What is your mountain hunting boot of choice?

[SDHNTR]

Meindl AK hunter

 

[idig4au]

Zamberlan Ibex GT RR - really like these boots after a season and having the uppers well broken in

 

[BATTLEBORN]

Lowa Rangers for me.... They are the perfect cross between a light hiking shoe and a heavy boot... They fit my foot like a glove.

 

[justinspicher]

Started with Danners, then moved to Vasques, then to Asolos, now I am wearing Meindl Denali's. Hands down the best boot I've ever had. I still have a bit to break them in but they are wonderful boots designed better for hunting than my Asolos were.

 

[ridgefire]

meindl denalis for me.. have used danner, meindl, and la sportiva and the meindls are my favorite.

 

[tipsntails7]

Lowa rangers, I don't do a ton of serious mountain hunting, so the extreme boots are not needed, but man do I love my rangers

 

[ftballman125]

Since the mountains I hunt in are mostly in the desert and have little to no snow, I typically just wear my trail running shoes, NB MT10s, for my hunting trips. I've found that unless I'm going through snow, which they would suck in, the lightness of the shoes really helps with fatigue over longer hauls.

 

[Elkfitness]

Salomon quest 4d gtx hiking boots from rei for me. I had some asolos before but got heel blisters for 2 years. REI let me return them and used the salomons this year. No heal slippage. I would like a bit more structure when side hilling with a packful of elk, but my feet did great otherwise. I wore them all summer to break in and used them for sept to no this year. Used gaiters with them in the snow. No leakage. Feet were warm as long as I was moving down to single digits. Will use them again this year, but will continue to try on boots with more structure until I find one that fits my narrow heal good.

 

[Yellowknife]

Currently Kenetrek Mt Guides. But only because of fit, which is perfect for me feet. Actually like the Lowas construction better, but the toes object. Hanwags are too narrow (for my feet)

I really need a lighter duty set of boots for more general purpose use, but I don't care for the leather used in any of the lighter Kenetreks. Sucks up water no water how much grease I put on them. Going to have to try something else.

Yk

 

[drthornton]

I have had Vasque, Asolo, Kenetrek and now Lowa Tibets GTX for 3 seasons. I have weird heels and I have come to the conclusion that I will blister no matter what boot I wear. After a colossal fail on some "cute" new Camo duct tape on the way up on a NV deer hunt. I now religiously tape up with HD grey duct tape or Gorilla tape and aside from ruining liners with glue rubbing off I have not had a problem since.

It goes without saying the Lowas are top notch and a coat of Obenauf's every year has kept them in really good shape for a 3 week a year flatlander like me. They are still leak poof and NM gave me 8 straight days of rain to test it this year. I bake them in the oven for several minutes before I apply...it really helps soak in(don't tell my wife).

The Kenetrek Hadscrabbles were actually the most comfortable out of the box of the bunch but I also blistered faster in them. I could tell quality was quite high with them as well.

Asolo Sasslongs are a very good value for the quality you get. I sold them before I came to my heel conclusion. They run narrow IMO.

Vasque, something or another, which I bought my first year were OK and if nothing else they helped me realize how much your feet swell when doing allot of hiking. I still have them but only wear them to do work and camp with my kids.

Here is my "Poster Child" pic for Lathrop and Sons from that NV hunt failure.

 

[Becca]

Hanwags Alaska lady have been great to me the last two seasons. I have a hard time finding full shank hiking boots that are small enough for my women's size 6 (men's size 4) feet, but the hanwags come small enough to fit well and have been pretty flawless for my uses on multiple mountain hunts each year. I have been using the L&S synergy foot beds with no problems.

I usually only wear boots for packing heavy loads in steep terrain, for summer backpacking and packraft trips I usually hike in saloman trail runners with pink super feet.

 

[Ozz08]

I own or have owned asolo, lowa, danner(US and Chinese), salomon(very briefly) and meindl. The only boots I have worn for my hunts for the last 3 years have been the meindl denali. I wear or have worn all of the other boots for overnight scouting trips, training hikes, day hunts and everyday boots and none of them have ever given me any problems with my feet or otherwise(except the danner pronghorns). I like them all. I just like the miendl's more. I will say, the denali's are a lot more boot than the models I have owned from the companies I have listed so maybe that's why I like them more. I don't know how many hundreds of miles I have on the denali's but they still feel and are holding up great! They have never leaked and I have never treated them with anything. I am however, thinking about trying the new lowas from lathrop and sons. They look like a good boot.

