Tackiest Boots for Slick Mountainsides

[Spiral Horn]

Looking for some direct-experience feedback. I’ve had several high-end brands of Mountain Hunting Boots for Sheep and Goat Hunts. Although some fit me well and offered great support there definitely were times when side-hilling over slick rocks or vegetation where I didn’t feel the hard-rubber Vibram soles offered a secure grip. Distinctly remember boot grip giving way on several wet (non-iced) surfaces over the course of numerous hunts. Also felt the lack of solid grip on wet surfaces was more due to sole material than tread design. Looking for feedback from those who have experience with the above and what boots they’ve found work best for them on slick areas in the sheep/goat mountains.

 

[Brightwhite]

I used the crispi Briksdal on a Goat Hunt last year and I had the opposite experience - I was very impressed with how the Vibram soles felt very secure & sticky, especially rock hoping boulder fields even if it was raining and rocks were wet. Maybe the tread design on those is different than whatever boot you have worn in the past?

Vegitation is tough, I always slip coming down steep grassy stuff, fell a ton coming down steep vegitated side hills in Kodiak. Not sure there is a boot out there that will solve that.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Kodiak is its own nightmare in the rain and snow. Slick is an understatement in any boot choice.

Kodiak aside, "slick" slope elsewhere is usually shale scree. For sheep in Alaska (all ranges) I'd strongly recommend a comfortable boot that you can walk tens of miles without blisters and hotspots. The vibram soles most companies use (except Keen) are good enough. I really like Asolo and Kenetrek vibram choices.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

On known slick crossings near glaciers I've taken 1/2" screws with square heads and a phillips driver to tap my soles in 6-8 key spots on each boot sole. Once off the sketchy terrain, they can easily be unscrewed and pocketed until needed again. This works better for me than slip on traction rubber/spikes because of the ounces

 

[BC Alpine Hunter]

Hi Spiral Horn,

I have used Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 400 boots for about 12 years. Primarily because they fit my feet so I haven’t bothered to try others. I find them to be pretty good on slippery boulders although I still try avoiding them while packing heavy loads for obvious reasons. On the flip side because they are a softer rubber then the vibram soles I generally get about 100 days out of a pair before I get them resoled (with a vibram sole because it’s too expensive to send them across the border to have Kenetreks re sole them.)

The vibram soles are a harder rubber. They last longer however they aren’t quite as “sticky”. Kind of like a winter tire vs. All season. I get about double the life out of a vibram sole compared to the stock kenetreks sole.

I will say that on steep hills with greasy snow neither boot does well without cramp ons.

 

[tdot]

I've been happy with the traction of my Scarpa Ribelle HD's on slick rock. I got into a few places this August where I was very happy to have them, not some of my previous boots. On wet rock they approach the traction that I have in my 5:10 rock climbing approach shoes with sticky rubber. But they still aren't life changing once the slope turns to slick grass and plants. If I can't dig in the edge of my tread, they are still slippy.

 

[Silver]

Depending on the terrain you're in, consider looking at a true mountaineering boots - the rubber compound is often designed to grip rock faces and allow for edging. The downside to this is that you'll wear out the soles that much faster.

I've found La Sportiva rubber to be the tackiest if they fit your feet, and it's reasonably easy to find a cobbler who can do a full sole replacement for less than half the price of a new boot.

You can also think about how you're walking in the mountains. Most people's instinct is to tighten the boots as tight as possible around the ankle and use your foot edges for traction. Instead, try allowing for a bit more flexibility in the ankle and focus on getting your entire sole well connected to the ground. It's surprising how much traction you can get this way. It definitely makes you feel every little muscle in your ankles until you get used to it.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Unfortunately I don't have a "best boot" answer to your question, I think they're all (mountaineering boots), close to about the same as far as traction goes. I always carry some kind of spike on my mountain hunts, usually Kahtoola microspikes, and there have been quite a few hunts where I wore them almost 100% of the time. My biggest issue with the Kahtoola's is they never seem to last longer than about a year. I have several pairs that are bailing wired together in misc. places.

 

[ozyclint]

crampons. you can still use your favourite boot and just put them on when needed.

 

[Confluentus]

Bring mountaineering-style crampons if you expect wet steep vegetation. Kahtoola and Petzl have good options.


