Suggestions for a good elk hunting boot

[Chadp82]

I have Kenetrek mountain extreme, non insulated.

I went through this last year. Go try things on as others mentioned, and take your preferred sock setup. For me, sock liners and boot socks. The socks I vary based on temperature.

I tried Crispi, zanberlan, Lowa, kenetrek, and a few others. Settled on the kenetrek.

I went with the non insulated as I know my feet get hot and sweat and I can regulate with the right socks. I used them last year from 95 degree heat to 0 degrees w/ heavy socks.

I wouldn't get hung up on "which brand" as there are many great boots. Go with what fits well.

The kenetrek is the first time I spent more than $200 on boots, and now I wonder why I was cheap on this for so long. I will now fork out the money for quality and well fitting boots going forward. Last year was the hardest hunt I ever did (sheep hunt) and learned a lot about footwear and other gear I will take to the next elk or deer trip. I have been on elk hunts w/ blisters which were miserable.

Good luck! Keep the feet happy!

 

[ghklr67]

We will be going to Montana elk hunting the week before Thanksgiving. We are expecting (preparing for) snow so Im looking for a good warm, water proof but lite pair of boots that would be good for putting miles on each day. I have warm gore tex boots I use here in PA but I dont do much of any walking with them and know they are way too heavy for mountain hiking in the snow.

Id appreciate any suggestions.

Danner Powderhorn, 1000gram thinsulate , rugged outsole, I love the ones I have

 

[chav0_12]

Danner Powderhorn, 1000gram thinsulate , rugged outsole, I love the ones I have

I have a pair of muck boots with 1000gram insulation and the only time I can wear them are when I'm ice fishing and even then my feet sweat. I would say for active hunting 1000grams is way too much.

 

[david.eustache]

We will be going to Montana elk hunting the week before Thanksgiving. We are expecting (preparing for) snow so Im looking for a good warm, water proof but lite pair of boots that would be good for putting miles on each day. I have warm gore tex boots I use here in PA but I dont do much of any walking with them and know they are way too heavy for mountain hiking in the snow.

Id appreciate any suggestions.

Schnees (Billings Montana) not light and not cheap but definitely bulletproof (figure of speech) keep your eye on a sale. I got a $500 boot for $300. Originally paid $500 exchange them for different size and bingo I found a sale.

 

[corsair4360]

My preference for daily hard use hiking (I used these as a timber cruiser)... are https://whitesboots.com/firefighter/the-original-smokejumper/

 

[Rebellare]

Allen Bolen did a pretty good boot review / tutorial on Instagram a week or so ago. Was educational for me.

 

[Rebellare]

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[Geezer28]

We will be going to Montana elk hunting the week before Thanksgiving. We are expecting (preparing for) snow so Im looking for a good warm, water proof but lite pair of boots that would be good for putting miles on each day. I have warm gore tex boots I use here in PA but I dont do much of any walking with them and know they are way too heavy for mountain hiking in the snow.

Id appreciate any suggestions.

My vote goes to cripsi. Very easy to break in. Have several pair. The Nevada is a great all around boot. IMHO

 

[Kendoist4162]

Seeing all the comments on Crispi's, I add a detail many miss: Crispi has two different lasts for their boots. I would watch all the vids from them on YT before buying And if possible, try them on as well. From my notes I have the following on models I was interested in:
Narrow last Crispi's - Thor II, Briksdal, Briksdal SF, Crossover, Colorado GTX, Summit,
Wider(normal) toe box Crispi - leather Nevada & Guide(tall brother to NV), synthetic Wyoming & Idaho tall(same last as NV & Guide)

 

[bigdogone]

First congrats on the Montana hunt!
second and no offense intended but asking best boots is like asking best rifle, or religion or truck or woman! Haha they all fit a little different and each to his own!

I followed some advice that worked for me so Ill repeat here. First, don't skimp on your boots. They are the most important piece of equipment for a backcountry mountain hunt. Plan to spend $400-500. All boots in this price range are quality boots. Do some online reading to find various pros/cons and narrow down to 4-5 brands. Order them from an online store with good return policy. Also make sure your have the socks and sole inserts you'll use. Wear them all around the house on carpet to see what fits you best. Return the losers and keep your best pair. I tried Kennettek, Zamberlain, Scarpi and Lowa. Settled on Lowa tibet. They've served me well through hunts in Macedonia, New Zealand and Idaho across five seasons and still going strong. When I wear them I feel like my feet are on clouds wrapped by an Abrams tank. Love them!

