I live and hunt all over but a lot in the rockies since I live in Idaho. I have tried all sorts of boots. Its seems whenever I find a good pair.. the company then decides to never make them again.
I have really weak ankles from wrestling. So I needed a good pair of boots to hold up to the extreme terrain we have in Idaho. Especially being able to handle mountain terrain carrying a pack.
The boots that were best are the LOWA GTX HI. They are stiff enough for my ankles and yet comfy too. The tend to run true to size and they fit my wide foot darn well.
After about 3 months of hard wear (every day for a three hours dog training). the inserts felt like they were wearing out.. so I replaced them with some spenco gel insoles. I now have had them for a year.. antelope in Wyoming, bird hunting in Montana Oregon and Idaho, Elk and deer in Idaho in the mountains. Never had a more comfortable boot.
I will be honest. They are very stiff laterally and they give good support anterior to posterior but they have a softer spot in the Achilles area that allows the foot to dorsiflex and plantarflex (go up an down). I was worried initially as this seemed to be a weak point but its held up for a year of hard use. (Its nothing for me to blow out some danners, or asolo's, irish setters, in a couple of months. the only other pair of boots that has held up for me is a pair of Whites.. but they are the heavy!.. and cold.)
The GTX has a waterproof insert (Goretex). and I have waded streams up to the tops of the boot and the waterproof held. I have used them in muddy terrain and they have good grip yet the cleats seem to clean out pretty well and not collect a ton of mud. They have a lace spot on the front of the tongue and unfortunately when I got them there was no instructions in how to use it when lacing. Only later did I google it and find a video. If you use it from the get go.. it centers the tongue so it doesn't drift to one side.
A good tip I got on the internet was to check out "shoe buy" as a place to get them. They have sales or 20 to 30 percent internet coupons every so often and you can save. If you keep checking, sometimes its more. I got lucky and they had a weekend 35% off and I ended up buying another pair of Lowa GTX hi.
I have really weak ankles from wrestling. So I needed a good pair of boots to hold up to the extreme terrain we have in Idaho. Especially being able to handle mountain terrain carrying a pack.
The boots that were best are the LOWA GTX HI. They are stiff enough for my ankles and yet comfy too. The tend to run true to size and they fit my wide foot darn well.
After about 3 months of hard wear (every day for a three hours dog training). the inserts felt like they were wearing out.. so I replaced them with some spenco gel insoles. I now have had them for a year.. antelope in Wyoming, bird hunting in Montana Oregon and Idaho, Elk and deer in Idaho in the mountains. Never had a more comfortable boot.
I will be honest. They are very stiff laterally and they give good support anterior to posterior but they have a softer spot in the Achilles area that allows the foot to dorsiflex and plantarflex (go up an down). I was worried initially as this seemed to be a weak point but its held up for a year of hard use. (Its nothing for me to blow out some danners, or asolo's, irish setters, in a couple of months. the only other pair of boots that has held up for me is a pair of Whites.. but they are the heavy!.. and cold.)
The GTX has a waterproof insert (Goretex). and I have waded streams up to the tops of the boot and the waterproof held. I have used them in muddy terrain and they have good grip yet the cleats seem to clean out pretty well and not collect a ton of mud. They have a lace spot on the front of the tongue and unfortunately when I got them there was no instructions in how to use it when lacing. Only later did I google it and find a video. If you use it from the get go.. it centers the tongue so it doesn't drift to one side.
A good tip I got on the internet was to check out "shoe buy" as a place to get them. They have sales or 20 to 30 percent internet coupons every so often and you can save. If you keep checking, sometimes its more. I got lucky and they had a weekend 35% off and I ended up buying another pair of Lowa GTX hi.
