superfeet green insoles and the Lathrop and sons insole as well.

 

[Sboada]

I think you'll find the beartooths to be a good match and super comfortable. I have had them for two years and absolutely love them. They hold the heel very well and the forefoot is plenty big. Good luck!

 

[murf45]

How is the stiffness? Would the regular width give me enough room?

 

[Sboada]

If you normally wear a d width I'd say you would be fine in terms of width with a regular. They proved plenty stiff for me chasing elk in Hells Canyon, ID last year which has some fairly unfriendly terrain. They are not quite as stiff as the Granites or Absorkas but plenty of ankle support for the nasty stuff just may not be great for sheep or goat where you have to do a good bit of side hilling as a result of a bit more flex in the sole. However the ounce more flex in the sole makes them much more comfortable day to day, if you aren't in the super steeps every day. For that I turn to my Kenetreks ME. Which may be another option for you to consider. The old heel design was too big and caused me problems but they swapped them out for me last year for a new pair with their new (narrower) heel cup and they have been a great fit for me as well. A little heavier and stiffer.

Hard to beat Schnees Customer service and 100% guarantee though. Buy them, wear them, and if you aren't happy, return them no questions asked. Not sure if you want/need insulation but the Absorkas look interesting and would have been an option if they were available a couple of years ago.

 

[Jeff Martin]

I love the beartooth. They are my favorite boot by a mile. My previous boot was the Lowa Tibet. To my foot, more comfortable than Tibets.

Compare fit. I am not sure if this helps.

I never had heel slip issues with the Lowa. I liked the Lowa but felt like the small ridge in the arch (under the insole) bothered my foot when I got over 40 pounds. The Schnees do not have that small ridge/step up. I ran high end insoles with the Lowa but not required with the Schnees. I feel like the Schnees is a more tailored feel....perhaps Italian versus German.

I am running a .5 size smaller in the Schnees. Do not draw too much from that..i think i bought the Lowa .5 size too large.
I do think the toe box in the Schnees is as deep which helps with fit and heel slippage.

In terms of stiffness. Schnees offers different stiff boots. I feel like the Lowa is slightly stiffer, but Schnees offers the GRANITE which IMO compares the Hanwag in stiffness. I think the specs are like 7mm nylon for the Granite and 5mm for the beartooth. I like the very slight flex in the Beartooth better.

 

[boom]

i went with my actual size..10.5. the fit is pretty good. no heel slip. i do that extra square not at the bottom before i lace up the leg to hold everything down.

i find the boot very stiff.

 

[murf45]

I ordered the zamberlan vioz plus gtx's from l&s. I'm also going to get the schnees beartooth to compare and keep the one that feels the best. I'll let you know what boot I choose.

 

[tstowater]

Murf: have you gotten the boots in yet? Just curious to see what you think. I have a pair of the Granites and wanted to love the Beartooths but for some reason I couldn't get them to fit in the toe box as well. I ended up with a pair of the Vioz and they fit me perfect. No break in and wore all last fall with no issues. For what it's worth, you might try the Crispi boots as well. I have a new pair on as I type as I wanted something with some insulation and rolled the dice on the Crispi. So far, so good. Boots felt great out of the box. Bought these as the Vioz didn't have any insulation and wanted something for colder weather elk and lion hunting.

 

[murf45]

I'm still waiting for the boots to show up. I'll post as soon as I get a little time in them.

 

[Fjelljeger]

I just ordered the zamberland vioz plus gtx from l&s. They told me customs had held up the shipment but once cleared the boots should be ready to ship. Good guys at l&s. They threw in the custom fitting for their foot beds for being on rokslide! Saved a good $35.

 

[Sboada]

Curious to hear how the boots are working out. Any updates?

 

[murf45]

I just ordered the zamberland vioz plus gtx from l&s. They told me customs had held up the shipment but once cleared the boots should be ready to ship. Good guys at l&s. They threw in the custom fitting for their foot beds for being on rokslide! Saved a good $35.

This is what I'm waiting on as well. The Zamberlan's were held up in Canada at customs. So it's going to be a bit before I get my hands on them. I'll echo what fjelljeger said though, L&S's are great guys to work with.

 

[tstowater]

Murf45: Did you order the Beartooths also? I think you have a good chance of making them work for you. As Jeff Martin stated, I think that they are a great boot, but they were a little tight in the foot box for me. For your information, I ran into the same problem with the Meindl Perfect Hunters also so I am guessing that the foot box will be about the same for the Beartooths as the Meindl boots as a reference point. I should have brought this up the last time I posted.

BTW, I got my Zamberlans from L&S and they were great to work with and I did go with a pair of the footbeds. Definitely comfortable.

 

[murf45]

Murf45: Did you order the Beartooths also? I think you have a good chance of making them work for you. As Jeff Martin stated, I think that they are a great boot, but they were a little tight in the foot box for me. For your information, I ran into the same problem with the Meindl Perfect Hunters also so I am guessing that the foot box will be about the same for the Beartooths as the Meindl boots as a reference point. I should have brought this up the last time I posted.

BTW, I got my Zamberlans from L&S and they were great to work with and I did go with a pair of the footbeds. Definitely comfortable.

Someone mentioned the beartooths were tight in the toe box so I'm going to try the zamberlans first with new footbeds. If they don't work then it's on to the schnees . L&s said I might get them this week, so I'll update as soon as I get some time in them. Really hope the vioz do the trick.

 

[murf45]

I finally got the zamberlans, and was able to put a few miles on them over the weekend. They fit really nice and the synergy beds felt amazing in them. The width through the whole foot was pretty good and the heel was narrower then most of the other wide boots I've tried. I did have to buy a little thicker sock to fill up a little slop in the heel and they're about perfect now.
They feel pretty sturdy and I like the waxy leather. They feel like they won't have any issues with wet conditions but I'll need to put more miles on them to test durability. We'll be heading to Colorado in a few days for a 9 day elk hunt so I should be able to shed some more light on the boots and hopefully be able to post some pics on the meat pole.