Finding New Boots

[907to406]

Well here we go again...I've been running the Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 400gr insulate for the past 6 years. The first 2 years in them were absolute hell with the worst heel blisters I've ever had in my life. Living in Bozeman at the time I was able to take them into Carters Boot to have them punched out in heal area 7 times (the only place certified to work on them, even Kenetrek uses carters for repairs). The next 3 years the boots were great after trying multiple sets of foot beds with the occasional hot spot on my little toe after long days in wet conditions however they were falling apart in numerous areas. The rand was bubbling/peeling, the heal lacing seperated and was sewed and glued back in place, the rubber kick plate on the toe was separating and was regularly being glued back on. I could only wear my Kenetreks with the one type of Darn Tough Socks, anything else and I would get heel slippage and blisters.

Due to a work relocation and moving I had zero archery season. Now that rifle season is here I hit the hills hard and by the end of my 10.5 mile day had a horrible hot spot on my left heel. When I got back to the truck I put my crocs on for the drive home and had a blister the size of a quarter on the inside of my left heel. I took a good look at my boots and they are pretty much shot... My kenetrek theory is they either work for you or don't and if they don't they will take 2 years to break in, create massive blisters and pain, ruin hunts then by the time they are broken in they have fallen apart. I'm convinced the picture on the home page of Lathrop & Sons of the blisters are from Kenetreks.

So I ordered up a pair of the Schnees Granite VI 600gr, Lowa Hunter GTX Evo Extreme 200gr, and Crispi Guide GTX 200gr. The plan is to see what feels good around the house and send the rest back. This being the case I'm a little nervous about 600gr of insulation being too much and the 200's being not enough. The only thing I ever really liked about the Kenetreks were the fact that they were a 400gr insulation which was perfect from -20 to 50 degrees. I was temped to go back to Danners as I have several pairs that I use for both work and daily wear. I've had Danners for just about everything the last 15 years but the Danner Canadians that I use to use for hunting just don't offer enough ankle support while sidehilling in steep terrain with a load on my back. As you can imagine I'm pretty upset to be dealing with this going into rifle season, obviously not the ideal time to be figuring out a boot situation. The one boot I didn't order but might is the Crispi Wild Rock 400gr, if anybody has any experience with these please share!

I'm writing this to hopefully help some other guys out that are in the same situation or will be looking for new boots in the future. My foot is pretty flat and a little on the wide side. I'll keep up with this post and write the pros and cons of what I find with the boots I ordered and keep you guys posted. Hopefully people don't take this as a bashing towards Kenetrek but out of the 4 other hunting buddies I know running Kenetreks they have the same problems (we did all buy these the same year). I only ever used the Kenetrek brand leather treatment and the rubber rand shriveled, the toe box shrank and narrowed (probably what caused my little toes to get a hotspot), Never left them near direct heat or had the foot heater on in the truck too high which I was told would void the Kenetrek warranty. I wanted to love the Kenetreks and tried everything from taping/mole skin, 2 pairs of socks, different footbeds, different socks, lacing techniques. You name it I tried it but enough is enough time to cut my losses and move on. So here I sit missing a day of my already too short of a season letting my heel heal.

Sorry about the rant, I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[daddie63]

Im curious how those 3 boots 0lay out for you. They all sound like solid choices.

 

[GotDraw?]

I am also curious how you'll feel about the boots you're trying after they're six years old.

One man's trash is another man's treasure when it comes to boots vs foot shape.

So... a bit brutal to throw Lathrop & Sons and Kenetrek under the bus.

Amuses me that you apologize for the rant after you toss them under the bus, you could go back and edit your post instead of apologizing. I've certainly sucked it up done so to some of mine in the past.

 

[907to406]

I am also curious how you'll feel about the boots you're trying after they're six years old.

One man's trash is another man's treasure when it comes to boots vs foot shape.

So... a bit brutal to throw Lathrop & Sons and Kenetrek under the bus.

Amuses me that you apologize for the rant after you toss them under the bus, you could go back and edit your post instead of apologizing. I've certainly sucked it up done so to some of mine in the past.

