Hunting Boots or Hiking Boots

[jbeaumont21]

I am in the market for some new kicks and I'm a little frustrated and overwhelmed with options. First off I have weak ankles so I need something with lots of extra support. Second I would prefer something lightweight without cheap soles.  Over the years I have gone through Rocky' s, Irish Setters, Danner's, Salomon's, Under Armour Ridge Reapers, and most recently a pair of Kenetreks which were a huge disappointment. The leather became soft, malleable and unsupportive even with regular treatment of the manufacturers leather treatment wax. Since the Kenetreks I am now very leery of buying any boots with leather for fear of the same thing happening. That would eliminate Crispi, Schnee's and a whole list of high end boots. Also, every boot I try on at Fishermans, Dicks, Sportsman's (Wholesale Sports), Cabelas and any other box store is total crap.  So I guess this leaves me with shopping online for some sort of synthetic style hiking or hunting boot? I am willing to pay how ever much it costs to have quality boots so would love to hear some good recommendations. Sorry for the rant and thanks for your help.

[mfswallace]

White's Smokejumper !! $400 but worth it!! They aren't insulated and take some time to break in but I've only gone through 2 pairs over the last 10 years. They are Wenatchee built and if you go there they'll measure your feet and build them to your feet, also very easy to get them resold. White bite is only drawback I've had but not a big problem after a few times

[hughjorgan]

Have you gone to REI and looked at what they have to offer? You don't have to buy from them but they have a big selection to look at and try different boots on.

A couple years ago I switched from some danner hunting boots to some back packing boots made by asolo, they are very comfortable, have great support and have some good vibram soles to get good traction on those steep hills. They're also affordable at around 200 dollars.

[jbeaumont21]

White's Smokejumper !! $400 but worth it!! They aren't insulated and take some time to break in but I've only gone through 2 pairs over the last 10 years. They are Wenatchee built and if you go there they'll measure your feet and build them to your feet, also very easy to get them resold. White bite is only drawback I've had but not a big problem after a few times

Thanks for the feedback!  I checked out the White's Smokejumpers and they look real nice but I am concerned that they will get soft and plyable in the ankles since they are leather.  Have you had that experience with yours? I may have to check them out though. Thanks again.

[jbeaumont21]

Have you gone to REI and looked at what they have to offer? You don't have to buy from them but they have a big selection to look at and try different boots on.

A couple years ago I switched from some danner hunting boots to some back packing boots made by asolo, they are very comfortable, have great support and have some good vibram soles to get good traction on those steep hills. They're also affordable at around 200 dollars.

I did go to REI a couple weeks ago and tried on some Zamberlan's and Asolo's which felt very sturdy with solid vibram soles but they don't seem to go up high enough to give me the ankle support I need.  I may have to rethink that and check some out again. Thanks for the tip!

[Jingles]

My experience with the Whites is totally favorable I got a pair when I was a wildland fire firghter and the only thing that I have had any problem with was the heels and soles but that was after 5 years of wearing them in the hot zones. A less expensive alternative would be a pair of RedWings

[hughjorgan]

Have you gone to REI and looked at what they have to offer? You don't have to buy from them but they have a big selection to look at and try different boots on.

A couple years ago I switched from some danner hunting boots to some back packing boots made by asolo, they are very comfortable, have great support and have some good vibram soles to get good traction on those steep hills. They're also affordable at around 200 dollars.

I did go to REI a couple weeks ago and tried on some Zamberlan's and Asolo's which felt very sturdy with solid vibram soles but they don't seem to go up high enough to give me the ankle support I need.  I may have to rethink that and check some out again. Thanks for the tip!

The Asolos I wear have plenty of ankle support, a lot sturdier than my danners.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/asolo-sasslong-gore-tex-backpacking-boots-waterproof-nubuck-for-men~p~83043/

[Hill]

Lowa Vajolet

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[JPhelps]

The leather works fine for me but I asked my buddy who does more mountain climbing than I do.  He wears some La Sportiva Men's Trango boots.  Here were some of his other recommendations depending on how they fit your foot.

