Back-country Elk Hunting Boots Brands

Very Early season/scouting- Crispi Thor’s
All other- Schnee’s Beartooth II

What works for you and your foot might be completely different, just try on all the boots you can. I’d stick with the big mountain boot brands though- Schnees, Crispi, Kennetrek, Lowa, Scarpa, Zamberlan
 
Lots of great past info on the footwear forums. I prefer the "light" hiker style boots for archery season.
 
Early season... a lighter synthetic boot is nice. Brand isn't as important as the fit. I favor Lowa Camino's.

Later season when your feet get wet with freezing temps, something tougher and water proof is more in order. Fit is still the thing. I find Lowa's to fit a bit better for narrow heel/long big toe type feet. Kennetrek for wide heel and Crispi for average heel/average toe length. A generous toe box is important to me. Laces relax and toes easily jam on the downhill if there's not enough room. They'll all work fine though if they fit well.

Waterproofing is still hit and miss. Lowa proofing gets some poor ratings (we'll see). Same for Kennetrek but mine were fine. You don't need a $500 pair of boots but you do need some footwear that fits well, is well broken in and a little foresight to treat any hotspots on your feet "before" you head up/down the mountain. You gotta know your feet/boots well enough to know where those hotspots will arise. Once you have a blister, you can't un-have it so cover that part of your foot with some moleskin or something so you don't get one. People think their feet should feel wonderful all day. Not the case for me. I just don't want to be thinking about them with each step I take.

I wear Lowa's lately.
 
Going into CO archery elk season #4 with my Danner Pronghorn's (un-insulated). I'm not scaling 14er's but they have a lot of miles and still feel great. Did a 3.5 mile pack hike in them last night.
 
Appreciate the responses. I hadn't even looked at Zamberlans or Lowas. I just wanted to get a feel of what everyone preferred, now I need to go try a bunch on.
 
Love my Kenetrek Mt Extremes. HOWEVER, I have a long narrow foot and wear a 14 narrow. Not all boots will fit all feet. I went to the Western Hunt Expo in SLC specifically to try on and get fitted for new boots. Otherwise ordering them is a shot in the dark.
 
I recently bought crispi boots. They are worth every penny.

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Lowa Tibet. Took me quite a few miles to break them in, but once they are, they are super comfortable and feel bomb proof.
 
Crispi if you have a wider foot. Tried a asolo,lowas, and zamberlans. Sent them all back. Crispi Thor fits me like a dream.
 
I have a pair of Crispi Summits and they have been great. I have a few friends who have used Kennetreks over the years and they have fallen apart fairly quick. Seeing their experiences has kept me away from that brand for sure. Cannot speak to the others. Has anyone ever used Hanwag boots? I hear Snyder talk about them often. Seems like a great company but haven't heard any other experiences
 
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