Did you read my whole original post? Not sure where I'm bashing Lathrop and Sons...I was jokingly saying that the picture on their home page of the guy with heel blisters was probably from a pair of Kenetreks. Hell, Kenetreks have probably made Lathrop and Sons tons of sales. If I had a longer window of time to get boots I would honestly buy some Lathrop and Sons with the molded foot beds. Also I'm not sure where I bash Kenetreks? I simply stated my experience with them both the good and the bad and didn't sugar coat it. I don't know how the boots being 6 years old is relevant either. The boots get used a total of 3 months out of a year for their intended purpose. So a grand total of 1.5 years of mountain hunting when its all added up. That being said they were miserable the first 2 seasons and after they did start to fit right/feel good they were falling apart...

Being that I was doing a ton of boot research the past 2 days and even looking to see if Kenetreks had changed anything in their design it seems like if you google Kenetrek Boots most of the things that pop up about them are heel slippage and blisters yet every review you read about them gives them a big thumbs up. I understand not all boots are going to work for certain feet. This is simply my experience with them. Hell, I wish they were all good to go for this year. Then I could focus on hunting not my feet and wouldn't be shelling out another 450.00+ for boots or in this case closer to 1500.00 to try out different boots. The point of this is to share my experience with one pair of boots and then share what I did to remedy it to help other guys looking to buy boots from an unbiased opinion. If Kenetreks fit you right out of the box or after 20 miles then great keep buying them and don't read into this any further. Glad I can amuse you though.

 

[couesbitten]

I'm convinced the picture on the home page of Lathrop & Sons of the blisters are from Kenetreks.

I got what you're saying 907, and I didn't think you were saying anything negative about L&S at all. I've never worn a pair of Kenetreks, but my son has a pair, and until we put some aftermarket insoles in them, they were blister making machines!

 

[GotDraw?]

I hear your regarding finding boots that fit and understand what a consuming hassle it is. It would be great if someone came up with a spreadsheet or matrix that classified boots that are better for high volume/low volume feet, wide/narrrow foot, wide/narrow heel. I too spent a ton of time trying & shopping for boots and now own two spare sets of almost perfect boots that are a half size too small. I get it that the Kennetrek blister humor vis-a-vis Lathrop's picture was a bit tongue in cheek, but perhaps a bit of an unintended indirect jab since they no doubt work hard on their image and their private labeled/branded boots are (I believe) Kennetreks.

I wish you well on your boot search. I've got a set of Lowa Tibets and Lowa Caminos in 11.5 if you want to try them for fitment (uninsulated). I ended up needing a 12.

Cheers,
JL

 

[907to406]

So here's an update. I ended up ordering the Crispi Wild Rock 400gr as well. Upon getting home today I found the Crispi Wild Rocks and Lowa hunter extreme gtx's on my door step.

I'll start with the Lowas. On first impression the Lowas are very roomy in the toe box. I could probably even get away with a 10.5 in these even though all my other shoes are 11-12 depending on make. I struggle to get them tight enough and am getting some heel slip when going up stairs. They seem like a well built bury boot but still not nearly as stiff as my Kenetreks still are after all the miles on them. Its almost like wearing a ski boot vs a snowboard boot if that makes any sense. I do like the lace up system though minus where the foot laces meet the shin laces. It seems like a potential fail point where the hooks are attached to what looks like nylon. I think I could get these to feel really good with a set of super feet foot beds.

The Crispi Wild Rock 400gr When I first put these on they felt like a match made in heaven. They are extremely comfortable and feel like putting my feet into slippers. They are easy to get good and tight and I'm experiencing almost no heel slip at all. That being said they are a little on the soft side and not quite as stiff as I'd like (again I'm use to the Kenetreks). The boot seems to be extremely well made and you can really feel whats going on around and under you. Not nearly as clumsy feeling as a really stiff boot. The lacing system seems simple and maybe even a little basic but is effective. I am getting a pressure point on the bottom outside of my right foot but that being said I am very flat footed and again some foot beds or even just some miles on them could cure this.