 

[focker34]

I'm in between boots right now so I didn't vote. I've only been backcountry hunting for 5 years now, and have been running the same pair of cabelas bargain cave boots for that whole time. To their credit, I definitely put more miles on them than they were intended to handle, and they are pretty comfortable on my feet. They are coming apart at the seems, in fact towards the end of the season, I'd bet that there was more superglue/ duct tape on them than original material.

I ordered the Asolo Sasslongs off STP for a steal and will be breaking those in here shortly. Decided to go with them based on the satisfactory reviews by some other members on here, not to mention they are priced right up my alley. I'll cast my vote if I'm happy after a couple hundred miles.

For the record, I would not recommend going with a cheap pair of cabelas boots to anyone who enjoys warm, dry feet.

 

[Beastmode]

Meindl Denali here. Good boot fits my foot well. Maybe going to try the lowa tibet gtx this year.

 

[Baby Huey]

This year I picked up a pair of Lowa Ticam GTX boots for a Colorado goat hunt and they are my new favorite. I put in 20 miles before the goat season and they broke in very quickly and I didn't have a problem with them. They were able to handle heavy loads very well and fit my feet great. They are quite stiff in the sole, but that is what I wanted for the steep goat terrain I would be in. The Ticam's didn't disappoint and I was/am quite pleased with them.

Prior to the Lowa's (which are my first pair), I had a pair of Meindl AK Hunters that I wore for 8 years. They were my favorite boot and I actually ordered a pair of them for the goat hunt. I had to return that pair (a bit too small) and tried the next size up but they were a tad bit too large. This lead me to the Lowa's, but if the fit was right I would have gone with the Meindl boot again, as it is a great boot.

My ankles are prone to turning, so I tend toward a bit more sturdy boot for ankle support as well as the ability of the boot to pack heavy loads. Both the Ticam and AK Hunter have proved top notch for me in those categories. Never had a GTX failure in the Meindl's after all of those years. No GTX failure in the Ticam's, which I hope stays true for years to come.

drthornton - that looks quite painful. I have had heel problems in the past and now I usually tape up with athletic tape, Mueller blister pads and for heavy loads I tape up with skin lube on heel and lace pads. I'll look for a you tube video on ankle taping and post up on a different thread.

 

[O'Really]

I wore Scarpa Omega's this past season. The season before, I wore Koflach Degre's. I would have to say I prefer the Omega's to the Degre's, although they did take somewhat longer to break them in. Some say that plastic boots cannot be broken in, that one's feet is what is broke in. Mostly, this is true, but not entirely. I have found that the Omega's have "broke" in a bit, and they did take quite a few miles till my feet where appropriately comfortable in them. I wear plastics for 99.9% of my hunting in Alaska. The Omega's are a very narrow cut, and have a somewhat imposing arch area. Wide feet need not apply would be my recommendation.

With that said, I also own, and wear almost every day, a pair of Lowa Tibets. They are the finest and most comfortable leather boots I have ever owned. The downside is, the soles are flat because I wear them so much. Has anybody here had a pair of boots re-soled? If so I'd like to hear your experience with re-soleing boots.

 

[MattB]

Lowa Tibet GTX's are my go to mountain boot. They are a little high volume for my feet stock, but with Lathrop & Son's footbeds they are just about perfect.

 

[ozyclint]

miendl.
i have a pair of antarktis for winter hunts. just junked a pair of makalu pro's after 10 years of hard use. replaced them last week with a pair of taiga GTX. impressed already with them and i haven't taken them for a walk.

 

[OR Archer]

Well I'm in the minority here with my boot choice. Been using the Under Armour Speed Freaks for the past 3 seasons. I've put a lot of miles on those boots and they never let me down until just last Sunday when I feet finally got wet. They've been great for comfort and durability but it's now time to replace them. Might pick up another pair they did so well for me.

 

[Jeff Martin]

Not in the poll, but i love the Schnees beartooth. I thought nothing was better than the Lowa Tibets, but i love the beartooth much much more. I think they are much more comfortable. I am buying the Granites as well.

BTW, they are not made by Lowa like people think. They are made in Italy. The Schnees Sheep hunters were a Lowa boot.