Kenetrek Boots...good? great?

[Jonathan_S]

Crispi Guides. The soles on Kenetrek are soft and don’t last long. You’ll thank me later

That soft rubber is very grippy though, and Kenetrek has a resole service too. For about $150 their cobbler resoles, re-rands, and replaces laces.

[Westside88]

Thanks for great feedback everyone. I appreciate hearing real world experiences

[Sakko300wsm]

Mountain Extremes for the win - I have tried multiple different brands and they been the best by far and have never had wet feet

[boneaddict]

 

[str8meat]

#1 kennetreck #2 zamberland #3 whites

[adamR]

About seven years ago now, I tried a pair of Schnee's. They were ridiculously comfortable except for the heel area. I ended up sending them back.

I purchased a couple pairs of Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 400 gram boots from Amazon to figure out the size I need then sent them back and waited for a sale. I've had those boots for 6 years now and they were by far the best boot I've ever owned. I can't begin to imagine how many miles I've put on them but the soles are now worn down to maybe a 1/16" of tread remaining. I will be buying another pair this spring. I've also convinced four hunting partners to purchase them as well and no one has been upset afterwards.

While wearing gaiters, I've crossed streams that were knee high and never had wet feet. While hunting idaho in 2018, I forgot my gaiters at home; it rained for seven days and I was the only one in camp without wet feet. (This is when the other guys started buying them.)

Two cons for me -

- The soles are very slick. If you are stepping on wet logs, you better be paying attention to where your going to slide to. Not a huge problem if you are expecting it.

- I wear my boots year round; hunting, hiking, camping, etc. This year, I didn't get a chance to put them on from around December 2022 through July 2023. When I went to oil them up and remove the laces, there were huge cracks in the folds of the boot. The leather was still very pliable as I had oiled them when I put them away; not sure what happened but they are definitely not water proof anymore.

Prior to these, I was the buying buying $2 - $300 boots from Cabelas, what seemed like, every year. They were all junk. I got 6 years out of a $500 pair of boots. At $85 a year, I will happily buy another pair this spring.

[Timberstalker]

I’ve worn Kenetreks since the early 2000’s. I’ve tried other brands and they have been good.
The Kenetreks just work. They offer far superior support and when I’m hunting steep, rocky country, they just feel way better. They are built well and I’m on my 3rd pair. I’ve yet to find a better boot. I bought the Guide Ultra for my last set and they have been fantastic.

[hollymaster]

Didn’t work for my feet. Crispi’s are my go to.

[Dansk]

Kenetrek Mtn Extremes work great for me.  I have EEE width and high arch- they come in 'wide' which fit me well.  Used them for 1 year after 50 mile break-in.  No blisters but still just 'ok'... until I went to pediatrist and had custom orthodics - total game changer... the orthodics helped my hip and knee issues as well and 2 pair were covered by medical insurance.  I had superfeet before, but no comparison to custom from foot doc.

[Naches Sportsman]

I’ve been rocking the fire boots for both work when not in mop up and playing the last 5 years and love em.

Don’t get em hot or they’ll melt like all other hikers. Learned that again in Hells Canyon in 2022.

[Westside88]

I appreciate everyone’s thoughts. I’m having some trouble deciding whether the mountain extreme or the mountain guide boots are a better option. Any thoughts on that? They are on sale about $100 of both on the Kenetrek website and Cabela’s. Is that about as low as I should expect to see them or are they known for sales?

[KFhunter]

I took a pair of kenetrek mt extremes directly out of the box and went elk hunting, no blisters,  and we went hard too, for me anyways

My bro got crispis and we were stopping for blister tape which I mercilessly videod and razzed him about his new crispis


They either work for your feet, or they don’t, or you compromise and do a lengthy break in to “get them” to work for your feet.  I got lucky and didn’t have to buy different brands to find the pair that work.  I think they’re all fine boots if they fit right and you tie them right

[Westside88]

Can anyone speak to the Mountain Extremes vs the Kenetrek Mountain Guides? I watched a video in which the founder of Kenetrek explained the differences and I'm still torn. I'm thinking the Mountain Extremes may be a little more comfortable and a little lighter. I guess either way they'll be a good boot

[kentrek]

Can anyone speak to the Mountain Extremes vs the Kenetrek Mountain Guides? I watched a video in which the founder of Kenetrek explained the differences and I'm still torn. I'm thinking the Mountain Extremes may be a little more comfortable and a little lighter. I guess either way they'll be a good boot

I've ran both extensively and the mountain guides are just a step above the Extremes..I feel like the Extremes got popular so they made them less rigid to fit a broader variety of people, the guides are a better boot for the nasty stuff.... if your questioning if you should hunt there then the guides are the boot

I dislike the rubber rand on the Extremes so for moderate terrain I typically use a simple crispy mid type boot and then I have the guides for very rough hunts where support is very important

These boots are not designed for stalking, and you need to account for that depending on the hunt

[JWBINX]

I've had great success with my Kenetrek boots, they have never leaked
and always gave great support and comfort. I will say, I think they need about
50 miles to break in. I have a pair of Mtn Extreme 400s and a pair of Hardscrabble hikers.
Unless their is really cold weather I use my Hardscrabble hikers with gaiters 100 percent of the time.
They are great boots, and everyone has there opinion!
Everybody's feet are different.
I do use Sole insoles which work better than Superfeet for me.