RockyMtnMT
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Are your insulated?
Steve
Are your insulated?
Steve
Mine too! I think something about the non insulated leaks. I don't want insulated though. I agree that having a great boot should not mean settling for wet feet. I just want to wear mine out. Every time I get a new pair means I had a miserable time. Shouldn't be too much to ask for a nearly $500 boot.No. They're the 420 Mountain Extreme non-insulated.
Earlier this summer I was trying to decide between Crispi's and Kennetrek's. Saw some of these types of reviews with Kennetrek's. Glad I went with Crispi. Best boot I've ever owned...
Good to hear what other guys are wearing. I put a lot of miles on my boots. More than just about anyone I know. These boot companies should hire me for research and development. Ha HaMy recent experience with my Kennetreks was that they did stay dry over constant wet snow conditions however they always give me heel blisters, even after 3 years of use. I keep forgetting to put mole skin on my heels as a preventative. With a full pack on and a lot of fast downhill, I was jamming my toes and got a black toenail. Oddly, it wasn't my big toe but the next one in line.
I recently picked up a pair of Solomon 4D 3 GTX boots (REI). They're a slightly lighter, shorter boot with Gore Tex. The heel fit is great and zero break in was required beyond the ankle cuff being a bit hard, which I get on every new pair of boots. One thing I noticed right off is that they have a very good shoelace lock down for the instep. This prevents slipping forward and jamming the toes, and it seems to work. I generally don't use that feature for normal flat ground walking but for trail/hunting, it's important to not jam your toes. This boot is going to be my every day boot so I wanted something a bit lighter but by many reviews, it serves very well as a back packing boot. We'll see. I can see where I'll need gaiters attached full time for later season hunting, but I knew that going in. They're uninsulated, but even in snowy conditions, I find an insulated boot is unnecessary, unless your sub-20 degree temperatures. What's important is that when you get back to camp, you can put on something warm and dry. Even a good boot that doesn't allow water to get in, can't prevent sweat from giving you a damp foot, which, once you stop, gets cold.
My Kennetrek's are probably still one of the better mountain hunting boots I've had but I still get sore feet with them. So far, so good with the Solomon's. We'll see how they fare under grunt conditions.
I tried the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme, but they didn't fit my foot right. I tried the Crispi Hunter GTX, and they fit perfectly. I hunted in snow for second rifle season in Colorado (Oct 20), and my feet stayed warm and dry. Glad I tried the Crispi, they are perfect for me.
Ditto on the Danners. The Chinese version sucks. I've been wearing my same pair of Kenetreks that I've been wearing since I began this thread. I put a ton of the grease on them every couple of weeks and put them on the boot dryer when my feet finally get wet. The extra grease seems to help delay the inevitable. DaveI used to love Danner but when they went to China for production I started having problems with overall quality, started looking around. Tried a number of brands had the best luck with Kennetrek. I just bought my fifth pair.
I typically get two good seasons out of them and then rotate in a new pair.
By comparison Danners gave one good season and rotate in a new pair.
I have had a leaky boot, twice. Disappointed but they replaced them.
For me, out of all the boots I've tried they give me the best fit.
You couldn't give me a pair of Meindals. Terrible on my feet.
I know some guys love them.