Wet extended hunt footwear?

[Petrichor]

Well their more designed for the urban jungle lol. But I use 5.11 taclite boots for work and everything else. They are comfortable, waterproof, and light. Rubber soles and come in 6 and 8 inch height. They can be had for about 100 bucks at any police supply. I wear them every shift for about 14 hours and work just fine. Like I said I wear them in the woods too. Highly recommend.

[akdd]

For Kodiak I have not wore anything but the Lacrosse Alpha burly rubber boots for years. For leather boots I have a pair of Asolo that are goretex lined that I wore on an 8 day sheep hunt last year and paired with a set of short gaiters they held up to an all day hike in the rain without leaking.

[Kevin Dill]

Treatments: I have used Snow Seal, Montana Pitch Blend, Schnee's, Bear Grease, Obenauf's and several others. They all work but they all fail if they aren't done properly and applied before a hunt. Zamberlan Boots recommends a product called Hydrobloc and I've used it. It's a cream instead of a grease. My boot leather did a great job resisting moisture, but 5-7 days of nothing but rain/snow and no sunshine eventually made the leather darken with dampness. The Gore-Tex liner kept my socks and feet totally dry.

I prefer rubber knee boots for moose and wet-country hunts where the terrain isn't as challenging. I've worn Lacrosse Alpha Burley boots for 10+ days straight and no issues. I take them off midday and let them air a while. Change socks perhaps. Forget the wetness and just hunt.

[PistolPete]

My solution, if the hunt is not in winter conditions, is to wear breathable mesh footwear. They work great in the Rockies for September elk, even for packing meat. Remember, skin is waterproof! And they dry out in a heartbeat.

As some have pointed out, Goretex boots all leak. And when they do, they'll NEVER dry. Plus, when it's dry outside, you're still wearing your "rain gear" on your feet and sweating up a storm. Goretex and footwear don't mix.

[Bladepeek]

PistolPete. Sorry, but I have to disagree with your basic statement that "Goretex boots all leak."

This simply is not a true statement. Some do, but they are defective to start with.

As for wearing my "rain gear" and sweating up a storm, back when I wore a younger man's clothes, I jogged 3 K every morning before work and my feet were the only things that weren't sweating. Sure, if you coat the outside with wax as someone suggested, or grease so heavy it fills all the pores, they will sweat. That is not the way Goretex is designed to work. I'm on my second generation of Goretex boots - the first lasted 14 years and 3x re-soling. My current generation is 11 years old, have been re-soled once and are going strong. NONE of them have leaked and I test them every year by standing in water up to the tops.

[PistolPete]

Hey Blade - you're right, Goretex is designed to be "waterproof" and "breathable." But in practice, it fails at both. It's why you'd only wear a Goretex jacket in the rain, why you wouldn't have worn one while running, unless it was raining.

Standing in water for a minute or two is not much of a test of waterproof-ness. Walking a few miles through wet grass will sure show you. But if your boots are lasting 10+ years, and are still "waterproof," then that tells me you just aren't that hard on them -- and good for you. I've worn out very nice/expensive boots in 1-2 hard seasons in the mountains. And the waterproof-ness was the first thing to go, typically right about when they're just getting broken in. The problem is that the Goretex membrane is just not durable enough to handle the repeated flexing and wear in boots.

Hey, if it works for you, great. But as evidenced by many here including myself, Goretex is an all too common failing point in footwear.

[chinook907]

Turkey foot- I used ankle fit rubber hip boots for a lot of years and they were pretty good when walking thru tall wet veg, and not much elevation change.  Nowadays for the same kind of things I use goretex wading pants. I've walked and floated a number of streams on Kodiak and elsewhere with them and they're awesome. But if I'm really climbing I prefer the Xtra tufs or hiking boots.  Just my 2 cents.

[LongbowArchitect]

"I've worn out very nice/expensive boots in 1-2 hard seasons in the mountains. And the waterproof-ness was the first thing to go, typically right about when they're just getting broken in. The problem is that the Goretex membrane is just not durable enough to handle the repeated flexing and wear in boots."

True statement!

[Kevin Dill]

I've had the opposite experience with Gore-Tex. My first pair were Rocky boots back in the '80s and they were basically a junk boot. I stepped up to better boots with brands like LL Bean, Cabela's, Browning, Zamberlan, Lowa and a few others. I've had extremely good results  with GT boots...not perfect...over a 25 year stretch. Any other all-leather boot without GT quickly took on water no matter how detailed I was about sealing seams and applying waterproofing agents.

