My Own Boot Review

[tapehoser]

I posted this on the DWR forums as well, but thought I'd bring it over here as well.

I went to Cabela's yesterday with all my birthday cash and spent my wad in anticipation of this year's rifle elk hunt. I was prepared to spend at least $150, JUST on boots, more if absolutely necessary. I didn't just put these boots on and take them off. I wore them all for a good 15 minutes and walked up and down the little "rock" display that they have in the shoe section. I spent about 3.5 hours in the shoe section, and I am sure the associates were sick of me by day's end.
Here's what I found:

Meindl Perfekt Hunter: Stiff as heck and very narrow toe area. Felt that blisters would easily form on the lower-back portion of the heel. No insulation would require nice, thick socks.

Mendl Hiker Elite: Stiff but workable. No insulation. OK, but for the price....nah.

Danner Grand Slam: The 1200 gram Thinsulate boot was wonderful. Wide toe area, nice, soft feel and no hot spots. But the 600 gram boot was vastly different. Tighter in the toe area, which, for me, means blisterville. Since my purchase will be used in the hot summer months as well as the middle of October, 600 grams of Thinsulate was as much as I was willing to go.

Cabela's Whitetail Extreme: They were OK. They had LOTS of arch support which might be good for some, but for me, it just means blisters in my arch.

Irish Setter Raptor: YUCK! Felt terribly stiff and uncomfortable on my foot and would've even given me blisters on the TOPS of my feet. They just seemed a little weird to consider a 'hunting' boot.

Cabela's 6-Point: By far the best. Fit my foot like a glove and felt no hot spots or stiffness, except for the tread, which tended to return a good portion of energy back to my foot with each step.

Rocky something-or-others: Crappy boot. Felt like it was going to slice my foot apart if I kept walking in them.

Wolverine Ironwood: Pretty OK boot, but no insulation.

The boot prices varied from $59.00 - $189.00.

The winner, you ask? The $59 Cabela's 6-Point boot. Now, my experience will be different than everyone else's because feet are as different as finger prints. Nobody fits the same boot.

There ya have it.

 

[COSA]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-21-07 AT 11:15PM (MST)[p]Those stiff boots may not feel the best when you first put them on, especially if you've never worn them before. If you give your feet enough time to break them in, you'll appreciate them, especially if you prefer to hunt any of the steep stuff. In the end, it comes down to what feels the best for you. I used to think Jungle Boots were the best thing going after I got out of the corps. I also did not have anything for spending money at that time in my life.

 

[JohnnyLegend]

Interesting boot review and enjoyed reading it. I am not sure I fully understand the stiffness aspect as it relates from a new pair to a broken in pair. I am wearing a pair of Italian made Vasque for the tough hikes. Wore them last year on my wilderness hunt and they did great, my feet were golden, walked over 50 miles on that hunt. I have worn Danners for years and a good product. Have heard great things about Meindls and the Cabelas/Meindal perfekt hiker. Never tried a pair though. Rocky boots are definitely junk. I have given them a try on several occassions and they fall a part in a year or two on me. Won't wast my money on anymore of these.

Will give the Cabelas 6-points a look.

Thanks,

Johnny

 

[tapehoser]

Mind you, this list is not all-inclusive. I tried on about 12 pairs of boots. The others not listed were not even worth mentioning.

As far as the 'stiffness' factor is concerned, those shoes were absolutely unbending. It was as if I had placed a pair of those wooden shoes from Holland on my feet. They were THAT uncomfortable.

I'm sorry, but anybody who tells me I have to 'break-in' a pair of boots is NOT going to get my money. I learned with my last pair of HiTec boots that 'breaking-in' the boots means blisters, followed by a small window of comfort, followed by another window of more blisters.

I will buy a boot based on the comfort level I feel on my foot THE MOMENT I place them onto my feet.