UA Speedfreak Boots in the High Country?

[SoCalHunter]

I would like some opinions on these boots for high country, early season elk. I LOVE them as I can actually do PT in them they are so comfy.

They are light and amazingly comfortable right out of the box for sure and require little to no break in.

On the other hand, I am not sure they can handle the steeper terrain and side hilling.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pyroducksx3]

I'm not sure they even make these anymore. I just got the salomon quest 4d and while I don't have much time in them yet I think if you were looking for a light boot for hunting these would be the go to boot. I've worn out the original danner pronghorns ,which I would say compares well to the speed freaks, and these quests are a much better boot provided it fits your foot well.

 

[SoCalHunter]

Thanks, Pyro. I am gonna check those out.

 

[lintond]

I wore the Speed Freaks last year for elk hunting in some rough back country. Side hilling was a bit of a problem, but I have tough ankles so it didn't ruin my hunt. The waterproofing did not hold up and I had wet feet. I recently wore them again on upland hunt and had wet feet. I rolled my ankle playing basketball a few weeks ago and definitely noticed a few times when stepped wrong. These boots are super comfortable, but I think that's pretty normal for a lightweight flexible boot.

Moral of the story is these will work, but I think there are better options out there.

 

[Jcberg]

I had some Speed Freaks and they were super comfortable but did not last long. They also were not waterproof. I went with Merrell Reflex hikers this year which I realize are not considered hard core mountain boots but they feel like tennis shoes and I will wear them until they stop making them. I've tried Kenetrek, Meindl, and others but surprisingly, these $140 hikers are by far my favorite. I would not recommend the Under Armour boots.

 

[Humphr47]

If anyone out there still has some SpeedFreak boots, I recommend you ditch them. I have had them for a while and thought they were okay, but never had them in a wet situation until today. Soaking wet feet in a matter of minutes when in wet grass, even though they are supposed to be waterproof Gore Tex. Wont trust Under Armour gear ever again.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

The speed freaks might be fine for high country hunting ( I've never owned a pair ) before the kill. The need for heavier boots with ankle support IMHO comes after you harvest. Side hilling or navigating rock sprees with a heavy pack requires a quality boot, again IMHO.

 

[Jarrod Renaud]

The Speedfreaks were horrible for me a couple years back. Went through 3 pairs in a month, all of them leaked, Cabelas kept switching them out for me. Finally went with some Solomons. Much better.

 

[Humphr47]

I will attempt to return the SpeedFreaks to cabelas, I don't understand how they could sell a product like this when they aren't even remotely close to being waterproof. I will try to replace with the Solomon quests.

 

[Tsnider]

Not Speedfreaks but...
I have the Wall Hangar boot from UA and last year they failed, started coming apart. I warrantied them after archery season, got a brand new pair. Broke them in while camping in Moab (no hiking, just car camping and wearing them in the dirt) and then didnt touch them until archery season. Second weekend out this year BOTH boot laces snapped within 20 minutes of eachother while going vertical, which was weird. Then they got soaked through as soon as the rain came later that day. My original pair were cosmetically coming apart but were more waterproof. Being months out of warranty, i still pitched a bitch and got new boots sent to me again. I wont buy UA boots again. Really comfortable but total crap. I ended up leaving the mountain after 3 days of soaked cold boots which pissed me off (3 days short). Next year ill have a stove to dry my stuff out, but i will also have a better boot.

 

[elkbowkevin]

They are an early season bow hunting shoe,, notice I said shoe not boot. I tired them on at cabelas and then walked around for 5 min and put them right back in the box.
Tried the solomons on and took them home. Once thing is they are NOT a warm boot, Hunting in sub 40degree dry weather my feet froze. THey are water proof pretty good though, I wore them in rain and wet grass with no issues.

 

[JustinSmith1754]

I bought the Speed Freaks this year, used them through the TN whitetail bow season, then to Idaho in October elk hunting. Contradicting the performance that most of you above experienced, I really like them.

I do realize that they are not a cold weather boot, but for mobility moving through the hills I found them to be comfortable and light. I was able to cover a lot of ground in the mountains and was very pleased.

I've been hunting these boots for about 2-1/2 months now, and this weekend walked through a shallow creek with no water issues.

I would recommend these boots if your hunting style is covering a lot of ground or spot and stalk type hunting.

All this being said, I'm not hard to please.

 

[T-Dozzer]

Mine lasted 2 weeks.