[wapiti792]

I have both the Kenetrek and Meindal boots you used. I coated them with that boot grease Kenetrek sells a week prior to the hunt in BC. The only issue I had was not wearing my KUIU gaiters for a short hike and stepped in a hole over the boot.

I prefer the Meindal with the gaiters and try to get them off my feet if I am holed up glassing. I also use a sock liner and wool sock, changing as much as I can.

I think where you were there is no easy solution. I am heading there someday and know now I most likely will have wet feet because I am too hard headed to change  

[Roadkill]

good thread-thax to all for the observations

[longbow fanatic 1]

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[Montanawidower]

As has been said before... I can't disagree MORE with PistolPete on his recommending mesh tenni runners for serious mountain hunts.  I have floated the idea amongst other locals just to make sure I'm not missing something.   I get laughs as responses....  

Remember Bozeman is home of Kenetrek, Randy Newberg, Jason Matzeninger, Meat Eater production crew, etc.   I'm not polling yokels.  

Maybe if one stays on trails and  is hunting far enough south.   Tenni runners would be fine.  However, good support and Gore tex are understood as critical up here in the northern Rockies on mountain hunts.  

I will agree that most people only get a couple three seasons out of top end boots hunting in steep country.   But smart use of dressing and gaitors mitigates 90% of the troubles being described.  

PS  Kevin's first post I couldn't agree with more.  

Jeff

[eidsvolling]

I'll just add that Outdoor Research Crocodile gaiters have covered my ankles and shins for lots of wet days and nights, including in Alaska and in the Pacific Northwest. They're an essential part of my gear for all but summer conditions. When they're fitted properly, they'll even keep water from coming in your boots while wading, at least for most stream crossings.

[bucknut]

I agree with Kevin on Gore Tex. I have been fortunate to have a few that were amazing. One set were Meindl Denali's. I have had them for 11-12 years and they are still waterproof. I treat them with pitch blend several times a year. The soles are falling off but they literally have thousands of miles in several states on them. Not all are created equal though. I would give $1000 for another as good as them. The others were Kenetreks and Danner Santiams.

[Steve H.]

I've hunted goats and sheep quite a bit in Koflach plastic mountaineering boots.

[PistolPete]

Hey Montana - by all means, use what you like, bud. But if I used what others told me I needed, heck, I'd be shooting a 2016 Bowtech with Rage broadheads and head to toe Sitka! (so about like Randy Newberg...)

I use what works best from what I've personally tried. So if you get the itch, just make sure you try some trail runners without Goretex and with a low stack height. That gives the shoe much less leverage on your ankle (ever roll an ankle barefoot? It's almost impossible). And, of course, I'm talking bow season, not late November.

Best of luck!

[Montanawidower]

Pete,

Exactly, to each their own...  If you feel comfortable in tenni runners, thats your choice.  

I just want to make sure someone who doesn't have any experience in rugged mountain terrain doesn't drink your Kool aid and have a miserable or even dangerous hunt.  

All your other arguments aside, the beating my feet take from boulders, deadfall, scree, heck even stobs the protrude from downfall would be ten to one hundred fold if I didn't have the protection of a leather boot. There are some hunts that leave my feet pummeled (and I'm hunting rugged boots).  In mesh I would be crippled....

I would hate for someone to impale their instep stumbling through dark timber in the dark because they followed your advice.  That would turn a good hunt into a done hunt....  

Jeff

[Bladepeek]

If life were as simple as using what an expert recommends, there would be only one bowyer, one rifle maker, one boot maker, etc.

Pete, I respect your choice of footwear. You're the one wearing it and you have your experience. I do resent your implying I'm a couch potato who doesn't use my boots, and tests them by standing in a puddle for a couple of minutes. Re-read my post. I said that I stood in water up to the tops FOR AT LEAST 1/2 HOUR every year. Those boots were up and down the alps chamoix hunting many times and they had to be re-soled 3 times. My current set of boots do not get used that hard, as I'm 75 with severe arthritis, but they are on their second set of Vibram soles. I respect your opinions until you start making blanket statements like "all Goretex boots leak". You do not have a right to make that statement because you have not worn all Goretex boots. You are more than welcome to put mine on and walk for hours in wet grass or snow and you will not have wet feet. Qualify your statements to read "all the Goretex boots I've owned leak" and I will accept that as the truth.

[Stickbow]

I was doing a training hike a few months back. I mistakenly wore crosstrainer type tenni's with a 45 lb pack. Rugged rock strewn trail ....7 miles total. My feet were thrashed.

I'll never make that mistake again