Boot delima

[WVmike]

Zamberlans have served me well. I've had no issues with them. I also have a pair gore tex light weight Salewa boots that are like slippers in my opinion.

 

[brockel]

Had the same issues with Crispi boots until I tried their briksdal boot. It’s a narrower boot. No more toe bang for me or heal slip. I actually run in them they are so comfortable. They say the briksdal either fit you like a glove or not at all though so might want to try a pair where you can return them. I use to use the kennetrek mountain extremes but had to place them up just perfect for no heal slip. I think kennetrek quality has slipped as my last two pairs I burned through pretty quick before I decided to try a different brand. For the price of them I was going through them too quick.

 

[Wyoming270]

I had the same issue when i first moved to wyoming. Read for a month and found zamberlain are the best. Went to cabelas and paid almost $600 after tax for a pair. They fit well, walked well, and in 6 months of little use my feed were splitting out the sides and chunks of the sole were missing. One day i was in the sporting goods store in saratoga. Bought a pair of danner pronghorn. excellent boot and can be found under $200. i like the 400 mg thinsulate ones for year round use. if i end up somewhere thats 85 degrees in summer feet sweating is not an issue. When its 24 degrees at 6 am on august 3rd my feet dont freeze. Ive used them exclusively since 2022. Packed out all sorts of animals over tough terrain. One year i packed out a whole bone in quartered mule deer with the head in my frame pack at night with no moon light over 1/2 a mile of crossing ravines 30 feet deep. No trouble. pair from 2022 is looking a bit scraped up but still going strong. I bought 3 pairs, one stays nice, one gets normal wear and tear, and the first one that is non insulated gets the absoloute abuse situations.

This means a lot coming from a guy who is almost 300 lbs and doesnt mind walking 12 or 14 miles in a day with a 50 lb pack plus a rifle plus optics. some of the places i hunt are up and down multiple ravines that are 800 feet deep of steep loose rocks. The easiest place i hunt has me scrambling over 80 foot tall granite formations.

 

[mtmuley]

I don't let the internet tell me which boots to buy. mtmuley

 

[Jack Ryan]

I live in Oklahoma so I don't get to go to several different stores to try on different boots. Scheels is the closest store that has good boots. Scheels carries Crispi, Kenetrek, Hoffman, Zamberlain.
Last year I bought a pair of Crispi West River insulated boots. I am just not fully satisfied with them. As far as quality goes yes they are great but just don't seem to fit my feet well. The main issue with the Crispi is the toes. The toe box is definitely not to tight, actually the opposite. When walking down hill I get "toe bang" real bad. The end of the boot is SO hard. Keeping toe nails tri.med well helps but doesn't totally solve the problem.

Went back to Scheels and spent substantial time trying different brands and styles. As far as Kenetrek goes the Mountain Extreme uninsulated were great on the toes. I even purposely tapped the toe of boot hard to floor and toe bang was pretty much non existent. HOWEVER, heel slip is annoying with the Kenetrek boots. Also a little narrow but store didn't have wides in stock to try on.

Crispi= toe bang
Kenetrek= heel slip
Hoffman were a no.
Zamberlain (didn't try because store rep said I wouldn't like them.
Don't have a way to try on Schnees Lowa, Selway, Meindl, etc.,

They are too big.

 

[El Jason]

I have no qualms anymore with buying boots under the assumption I may need to return them after wearing around the house.