As for inserts, super feet orange for me - high arches. As for socks, Filson 100% merino over the calf. I've tried every wool sock by every maker and swear by these. They are beefy and long so not for everyone or every hunt, but in cold weather mountains you'll thank me later. Note the mid calf are not the same material. I am not a fan of sock liners.

 

[Deleted member 118627]

As a Montana resident, hunter and outdoorsman, I would say you will want the pair that fits you the best and has the most support. For me my choices are Nicks smoke jumpers or Schnee's. Good wool socks with gortex oversocks and a pair of well broken in boots are critical to success. Don't focus on weight. You can train to handle that. Pick the pair that fits the best and will stand up to this task for years! The walk in is easy. The multiple trips out is hard!

 

[jeremy.b]

I'll echo that you should really try them on be fore deciding.

I have been running scarpa kenesis pros for the last 3 years and the have been great. They are a mid boot though and I wanted to get back to a taller boot when the scarpas eventually wore out.

Well the scarpas are down to almost no tread and the gortex finally gave out last fall so I started shopping. I tried on a bunch of 10"+ boots last fall, not finding what I liked, then tried on another mid, the Zamberlan 966 and they fit amazing, better then the scarpas. I snagged a pair on a father's day sale this spring and am breaking them in now. On small hot spot on a heal due to a lacing issue, but other than that I'm really happy with them.

 

[mtneer12]

First congrats on the Montana hunt!
second and no offense intended but asking best boots is like asking best rifle, or religion or truck or woman! Haha they all fit a little different and each to his own!

I followed some advice that worked for me so Ill repeat here. First, don't skimp on your boots. They are the most important piece of equipment for a backcountry mountain hunt. Plan to spend $400-500. All boots in this price range are quality boots. Do some online reading to find various pros/cons and narrow down to 4-5 brands. Order them from an online store with good return policy. Also make sure your have the socks and sole inserts you'll use. Wear them all around the house on carpet to see what fits you best. Return the losers and keep your best pair. I tried Kennettek, Zamberlain, Scarpi and Lowa. Settled on Lowa tibet. They've served me well through hunts in Macedonia, New Zealand and Idaho across five seasons and still going strong. When I wear them I feel like my feet are on clouds wrapped by an Abrams tank. Love them!

As for inserts, super feet orange for me - high arches. As for socks, Filson 100% merino over the calf. I've tried every wool sock by every maker and swear by these. They are beefy and long so not for everyone or every hunt, but in cold weather mountains you'll thank me later. Note the mid calf are not the same material. I am not a fan of sock liners.

I would have to second the Lowa boots, I've owned two different pairs of them, the renegade and the zephyrs. Super lite weight, pretty tough and water proof. Take a look at the Lowa Zephyr hi boots, they come with Gortex. I've owned a pair of the mid height version. I love the mono wrap of these boots. My reason for the purchase of them was that I had friends in the special ops communities that wore them in the mountains of AFG and swore by them. If you are in PA you could also try them on at any REI.

I have a pair of Scarpa boots, built like a tank but are a little stiff and a narrow toe box. Like a few other comments about the schnees, my cousins live and hunt in Montana and Wyoming and they love them.

I hunted the crazies in Montana a few years back and was putting 6-10 miles on my feet a day, this was late October so there was no snow until you got further up. I wish I would've had more of a rugged hike than the danners I was using at the time.

Try on a lot of boots, get what works best for you and go have fun! Enjoy the hunt.

 

[shiples0861]

We will be going to Montana elk hunting the week before Thanksgiving. We are expecting (preparing for) snow so Im looking for a good warm, water proof but lite pair of boots that would be good for putting miles on each day. I have warm gore tex boots I use here in PA but I dont do much of any walking with them and know they are way too heavy for mountain hiking in the snow.

Id appreciate any suggestions.

Salomon GTX4D or something like that