Boots

O

OmegaMan

Guest
Can this board of experts give me an idea of what kind of boots I should buy? I'll be hunting elk and deer in Northern Utah this year. I plan on having to hike a good long ways, and want to make sure I have a decent boot. What brands would you recommend? Is there a boot under $100 worth buying?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-16-08 AT 01:46PM (MST)[p]Ummmm... thanks, but no thanks. Wouldn't want to deprive you of your sh!t kickers. :) lol
 
Go to the Bass Pro site or store if you're lucky enough to have one in your area and check out their Geogia Boots. I needed a new pair for elk huntin' last year and I bought those. They are insulated well, Gortex, camo'ed, and very firmly stable. Oh and very comfy. No break-in period required. I think they cost me about $70 out the door. I hope this helps ya.
 
i got a pair of Danners that I had only for 6 weeks the are comfortable as get out but I got some problems with some seams coming apart already, CAN'T take them back because I got them at Sportsmans, so now I have to deal with Danner.
 
I love my Merrell Continuum boots. Light and rugged!
Best,
Jerry
44f4e09309b4a917.jpg
 
"Is there a boot under $100 worth buying?

NO!!!!!!

If you have cold feet, if you have wet feet, if you get blisters on a hunt, you would pay any amount of money to have comfortable feet. If your feet ain't happy, you ain't happy!

INVEST in quality and you will not be sorry. Still need to get them in time to break them in.

You might catch a sale in the $150 range for a really good pair of boots.

I own Mendles and Vasque. One is unisulated, the other has 400 grams, that is all you need if you are going to be doing any hiking

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
My Irish Setter Elk Hunters have been an unbelievable bargain. Mine are 12" 600 gram, and I am going on 6 years of HARD use. I'll get this year out of the soles, and will have them re-done. Then they are no longer waterproof, so with a new pair I'll be set. Old pair in good weather, new pair in bad. They are under 200 dollars, and worth a look. mtmuley
 
All I have to say is don't waste your money on Danner. They are not built like they use to be. Your better off buying a new pair than jumping through the hoops to get them fixed right.
 
I recently bought a pair of Cabelas Mountian Hunter and absolutely love them. They took a little time to break in but are great now. They have a different style tounge that only has one seam. But I love them, I would give them a look.
 
Different feet will fit differing brands for better or worse. I expect there are some excellent boots out there from different manufacturers. The best I've found for me are the Vasques. You have to buy what you can afford, but try the afford the best you can. Good, cared for footwear will last for several years.

Be careful of buying without trying on. Some get away with it, but some cannot,
 
Thanks to everyone for the responses. Now that I have a few brands and prices, I have an idea where to start. Much appreciated!
 
If you put Rocky's on your list, do a search and you will find out most people who used to love them (me for one) won't buy another pair. The last few I bought fell apart in short order. Many others have had the same luck.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
You might try Kenetrek. They routinely have blemished or demo boots on clearance for sub-$100. They also sell a few pairs on ebay. I've bought two pairs like this from them and can barely tell the difference from brand new perfect boots.
 
Under a $100. Go with Rocky Boot can't beat. Danner if you want to send about $150.Hope this helps.

Good Luck on your hunt

Joe E Sikora
 
Before you buy, check out the sierratradingpost.com web sight they have plenty of the high end boots @ bargain basement prices. The only trouble is finding your size. At times they sale out quick !
 
Two years ago I purchased the Cabelas Meindl Perkft Hunters (no misspelling) in size 12.

Unfortunately, this size was a bit too large for down-slope treks. My fault...I'm an idiot.

These boots cost me $289 (w/o shipping), but they're yours for $100 with delivery in CO (and some fishing tips if you live by Pueblo). They're aren't earning interest sitting in my closet so I'd love to get rid of them.

I tried "passing" these off to my buddies for $200 but they tend to be on the cheap side.

They're going to shoot me for giving them up for $100 but it's their lose.

Andrew
303.210.7261

BTW - My normal job requirements allow freedom of travel throughout the "majority" of the state".

Thx - Drew
 
They've been worn for approx. 4.5 hours with dry storage for the 2 years. "Dry" storage has led to minor cracking on the rubber toe guard.
 
