Most hiking is done on trail and most hiking shoes/boots are designed for hiking on trail with a light weight pack. Even "through hikers" that hike the AT trail rarely have more than 10-20lbs in their pack. If you go on youtube and search for AT hikers videos you'll find most of them are wearing Altra hiking shoes. I have a pair of Altras that I wear in my house only (tile floors). I can step on a dime and tell you if it is heads or tails. No way in hell I'd wear them hunting or even hiking the trails behind my house in AZ. Many big game hunters spend a lot of time "off trail" and when successful will be packing 80-100+ pounds in their pack. I too have a pair of Solomons but only wear them if I know for certain I won't be packing an animal more than a 1/2 mile. My favorite boots are Salewa Mountain Trainers. They are comfortable and I can pack an elk hind quarter a mile or two with no problem. If I was hunting 2 to 3 miles in I'd choose a more appropriate boot built for hiking off trail and packing 100lb plus