Lowa Men's Cevedale GTX Trekking Boot
Scarpa Men's Rebel GTX Carbon Mountaineering Boot

[BK Dave]

Have you gone to REI and looked at what they have to offer? You don't have to buy from them but they have a big selection to look at and try different boots on.

A couple years ago I switched from some danner hunting boots to some back packing boots made by asolo, they are very comfortable, have great support and have some good vibram soles to get good traction on those steep hills. They're also affordable at around 200 dollars.

I did go to REI a couple weeks ago and tried on some Zamberlan's and Asolo's which felt very sturdy with solid vibram soles but they don't seem to go up high enough to give me the ankle support I need.  I may have to rethink that and check some out again. Thanks for the tip!

The Asolos I wear have plenty of ankle support, a lot sturdier than my danners.

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/asolo-sasslong-gore-tex-backpacking-boots-waterproof-nubuck-for-men~p~83043/

I probably hike 1000-1500 miles a year not counting hunting, I blow through 2 pairs of Danners or like boots, and usually wear a heavy Filson boot in deer /Elk season.
Then I bought the Full Leather Asolos.  Solid! 100% water proof!  And I mean Field tested by Me!  I will chew through boots and shoes faster than most.
I headed out for a little 5mile jaunt this morning in solid downpour, every stitch of me was soaked through and through, exempt my Feet.   

[KFhunter]

It sounds like you may have had some pretty serious ankle sprains in the past, you'll stretch or tear the tendions and your ankle will wobble. I learned a bunch with my wife's recent ankle sprain with Avulsion. A really good foot doctor took a lot of time to explain things and some of it clicked with me as I've sprained my ankles a few times (each) and consider myself to have "weak ankles", but really it is injury.




The boots I'm using now are underarmor speed freaks, I wore them for a week straight in the rain/snow mixed conditions up to about 4-5 inches of snow and was pleased and had dry feet.  They are a lower rise hiker style boot and seems to have better ankle support than a mid rise or higher boot.
My wife says I have a shoe fetish, I do like to take care of my feet and have a lot of boots at home
Most all of my boots have large flat wide vibram soles and almost none of them have a heel.

I did use a boot dryer each and every night though and high quality wool socks.

I can't wear stuff with a higher heal or my ankles will roll. 

[Huntbear]

All those ideas sound great.. but I need an EXTRA wide boot.. my Redwings are 2E and are just to narrow.. as much as I love them.  They do pinch my toes and make me limp after a couple of days... 

[CAMPMEAT]

White's Smokejumper !! $400 but worth it!! They aren't insulated and take some time to break in but I've only gone through 2 pairs over the last 10 years. They are Wenatchee built and if you go there they'll measure your feet and build them to your feet, also very easy to get them resold. White bite is only drawback I've had but not a big problem after a few times

Whites are made in Spokane. That's where mine were built, unless they moved the facility to Wenatchee this year. Mine were $ 465 delivered to my house.

[nw_bowhunter]

i bought some Asolos and they are excellent. Also wearing miendi air cabs which so far are excellent. check rei out. Im moving away from hunting boots.

[jbeaumont21]

The leather works fine for me but I asked my buddy who does more mountain climbing than I do.  He wears some La Sportiva Men's Trango boots.  Here were some of his other recommendations depending on how they fit your foot.

Lowa Men's Cevedale GTX Trekking Boot
Scarpa Men's Rebel GTX Carbon Mountaineering Boot

Thanks Jason, These are some great ideas.  Exactly what I am looking for, hiking boots that come up high on the ankle.  Going to have to see if I can try some on some where in Portland.

[jbeaumont21]

It sounds like you may have had some pretty serious ankle sprains in the past, you'll stretch or tear the tendions and your ankle will wobble. I learned a bunch with my wife's recent ankle sprain with Avulsion. A really good foot doctor took a lot of time to explain things and some of it clicked with me as I've sprained my ankles a few times (each) and consider myself to have "weak ankles", but really it is injury.




