JakeMcCandles
FNG
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2020
- Messages
- 23
This is my first post, but since I combed through Rokslide forums for hours preparing for my own hunt, I figured I'd try to pay it back a little. I just returned from my first Alaska caribou hunt, and mcseal2 has put up a nice post detailing a lot of what we learned (https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/what-i-learned-my-first-caribou-hunt.188704/). One of the biggest questions I had going into the hunt was what boots would be the best choice, and here is what I learned from my own single experience 9 days in the field.
I wore both Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots w/ gaiters and LaCross Alphaburly rubber boots. We hiked through all manner of tussocks, swamp, and some limited bare ground. The Kenetreks and gaiters were far superior in terms of support, especially for walking over the rolling tussocks. However, the Alphaburly's saved me about 30% of my steps by being able to walk through standing water and swamp instead of finding a way around.
Having the option of both boots was excellent, but if I had to choose only one, I'd take the Kennetreks. When heavily waterproofed, I still walked through plenty of ankle deep water, and never had wet feet. The Alphaburlys were more convenient, but after two days of hiking, and packing out caribou both days, I managed to tweak my foot pretty good where it gave me issues if I stepped on something wrong. The Alphaburlys also rubbed more, especially on longer hikes, and I think that wearing only those for 9 days would have given me bad blisters, where I did not have any issue in the Kennetreks.
Walking through the tundra and tussocks was as bad as everyone says. Tussocks are like walking through a gym filled with basketballs and if you step off the ball you land in water anywhere from a few inches to a foot deep. That is made only more interesting when you have a pack full of caribou on your back! Mcseal2 did a post on his Crispi boots (https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/crispi-highland-pro-boot.161858/), which were the right mix of support and waterproof for the terrain we were in, but were seriously ugly as hell.
Bottom line, if (when) I go back for Caribou again, if I can only take one pair of boots, I'll take something like the Kenetreks and gaiters. But if I can find 5 extra pounds of room, I'll add the Alphaburlys in as well.
I wore both Kenetrek Mountain Extreme boots w/ gaiters and LaCross Alphaburly rubber boots. We hiked through all manner of tussocks, swamp, and some limited bare ground. The Kenetreks and gaiters were far superior in terms of support, especially for walking over the rolling tussocks. However, the Alphaburly's saved me about 30% of my steps by being able to walk through standing water and swamp instead of finding a way around.
Having the option of both boots was excellent, but if I had to choose only one, I'd take the Kennetreks. When heavily waterproofed, I still walked through plenty of ankle deep water, and never had wet feet. The Alphaburlys were more convenient, but after two days of hiking, and packing out caribou both days, I managed to tweak my foot pretty good where it gave me issues if I stepped on something wrong. The Alphaburlys also rubbed more, especially on longer hikes, and I think that wearing only those for 9 days would have given me bad blisters, where I did not have any issue in the Kennetreks.
Walking through the tundra and tussocks was as bad as everyone says. Tussocks are like walking through a gym filled with basketballs and if you step off the ball you land in water anywhere from a few inches to a foot deep. That is made only more interesting when you have a pack full of caribou on your back! Mcseal2 did a post on his Crispi boots (https://www.rokslide.com/forums/threads/crispi-highland-pro-boot.161858/), which were the right mix of support and waterproof for the terrain we were in, but were seriously ugly as hell.
Bottom line, if (when) I go back for Caribou again, if I can only take one pair of boots, I'll take something like the Kenetreks and gaiters. But if I can find 5 extra pounds of room, I'll add the Alphaburlys in as well.