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[BBob]

hard-rubber Vibram soles

Any idea which Vibram soles were on those boots?

I've found Vibram Mont rubber to be pretty sticky on rock wet or dry. It's a common compound used on many mountaineering boots. LaSportiva and Scarpa both make similar boots I've used. Trango Tech's and Zodiac Plus. Both have been good boots for technical terrain. They both are stiff enough to handle digging in side hilling and toeing in straight up pretty well. The Vibram rubber on the Trango Tech is proprietary and they don't say what compound it actually is, the Zodiac is Mont. I currently have the Zodiac Plus's.

5:10 rock climbing approach shoes with sticky rubber

That sticky dot rubber is badass! I still have a pair of Sportiva flip flops with 5.10 sticky dot. I can go almost anywhere in them and use them for approaches and walk off's all the time. I get lots of looks!
They are like Magic

 

[thinhorn_AK]

crampons. you can still use your favourite boot and just put them on when needed.

Yup, a lightweight set of crampons.

 

[IBen]

Looking for some direct-experience feedback. I’ve had several high-end brands of Mountain Hunting Boots for Sheep and Goat Hunts. Although some fit me well and offered great support there definitely were times when side-hilling over slick rocks or vegetation where I didn’t feel the hard-rubber Vibram soles offered a secure grip. Distinctly remember boot grip giving way on several wet (non-iced) surfaces over the course of numerous hunts. Also felt the lack of solid grip on wet surfaces was more due to sole material than tread design. Looking for feedback from those who have experience with the above and what boots they’ve found work best for them on slick areas in the sheep/goat mountains.

I wear a la sportiva tx3 or tx4 approach shoe. Stiff boots won’t conform to the rock underneath so its more than just rubber compound but the tx4/3 have vibram megafrip

 

[ColeyG]

There is a huge variation in how different Vibram soles interact with rock, ranging from quite grippy to slick as snot.

If good traction on rock combined with good ankle support in a very hiking friendly boot is what you are after, the La Sportiva Trango Cube is the best I've used, and I've used a lot of different mountain boots over the years. They even started making this boot in a Kryptek pattern after figuring out that it had become quite popular with mountain hunters.

The La Sportiva last (fit) isn't for everyone. Based on what you've described, the category of boot you should be looking at is an alpine climbing, mountaineering style boot meant for mixed terrain, that is rock, trail, and snow. These boots will, generally speaking, be stiff enough to handle steep ups, downs and side-hilling, with enough rocker in the sole to hike well, and have a soft enough rubber on the sole that they grip rock well.

The "durometer" of a given rubber will affect how it interact with surfaces such as rock. A lower durometer (softer) rubber will be more grippy, but wear more quickly. A higher durometer (harder) rubber will be less grippy on rock and other surfaces, but will last longer. As was mentioned above, all high end mountain boots can be resoled, usually a few times, before the uppers wear out.

Here is an article on the topic of footwear for mountain hunting where some of these things are discussed and more are discussed.

Footwear Philosophy for Mountain Hunting, By Coley Gentzel - Journal of Mountain Hunting

If there is a more commonly debated and frequently agonized category of equipment in the realm of mountain hunting I don’t know what it is. In every pre-trip planning process, ...

journalofmountainhunting.com

Good luck!

 

[Kotaman]

Lowa Bighorn GTX were perfect for this. They had fine rope/thread imbedded in the soles for traction on wet, slippery surfaces. This boot was my all time favorite mountain hunting boot, but they quit making them. I picked up a couple extra pairs and continue to wear them on my mountain hunts. Unfortunately Lowa does not appear to use this tech in any of their current offerings.

 

[Wingert]

Russell Moccasin makes a Grand Slam Sheep Hunter boot with a Vibram Air Bob sole. It's a rather soft / tacky sole and works very well on dry and wet rock even when it was cold.

Grand Slam Sheep Hunter

The W.C. Russell Moccasin Company has been making custom fitted and handcrafted moccasins, boots, and shoes for outdoor folks since 1898. Purchase your pair here online!

www.russellmoccasin.com

 

[Lukeetreatz]

I've used scarpa Boots for years and have never had any issues. I work as a forest engineer and usually get 3-4 years out of them.