Vivo forest tracker esc durability

I added an insole cut from oak tanned saddle leather to mine to try to keep the mesquite and cactus out. So far so good, but quail season in November will really tell the tail. One thing about that insole is that it’s slick and your toes hit the end of the boot on steep downhills. I am considering cutting a new set of insoles and putting them in flesh side up to reduce that.

My guess is that you might be safe with jumping/teddy bear cholla on the soles, but I could see it getting through the toes and the top of the foot. Glad I don’t have that stuff over here. It’s awful stuff.
I hunt in literal forests of jumping cactus every year, the big mulie bucks live/hide in there.
 
Anyone with heavy cactus experience and these boots?
I have speared my big toe hitting one of the heavy spined prickly pears hiding in the deep grass in the dark so they are not like wearing a heavy leather boot. Probably better than a fabric upper boot but not fully cactus proof. For the most part they've been good.
 
Can confirm, if a pair of caulked pac boots fall out of the your pickup and land on your foot, it will puncture the leather and poke a hole in your toe… not that it has anything to do with field use… but a data point non the less 😂
 
I hunt in literal forests of jumping cactus every year, the big mulie bucks live/hide in there.
Yeah, I figured. Used to live in AZ and still work there occasionally. For most of what I do, it’s about what you step on. With jumping cholla, you’re not safe from any direction. I’ve actually gotten cholla joints stuck in my armpit. Not sure what you can do about that. The one thing I’ll say about the Vivos is that the are very similar functionally to Apache and Navajo hard sole mocassins, which was their solution to how to handle cactus and mesquite.
 
How many of the popular boots out there have glued on soles? Like most all of them?
We have Hoffman, Schnee, Meindl, Hanwag, Inov8, and Vivo in the house. Only my three pairs of Vivo are stitched.

My wild guess of a hypothesis is that with the flexibility the sole, the sttiching increases the chances that any stress caused by that is taken by the stitching. My Inov8 lifting shoe, whare most like the Vivos in this sense, give me about 3 months before the sole starts to peel away, and then another 3-6 months after that before they aren't safe.
 
Jim Green/Rose Anvil African trooper have my attention. Would still like a goretex version of something similar!
Just ordered me a pair. Ill report back once I get them in. I like Jim Greens stuff. Seems really well made for the price and the custom option is great
 
Adding pictures to show the outsole glue separation. It's in the same spots on both boots, except the right one also has it happening near the heal on the outstep. It's pretty bad for <150 miles. I've got probably 500+ on my scarpas with zero rand/glue separation and I've used obernaufs on those repeatedly, which purportedly will do just that.
I just saw my first separation. I got mine on Amazon last year.
So with this time I am probably out of the window for replacement. Was there a diy solution discovered?
 
I just saw my first separation. I got mine on Amazon last year.
So with this time I am probably out of the window for replacement. Was there a diy solution discovered?
A few pages back, there's discussion on fixing it by gluing the leather back to the outsole above the stitching and then painting on a Rand above it. There were a few other people that did it with kg bootguard and I did mine all with aqua seal Sr
 
A few pages back, there's discussion on fixing it by gluing the leather back to the outsole above the stitching and then painting on a Rand above it. There were a few other people that did it with kg bootguard and I did mine all with aqua seal Sr
I plan on doing mine after they separate.
 
A few pages back, there's discussion on fixing it by gluing the leather back to the outsole above the stitching and then painting on a Rand above it. There were a few other people that did it with kg bootguard and I did mine all with aqua seal Sr
Thanks I will look for that. This is quite a thread.
Here’s how it is now.
IMG_1801.jpeg
 
Anyone with heavy cactus experience and these boots?

Normal cactus and spikes they’re good, the legit stuff in NM and AZ, I haven’t had one get through, but my guess is eventually one will.

For real thorns and spikes, Courteney Selous boots with the tire tread sole are the way.
 
Loving these boots. Haven't really put any hard miles on them yet, but have been wearing them 3 days a week for the past few months. They have been great except for pressure on the inside of my left ankle from where the lace is. Took a week or so for that to break in and go away. I wear flip flops 5 months a year, work 3-12's in merril vapor gloves. I've been using the crispi laponia for hunting but think these will replace them
 
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Tundra Boot appears to be live. I want to try them, but might wait for others to first. Really want to see how they compare to Mukluks (minus the obvious sole/tread difference).
I like everything about those except for the price. Fortunately, I live in the desert now and don’t particularly need them. But if I found myself back in -40 country again, I would be sorely tempted to give those a shot.
 
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