The boots I'm using now are underarmor speed freaks, I wore them for a week straight in the rain/snow mixed conditions up to about 4-5 inches of snow and was pleased and had dry feet.  They are a lower rise hiker style boot and seems to have better ankle support than a mid rise or higher boot.
My wife says I have a shoe fetish, I do like to take care of my feet and have a lot of boots at home
Most all of my boots have large flat wide vibram soles and almost none of them have a heel.

I did use a boot dryer each and every night though and high quality wool socks.

I can't wear stuff with a higher heal or my ankles will roll.

Yes I have had some serious ankle sprains over the years from playing basketball.  I am still suffering from an achilles tear last year. I am no longer playing basket ball so that I can still walk and hunt when I get older.  Too bad, it was a great workout. Luckily I work at a medical clinic with PT as I have been doing physical therapy ever since but it is a long slow process. Feel free to share any tips that you learned from your wife's doc.

[KFhunter]

You prolly know more than I do about it (I'm sure of it) if you're doing physical therapy.

Mine isn't bad enough to send me to the doc. 

[Fl0und3rz]

All those ideas sound great.. but I need an EXTRA wide boot.. my Redwings are 2E and are just to narrow.. as much as I love them.  They do pinch my toes and make me limp after a couple of days... 

Check out Morton's Syndrome.  I cannot recommend a boot for your specs.  If you have what the Morton's Syndrome describes - I do - you need a wide toe box to prevent compressing the foot to toe joints together and pinching one of the nerves.  If I wear boots that are too tight across the toes, the nerve pain will flare up quickly.

I use a rubber hunting boot (LaCrosse Alpha Burly Sport), which provides decent ankle support for me. I don't know how it would work for you.  I also used my Sorel Pack Boots this year,  which boots are leather upper and rubber lower with a wool felt removable liner.  Ankle support is almost nonexistent, but they were very comfortable for my wide foot. And I had no problems with my issue. 

Pack boots are probably the best way to go for me, and it seems that some of the White's pack boots are in my future.  They also seem like they would have better ankle support than the Sorels, so that might be an option for you to look into.

[Doc Sauce]

I don't know if you are "cold footed" or not... but I switched to Asolo this year.  The ones I am wearing are not insulated.  I wear a couple of pair of socks when it is cold.

I was looking at spending my money on hunting boots and then thought about checking out REI.  The guy I talked to was a hunter and it started making sense that there is more money (and research/development) being spent on hiking boots than hunting boots because there are  more hikers/backpackers than hunters. 

It came down between Kenetrek and the Asolo.  In the end, the Kennetreks were really heavy and couldn't see me wearing them in the summer for scouting or hiking with the family.  I figured i'd deal with cold feet better than I would hot feet... and the weight difference between the boots was significant.  The body fatigue from moving more weight on the end of a lever (or pendulum) is pretty significant.

Again... depends on what you value.  I'm not as cold footed as some of my friends and I value waterproof, sturdy, and lightweight.  Asolo set the bar for that category... or at least it did for me.

[Huntbear]

All those ideas sound great.. but I need an EXTRA wide boot.. my Redwings are 2E and are just to narrow.. as much as I love them.  They do pinch my toes and make me limp after a couple of days... 

Check out Morton's Syndrome.  I cannot recommend a boot for your specs.  If you have what the Morton's Syndrome describes - I do - you need a wide toe box to prevent compressing the foot to toe joints together and pinching one of the nerves.  If I wear boots that are too tight across the toes, the nerve pain will flare up quickly.

I use a rubber hunting boot (LaCrosse Alpha Burly Sport), which provides decent ankle support for me. I don't know how it would work for you.  I also used my Sorel Pack Boots this year,  which boots are leather upper and rubber lower with a wool felt removable liner.  Ankle support is almost nonexistent, but they were very comfortable for my wide foot. And I had no problems with my issue. 

Pack boots are probably the best way to go for me, and it seems that some of the White's pack boots are in my future.  They also seem like they would have better ankle support than the Sorels, so that might be an option for you to look into.

Yes, I need a wide toe box.... I have a pair of Rocky's that work great, fit great.. however, they are no longer waterproof, and are only 200 gram of insulation.. can not find the same ones again... 