I bought the Cabelas Speed Hunter first addition last winter. They are probably the best boots I ever owned. Very little break in time if any. Very light. They do awesome for both hot and cold, dry or wet I love them. They are like wearing a pair of tennis shoes. The only down fall is I started having problems with one of the zippers. On the cabelas web page you can read reviews on all thier boots. Paid $99.00. I highly recommend them. Great buy.
 
If you hunt the mountain West and need support, especially if you carry a pack, you want something from Meindl, Kennetrek, Lowa, Hanwag, or something similar. The Rocky, Lacrosse, even most new Danners, and similar stuff you find in the big boxes are junk and have no support in comparison. You won't know what you've been missing until you wear a boot of a mountaineering-based design.
 
Last year up in northern Alberta I ran into some serious hunters and they all were wearing Boots made by HanWag and claimed these boots were the best hunting boot you could buy. I have been wearing Meindl, I love the Sitka boot but the Denali is pretty stiff and I had them a year and a half.
 
I do not consider price in my evaluations and recommendations, however, the Cabelas Outfitter series is a good, inexpensive boot. Generally, I think that a regular retail price of $100 is not enough money for a "good" boot unless you get something out of one of the outlets (Cabelas Bargain Cave, Sierra Trading Post, REI Outlet etc) or eBay.

To some of the other posters on this thread, if you are going to take a shot at a company like Danner, please be specific about the model. A general broadside defaming an entire brand, especially Danner, just isn't credible. I can tell you from experience and a great deal of objective testing of every major brand on the market that there are varying degrees of quality and performance in every line.

Wade
www.HardcoreOutdoor.com
 
The boots that 300Mike links to are Montrail Torre GTX. I have just finished evaluating them but have not posted the article yet. It is a good, solid boot with a Gore-Tex liner. It is a heavy hiker with a medium to full volume fit and offers a nice balance between structure/support and flexibility/walkability. For $119 it is a great buy and they had two available in size 14.

Good luck.

Wade
www.HardcoreOutdoor.com
 
I bought Danner's and they lasted a half a season. They leaked in the slightest of rain and they have extremely soft leather. I purchased the Mendiel Perfekt Hunter's. Have used them in the preseason and love them. Great support. I haven't had them in the rain yet, but I'm confident they will hold up. I would encourage you to spend the extra money. Cabelas actually has an awesome sale going right now where they have some great books at 50% off.
 
I like danners, i have owned the elk hunters, pronghorns, and got a pair of frontiers or x-mas, they are a little big, plus I wear 13 so they are huge, but so far so good. Check out Cabelas bargain cave, they usually have some real good stuff. I would NEVER buy anything not gore-tex though. Northern Utah in October could be 70, or a foot of snow and below freezing, so insulation is in the eye of the beholder. I usually prefer 400 grams thinsulate, but my new danners are 600, a little warm now but I have a nov. le elk tag so they should be good.
 
Omegaman- I wear size 14 also. I had Lowa sheep hunters and they ran 1/2 size too small and started hurting my feet pretty bad. I got Kenetrek Mountain Extremes in 14 and they are true to size and so comfortable out of the box, you wouldn't beleive it. I love mine. Pricey but rugged and comfortable. I don't skimp on foot wear. I bought a pair of low-top Danners this summer in Talus GTX I think and am rather un-impressed with them. Not a very good of trail boot but OK for trail hiking. Serious lack of sidehill stability and I have to wear two pair of socks to make them fit. THe factory laces streched when pulled so your boots would loosen-up on you.

Not many options for 14s in high end boots. Meindl from Cabelas all top out at 13 but I did see in a recent catalogue that the Denalis were listed as going to 14. Don't know if its a typo. Meindl has retailers in Canada that carry boots to 14 but that is a logistical issue.

You absolutely cannot go wrong with Kenetreks. I had the Lowas and you can still read my testimonial on their website as "the best pair of boots I ever had" but that was before Kenetreks came out. The Cabelas own brand of "Mountain Hunter" boot comes in 14 I believe and is a pretty darn good boot also.
 

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