The Crispi Guides showed up and feel just as comfy as the Crispi Wild Rock only a bit stiffer. The boot is plenty easy to get good and tight. I'm experiencing no heal slip or strange pressure points. The Crispi boots do leave something to be desired with their lace hooks but that being said they do work very well. Although this boot is the stiffest that I tried so far they still aren't as stiff as the Kenetreks. I think they offer enough support but don't have that clumsy ski boot feel. I love how he rubber rand comes up higher on the back of the boot as this was a wear point on my boots in the past with gators and I almost always wear gators. I threw a pair of super feet greens in and it took up a little space in the boot but for some reason on the right foot the foot bed seems to be about an 1/8 inch short and I can feel my big toe hanging off but this isn't the boots fault. Over all I'm very impressed with these boots right out of the gate and look forward to putting some miles on them.

The Schnees Granite VI arrived. Although a bit late due to some shipping mishaps. These are a great looking boot right out of the box. They feel very comfortable out of the box and are easy to get good and tight. You can tell right away these have the stiffest shank out of all the boots I've tried thus far and feel similar the the Kenetreks in that regard. The foot bed leaves a bit to be desired and a set of Super Feet would help in that department. Walking up and down the stairs I'm getting a little heal slip in my right foot but I think that could be cured with a thicker set of socks and foot beds. They do seem to be a little narrow but not too much so if that makes sense. I would rather have a boot fitting a bit narrow and break in than too wide and get loose over time. I absolutely love the lacing system on these boots, they are hands down the best system of all the boots I ordered.

Please keep in mind that these first impressions are only walking around the house for 2 hours in each pair of boots (walking up and down stairs, around the driveway and throughout the house).

UPDATE:

So I've just returned from a 5 day Missouri Breaks hunt where I was helping a good friend try to fill his elk tag and fill my deer tag. I ended up taking the Crispi Guides. These boots were rock solid for me. I ended up using mole skin on my heels to prevent blisters during break in but by the 3rd day it wasn't necessary. In my opinion the Breaks offer a really unique hunting terrain, everything from long flat walks through the sage to dropping/gaining a couple hundred feet in elevation in a hurry. We averaged 10 miles per day in some rugged country and I was pretty nervous about taking a new pair of boots into something like that but it worked out well for me. Over all I think the Crispi Guides are a perfect western mountain hunter boot. They are forgiving enough to be stealthy but also very stable in off camber situations. At the end of the day my feet and knees felt good after miles of putting boots to the ground so that to me says these boots are doing a good job. I ended up taking a decent mule deer and packing him out a little over 4 miles and the boots did great under a load so I was very pleased with that. However I don't think I would want these boots on a sheep hunt. The shank feels just a little too soft for that type of terrain. Even just doing a simple flex test of the Kenetrek Mountain Extremes vs the Crispi Guides shows just how much stiffer the shank is on the Kenetrek. My other concern is that Crispi uses Gore-Tex and that can be completely hit or miss in boots. I've had Gore-tex salomon boots that lasted years and others that lasted weeks so time will tell how that goes.

Being that I took these boots on a hunt I now own them and couldn't be happier for a go to hunting boot and they just received their first coat of wax. The only downfall I saw with these boots so far is that me feet got cold. While walking and covering ground it wasn't an issue but sitting for extended periods glassing my feet were definitely chilled. On this particular hunt we experienced temps from 20-65 degrees F. I do a lot of late season elk hunting on horseback so cold feet is a concern to me. That being the case I'm currently wearing the Schnees Granites around the house and considering keeping them as well for when the temperature drops.

I hope this helps people looking to buy a new pair of boots. If at all possible I would highly recommend pulling out the credit card and ordering up 2 or 3 pairs of different brands and see what your foot likes. If anybody has any questions or would like more detail on anything please feel free to ask. I've already sent back the Lowas and Crispi Wild Rocks and am debating whether or not to keep the Schnees Granite VI for late season hunting.

 

[daddie63]

Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the Schnees and the other Crispi boot. Ive been looking bard at the Schnees myself.

 

[Vrybusy]

Good information. Keep us posted on your search and results with the boots as time passes.

 

[907to406]

UPDATED see my last post for full update.