Crispi Highland Pro boot

Brendan

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Aug 27, 2013
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I very briefly tried a pair of these. Wore them in the house and sent them right back.

For me, the heal slip was bad enough I wasn't going to take a gamble on them. Just couldn't get the boot to lock my foot down enough. All in your foot shape I guess.

Really wanted them to work, but no go for me.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Yep, I stood in water with them. No leaks, I waded about 100 yards up a shallow muddy stream and then stood for a minute.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Well we made it back from the hunt and the boots performed perfect. I never once avoided water that was mid-boot or less high and had dry feet the whole hunt. The other guys with me had leather boots and gaiters, these boots definitely saved me steps compared to them.

Often the least terrible walking in the tundra was in 6” of water I found. I walked a lot in shallow water rather than deep tussocks.

The only issue I had was a little rubbing on the top of my big toe, back of the toenail. It was where the boot naturally broke over when taking a step. A couple wraps of Leukotape over each big toe completely ended it.

The leather of the boot inside the outer gaiter did get pretty damp by the end of 9 days. I wore the boots a lot of hours over a lot of miles including 3 caribou pack outs. I’m not sure how much of the moisture was sweat and how much seeped through the zipper. Just full disclosure, the leather did get damp. My foot and the inside of the boot stayed as dry as they ever do when hiking that hard on dry ground.

One concern I do have is that there is no way to treat the leather inside/under the attached gaiter. I’m just going to dry them good and not worry about it unless Crispi tells me something different.

To me they were well worth the money and I’d buy them again. They are going to sit on the boot drier for a few days and then get put up for the next adventure.
 

Trial153

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Oct 28, 2014
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NY
Well we made it back from the hunt and the boots performed perfect. I never once avoided water that was mid-boot or less high and had dry feet the whole hunt. The other guys with me had leather boots and gaiters, these boots definitely saved me steps compared to them.

Often the least terrible walking in the tundra was in 6” of water I found. I walked a lot in shallow water rather than deep tussocks.

The only issue I had was a little rubbing on the top of my big toe, back of the toenail. It was where the boot naturally broke over when taking a step. A couple wraps of Leukotape over each big toe completely ended it.

The leather of the boot inside the outer gaiter did get pretty damp by the end of 9 days. I wore the boots a lot of hours over a lot of miles including 3 caribou pack outs. I’m not sure how much of the moisture was sweat and how much seeped through the zipper. Just full disclosure, the leather did get damp. My foot and the inside of the boot stayed as dry as they ever do when hiking that hard on dry ground.

One concern I do have is that there is no way to treat the leather inside/under the attached gaiter. I’m just going to dry them good and not worry about it unless Crispi tells me something different.

To me they were well worth the money and I’d buy them again. They are going to sit on the boot drier for a few days and then get put up for the next adventure.
Can you spray the inner leather boat with an aerosol type water proof treatment like snow seal?
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Probably not and hit all of it. I’ll email Crispi and share what they reply.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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I’d think they would work well unless you like a really stiff boot in elk country. Shed hunting maybe it’s not terrible steep for you. They are rated a 3 stiffness, kinda a middle of the road stiffness. They are nowhere near as stiff as my Kennetrek Mountain Extreme boots for example. I am not sure if these would be quite enough for me if I was sidehilling for miles for example. Everyone is different, but figured I’d throw that out there.
 
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Well i love stiff boots but my heals do not.
Cause yeah its steep. But a stiffness 4 is all the more I could possibly wear anyways.
So I'm sure I could make due with 3
Thanks again for the update.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Update on the Crispi boots:

I was cleaning them to put away and noticed that it looked like there was some glue showing inside the gaiter but outside the leather boot. I emailed Crispi and sent them some pics. They are sending me a RMA and shipping label to get them in for warranty repair or replacement.

This did not affect performance on my hunt, and may not ever affect performance, but since they are new I wanted to check it out. It looks like the glue gave way on part of where the gaiter was sealed to the side of the boot The bottoms are still firmly sealed. When zipped up the zipper holds the sides in place and glue isn't needed. Crispi sounds like they will handle it the right way. I just wanted to share for anyone thinking of purchasing these. I will update as this plays out.
 

Voyageur

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Feb 12, 2020
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Great information on these boots. I hope people will keep adding to this thread as these boots see more field use by more people.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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I got a call from Crispi US today. They asked me a few questions about the boots, they said this was the first pair they had ever seen returned. They have sold some before, just never had an issue with any. They were curious about how I used them and how I liked them, we had a great conversation. They could find no issue with the boot except the glue failing that I mentioned. They are sending them to their cobbler to be cleaned and repaired. They said the boot and sole were intact, and the gaiter was still attached to the sole. The glue between the gaiter and leather probably isn't to important but it will be repaired.

Good customer service and I should have my boots back in a week or so. I would still buy them if I had it to do all over again.
 

j3butch

Lil-Rokslider
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Oct 9, 2017
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Basalt, CO
My partner and I just picked these up for our 2021 bou hunt. Crispi has them on Black Friday sale for 489 shipped.
 

Voyageur

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Feb 12, 2020
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My partner and I just picked these up for our 2021 bou hunt. Crispi has them on Black Friday sale for 489 shipped.
Good find.
Please report back after your hunt with a performance critique of the boots.
 
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mcseal2

mcseal2

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Dang wish they would have had that sale before my hunt! I bet you guys really like them for that hunt.
 
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