[aaronoto]

Check out the Salomon Quest as well - light, great support and waterproof.

[netcoyote]

I've settled on Meindl boots for most of my outdoor trekking. The Alaskan Hiker is what I currently use.
http://www.cabelas.com/mens-high-hiking-boots-cabelas-alaska-hiker-boots-meindl-2.shtml?WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=80075337&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=C69D52CD-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=21397153151&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=43600703111
They are rigid enough for my feet, come in wide widths and can be ordered with, or without, insulation. They are a mid-ranged price boot. Cabela's carries them.
One thing I realized this year was that the stiffer the boot, the harder it's going to be to sneak up on game. You walk around in a rigid sole boot and you will snap every twig within three feet of your path...or so it seems. I tried a softer ("hunting") boot in my collection on one trip this fall and didn't have the problem. If you need a stiff boot for the support, that's what you should use. I'll guess you'll just have to be more careful about your steps.

[eburg127]

I second the Meindl's.  I have had the Denali's for a couple of years with no problems during hunting season.  I do want to get another pair for summer hiking.  I think the main thing with any boot is to wear them around the store for some time and bring your socks with you.  I am cheap, but got several recomendations for Meindl's from some serious hikers/hunters.  These guys put on way more miles than me and they all switched to Meindl.

[pianoman9701]

Lowa Vajolet

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

  I love me my Lowas.

[threedwizard]

I feel your pain, having suffered through Achilles Tendonosis for the past almost 2 years. looking for the same type of boot. I'm looking at Hanwag boots, not cheap but very good reviews. Following this thread and started one in Backpack hunting. Thanks!

[snags]

Elk Hunters are made by Danner but only sold at Cabelas. I'm thinking about getting a new pair. Mine have lasted me 11 years and many miles. I've owned other pairs of Danner boots in the past, but none of their boots are built like the Elk Hunters!

[scottcrb]

i love my han wag . only took about 20 miles to get really broken in and comfortable and still very supportive. the customer service at lathrop and sons is amazing too. they have a whole line of boots danners and han wag they are leather but amazing so far. only had them about a year .

[troyspinetar]

I picked up a pair of Vasque hiking boots. They are incredible. I primarily use them for hiking, but because most of my hunting involves rigorous hiking, I go ahead and use them. I got the lightweight gortex style, when these wear out I am going back for another pair. I got them at REI. Good luck!

[andersonjk4]

I got a pair of Meindl Ultralights last year and so far they offer great support in a very lightweight boot.  I have the uninsulated version but I think Cabela's offers them in 2 different insulation weights.  They are a leather/nylon boot, so I don't know how they will hold up over time, but so far for hiking and warm weather hunting they are great.

[jbeaumont21]

I ended up going with the Asolo's . REI has them on close out sale for $244, normally they run $350. So far they feel real good with tons of support, plus they are mostly synthetic making them lighter weight and won't soak up the water like pure leather boots. I'll let you know how they end up performing after some wear. Thanks all for the advice.

[Doc Sauce]

Congrats bro!  I really do like mine a lot.  Took awhile to get used to them.  Which ones did you get?  The Fugitive GTX?  I would advise getting some Nikwax and treat them from time to time.

[jbeaumont21]

Thanks, I think they will end up being a great boot. I got the Pumori mountaineering boot. They don't have much leather but I think your right about the wax. Thanks for the tip and the advice.

Jesse

[addicted2hunting]

Under armour speed freaks! I love mine and I have walked through creeks and still remained bone dry. super comfy and very easy to feel the ground and not bulky. I would recommend them to anyone.

I live and hunt the westside a lot.

[270Flat]

I picked up a pair of Vasque hiking boots. They are incredible. I primarily use them for hiking, but because most of my hunting involves rigorous hiking, I go ahead and use them. I got the lightweight gortex style, when these wear out I am going back for another pair. I got them at REI. Good luck!

I have been using mine the last two years for hunting. Originally bought as hiking boots.

[lostbackpacker]

I got some red wing vasque clarion gtx hiking boots. Had them for four years. Great ankle support, waterproof, affordable.  Just got them resoled last week.  Really like them.