kennetrek boot question

skimerhorn

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Ashland Va
I'm looking at getting a good set of boots for my antelope and elk trip. I'm looking at the kennetrek mountain extreme for my elk trip but not sure what insulation to get? I'm thinking 400 gram or unisulated, what do you guys think? Would unisulated be good for antelope and elk? Just wondering how cold my feet would get while doing a lot of hiking even if it was oct?
 
Just my experience but for antelope and elk I've always preferred non insulated boots. I wear my non insulated boots all the way through November until the season ends and I'm calling dogs. I just move up to a thin base layer sock with a heavier merino sock over the top in November when it's cold. My feet simply get too warm in September and October. Kenetreks are very good boots but they don't fit everyone.
 
During gun season I used a pair of 600 gm insulated boots instead of my uninsulated kenetrek's and was glad I did. My feet didn't get over heated and we were hiking in every morning.

It was 0-5 degrees at the start of the day.
 
I use the 400's and like them for just about everything. I know in October sitting and glassing my feet will get cold sometimes. October on the side of a mountain with the wind blowing can feel like February.
 
400 is about right I feel! I've probably warn down a lot of my 400 insulation
Note; I wear mendils. Do your feet get cold easy?
A good sock .....no I am a believer in a great sock and uninsulated
May be Fine! October does not get too extreme.
If you hike Do you own an ATV like Dink?
They will be hot in September.
 
I was thinking 400 just because it was just a lil insulation but didn't want my feet to get to hot and start pouring sweat
 
You can hunt in thongs for antelope - Cushman has the Adidas 200 gram
:)
Kidding, but a lite hiker will work early season my friend
Or for plains Game. Go with that insulated boot and start breaking them in!
And a few great pairs of socks ; maybe super
Lite, light, medium!
 
If you can afford it, order a few pairs and return the ones that don't feel good. Good hunting boots (Kenetrek, Lowa, Meindel, Crispis, Hanwags, ETC), don't all fit the same, and you will likely find that one is going to best match your foot.

As for insulation, that is a hard question to answer. Personally, it has to be pretty cold before I am putting on anything other than uninsulated boots, as my feet run hot and they sweat alot. Currently I have a pair of Saloman 4D Quest GTX (uninsulated; and I wear them until the daytime temp is close to freezing), and a pair of Ktrek 400s for late season.
 
I'd go uninsulated. Make sure you try them on before you purchase if you can. I just ordered kennetreks from what I had read about them. Something about the heals of them, just don't get along with my feet. Almost like they have really wide heals.


Granted, I wear the lightest weight hiking boot type boots i can find. I've personally yet to find a situation in which I wish i had the ankle support of a heavier boot.
 
Wish I had ankle support - every year I am Ina situation I am thankful for ankle support. I like ankle support when I'm carrying a pack full of meat!
 
I use my 400's as the only boot I where now after getting them. I where them where I'm turkey hunting or hunting deer & elk in Montana. I wear a sock liner and REI expedition sock combo.
 
Wish I had ankle support - every year I am Ina situation I am thankful for ankle support. I like ankle support when I'm carrying a pack full of meat!


I never realized how different each of our opinions could be when it came to boots until i joined this site. It's our typical ford vs chevy discussion!

Last year i came out with 1/2 a quartered bone in elk in/on my pack. Then I tossed his head up on my shoulders and began my trek out. I really don't have a clue to the weight of this load but it was substantial. Never once did I think about my boots on the way out.
 
For my feet, my Mtn Extremes with 400 grams are good for cold, snowy weather in the mountains, but I wouldn't take them after pronghorn. I would wear light hikers for that. (My current pair are Mammuts, which are very nice.) I gotta say, though, that my wife likes her insulated Mtn Extremes she wears them all summer long (though not to church on Sunday).
 
Great boot, by the way,
Lifetime warranty.
I have uninsulated and a pair with 400 gm.
Both are very good. I had the 400's first and found them very workable in the hot weather and quite adequate in the cold as long as you have enough room in them for two pair of Hi-tech socks.
I got the uninsulated for long hikes in 90* , Just saying...:hump:
 
I have had a pair of insulated mtn extremes for several years . Great boots, but not without fault. Too much heel room in the right boot , had to have extra leather sewn in . I wear them for logging as well as hunting in the mountains, great for side hills when you need alot of ankle support and a good foot plant. When its real cold or icy they are too stiff , at that point I prefer a light pac boot with air bob soles .
 
I have non-insulated and the 400 gram. I wear my non-insulated all the time, unless it is below -0F. Otherwise, just too damn hot.

If you use dry socks every day and let your boots dry every night, along with routine waxing of your boots with the treatment Kenetrek gives you, your feet will not get cold in October. I am lucky to be one of those people who does not get feet or cold hands. Part of my Finn heritage, I guess. But, I also do a lot of things that help with that, a function of learning how to keep extremities warm while spending my childhood playing outside every day when it is many times -10F.

That said, cold feet is usually not a function of a boot quality, rather people not doing what it takes to keep your feet dry. Dry feet are warm feet. I can't remember the exact number, given I took my heat and mass transfer classes back in 1985, but the rate of heat loss is like 5X higher from a damp surface (skin) due to the effects of evaporation. If you have wet boots, wet socks, or your feet sweat a lot, plan on being cold once you stop hiking, The best way to prevent that is to keep everything dry, even if it mean bringing an extra pair of dry replacement socks to put on as soon as you stop the hardest part of your hiking.

Also, if your hands have a tendency to get cold, toss the gloves. Gloves are the quickest way to get cold hands. Use a mitten, a mitten that is one or two sizes bigger than your hand. Use a mitten with a replaceable liner, so if your hands get sweaty while hiking in, you can replace the liner with a dry pair and your hands will probably not get cold. Far less surface area exposed to the cold with a mitten than with a glove. And, you can have a large mass of protected body surface when your hand is closed in a mitten than when you have your fingers all protruding when wearing a glove. When I see guys hunting cold weather with gloves, my first thought is that they did not come from a situation where they did a lot of outside activities in cold weather.

As soon as one of your extremities, say your hands, starts getting cold, your body has to fight harder to keep other extremities warm. Keeping your hands warm will help some in keeping your feet warm.
 
I too wear my non-insulated Mtn Extremes all year long. I'm a mobile hunter and if I'm moving my feet do not get cold. I'd rather wear thick socks for the extra padding than have an insulated boot.
 
I've been wearing 400 gram Danners while training here in NC (the best I can) for upcoming western hunts.... they don't make my get sweat with good socks. (Its in the 80s here at night when training)
 
I wear non insulated all year, hot or cold. The first year I had my hardscrabbles I hunted in snow all of November and my feet never got wet or cold. I'm sure there have been other really cold outtings but that one sticks out as it was the first time I really liked a boot that I've worn.

I have heard a lot of guys complain about the heals but I never had an issue. And I broke mine in on the mountain too.
 
I have always gone non-insulated in 'hiking' boots. I'm currently in a pair of Scarpa's - and they fit my feet very well. Kennetrek's are solid boots - so it comes down to fit. I would do as previously suggested and try on as many boots as you can in the price range you are looking at.

If it gets cold - then I'm in my Schnee packs. Side hilling / going uphill in a pair of stiff vibram soled boots when there's a layer of ice below the snow really sucks.
 
Caribou Gear

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