Boot upgrade

[amp713]

Ran the Saloman quest 4d GTX, like everyone says: they leak. While I ran gaiters and kept up on sock care it wasn't horrible, and honestly I found they were pretty comfortable. I didn't have blisters hot spots or cold feet and they gave me decent support. The issue arose when I had a gaiter fail and come apart, they were heavilly used and I should have replaced them before hand but that's besides the point. Suddenly the boots were sponges, and I hunted the next 5 days with soaked feet and also melted the boots a little next to a fire I was using to dry out. I wear cowboy boots every day outside of hunting so I'm worried about going with too stuff of boots but do want something a touch stiffer. Especially since I think I'll be pulling a goat tag in the next few years.

Was thinking maybe Lowa? I know it really comes down to individual comfort but looking for guys input that may have made the jump up from the 4d. I don't have anywhere close with Lowas to try, tried on a kennetreck but worried they were too stuff to jump to right away.


Idk maybe I'm just being a pansy and should get a super stiff boot.

 

[wyoguy]

I've got the Lowa Tibet great boot it's stiff at first gave me blisters for the first few hikes but never had a issue after that, the footbed is stiff but I like that for side billing and hiking personally. I've tried on Kenetreks and Kenetreks seem stiffer to me. I've had an issue with the rubber rand falling apart with the tibets, had 2 boots replaced under their warranty, think it's just the way I walk seems like I'm hard on boots, I do put lots of miles on them in mud and snow I've gotten 4 years out of my current pair, leather/goretex is breaking down in them and they leak easily on wet days but I'll probably buy another pair I enjoy hunting hiking in them, I can't see myself getting more than 4-5 years out of a different boot anyway.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I'm also running the Lowa Tibet and think they are pretty good. The locking eyelet and floating eyelet are supposed to help with heal lift. I'm going to do the Lathrop custom system because I have a weird heal and nothing seems to work with me.
But I'd say the Lowas will be great for anyone that doesn't normally have lots of probs.
Also I saw a pair of asolo at Rei that looked to be a little lighter and less stiff but also had the angled "heel breaker " built into the sole and I like that in the Lowa s helps keep your feet under u going down the steep.
Rei should have a 20% off couple up until turkey day.
Best of all Rei gives you a full year to try gear out.

 

[muddydogs]

So how did a gaiter failure make the boots leak, were you getting water or snow over the tops of the boots or were the leather boot uppers leaking.

 

[amp713]

So how did a gaiter failure make the boots leak, were you getting water or snow over the tops of the boots or were the leather boot uppers leaking.

I don't know for sure where it was getting in but I went from barely damp at the end of the day the days before to soaked socks once the gaiter came apart. I think that it just allowed water to soak through the uppers

 

[Owenst7]

I don't like super stiff boots when I'm on a trail. The stiff shank and torsional stability is appreciated when sidehilling or tiptoeing over the knife edges of Boulder fields, but it's hard on my knees when traveling down a trail that's comparatively flat. Watch someone walking across a parking lot in ski/snowboard boots for an extreme example.

I've been running a Schnee's Beartooth mid since this spring. Almost entirely off trail in NV/eastern Sierra's. I'm usually carrying a ~50 lbs backpack. I did a 14 day deer/elk hunt about 8 miles in to Jarbidge last month and packed out a cow and two bucks. I just got back from a Bighorn hunt in central NV. Headed out to Wells, NV for another elk hunt Friday, then back out to finish the second tag of that sheep hunt. I've got somewhere around 200 miles on these boots from adding up my GPS tracks. I have my GPS on about 75% of the time so I'm guessing a bit.

My review of the Beartooth is when I'm going up a real steep and loose slope, I would appreciate a little more stiffness in the forefoot of the shank. When glassing at ~20F, I wouldn't mind some insulation after an hour. When crossing creeks, I'd really like the full height, but I'm doing well with rock hopping and gaiters (I use poles BTW). I used these all summer for scouting in 100F and rarely felt they were too hot. On days that I'm doing 14 miles on a horse trail, I greatly appreciate that flex in the forefoot. I have not experienced the shank being too flexible torsionally while sidehilling off trail, even when carrying elk. The eVent (mine are the Beartooth 1) sock is still watertight and I have stood in creeks up to the top of the boot for long periods while fishing with no concerns of getting wet feet. I've also hiked them dry a couple times when I was forced to wade the Jarbidge River back in July. They dried out much faster (about 3 miles) than I expected them to. I did immediately wring out my socks and dry them in the sun for about 15 minutes while i ate lunch.

I initially had some issues with the insert lacking support. I tried a high volume/padded insert which reduced interior volume (these are pretty svelte boots) and gave me a pressure point near my big toe from the first eyelet. I spoke with Schnees about it and they had me try a carbon Superfeet because it's actually thinner than the stock bed. This insert is very supportive and eliminated my padding/support issues and made the boots very roomy for my toes to spread and stay warmer.

I'd recommend going with someone who will happily spend lots of time with you discussing fitment in different conditions. If you cannot have them fit you in person, they should happily guide you through sending them pictures of your foot with a ruler. You could go somewhere local and have them use a brannock device, but I'd speak with your bootfitter about this beforehand also to make sure the bonehead at Reebok or wherever doesn't do things incorrectly or forget something. When I stopped by Schnee's in person, they showed me that my arch and foot size are 10 and 9.5, respectively, which suggests why I've always been "in-between" sizes even across the same brands of shoe. Sometimes I have to choose the size that fits my arch instead of just my toes, and some lasts just don't work well for me. I didn't really understand the root of that fitment until I spent some time talking with a fitter with some expertise. I never got that from the people at Sportsman's/REI/random shoe store/etc.

A lot of footwear with a PTFE membrane is not constructed in a manner that protects the membrane from abrasion/puncture/wear. I've even seen some where the outer panels of the boot are stitched through the membrane (that's just borderline moronic design). That membrane will stay waterproof forever so long as it stays in tact mechanically, but if the seams rub holes in it it will leak. If the manufacturer stabs a bunch of holes in it and stitches through it, it's going to leak like a sieve because that's essentially what it is. I have not seen one delaminate without being dried by a fire, but there are probably cases with shoddy material QC or some other construction issue where it happens. My cheap footwear probably doesn't usually last long enough for the membrane to fail before the high wear areas fall apart. I have an old pair of synthetic Danners with a bunch of sewn panels where the membrane failed before the sole was worn flat. When I cut them apart to investigate the construction (I still wear them for yard work and stuff), I expect that all the unnecessary "styling" panels will have rubbed through the membrane at the edges of the panels/stitches. For that reason, I prefer boots with as many large/solid leather panels as possible to reduce the amount of edges that rub on the membrane.

 

[Akicita]

I've been running the Lowa Zephyr GTX which would be a comparable boot the Quest 4D GTX in weight, flex and cost. I have 7 months on them as my primary duty boot and they have met and exceeded all expectations. I am very hard on boots and equipment so I am confident to recommend these to you. My current favorite light hiker is my Arcteryx Bora2 GTX. . . They are a phenomenal boot but quite a bit more than the Zephyr or Quest 4D.