Schnee pac boot failure

[Ariettabob]

Anyone else having issues with newish Schnee pac boots? The guys in my deer camp have moved almost exclusively from Bean boots to Schnee’s but we’ve now had 3 failures with newer models. The bottoms appear dry rotted and developed holes after just over 2 years of use. Schnee refuses to warranty them saying they only stretch the warranty to 2 years.
It seems as if they have an issue because those of us with older Schnees are still getting good longevity but these newer ones are failing.
We’re thinking maybe Hoffman’s are the next to try, as 2 years for a high end boot, used for just 8 weekends of hunting a year, seems like a steep price to pay.

 

[Lawnboi]

I feel like my rubber wore prematurely. I coated it in freesole on the cracking areas last year (year two with the boots). My next will be Hoffman’s, got to play with a pair and they look and feel a little better built.

 

[Wrench]

Here is a 20 year old pair of whites Yukon surviors and a pair of Hoffman that are 8ish years old. I had the same problem with my whites shells cracking on the ones they imported from China. My Yukons are the softest rubber ive ever seen and are air filled between two layers. They're made by lacrosse....the Hoffman are awesome with nailed down soles.
As long as Hoffman doesn't go the way of the others, they should last till you lose them.

 

[Steve O]

Absolutely yes. Since Jim Winjum left Schnees to start Kennetrek, things have gone WAY downhill. I switched over to Kennetreks after my oldest pair of Hunters needed to be resoled and didn’t last one hunt. That was after an extra long and difficult resoling process.

 

[sierraskier]

I had a recent failure with a pair of Guide ADV boots purchased in September, 2020. I took them on a seven day canoe trip in October, 2020, mostly for the frosty mornings in camp. The first time I walked in water that touched the seam loading the canoe (we're talking 3-4" of water) , both boots immediately leaked right through- I was floored. These are near 300.00 boots. This never happened with Bean boots unless they were near the end of their lifespan. So, so, disappointed. When I contacted Schnee's, they instantly made it my burden offering narratives that benefitted them- I shouldn't portage in the boots (I never said I was portaging), they're only made for water coming from the top (what? that's for certain not advertised anywhere), on and on. In the end I was only asking for a replacement pair. A manager named Curt said he'd call me back. That never happened despite two emails saying he would. Nuts. I would have been better off taking all-leather gore-tex boots.

 

[beachbunny]

boy, that is sad to hear, i bailed on beans a long time ago,the chain tread was always an accident waiting to happen,bought the schnees 5 yrs ago,just has not been cold enough to wear them alot, i hope i got them before they went bad.

 

[sierraskier]

boy, that is sad to hear, i bailed on beans a long time ago,the chain tread was always an accident waiting to happen,bought the schnees 5 yrs ago,just has not been cold enough to wear them alot, i hope i got them before they went bad.

I hear you on Bean’s- tread is not good. For what I do, mostly canoeing and fly fishing it’s okay enough. Nothing vertical. Do like the waterproof qualities though.

 

[mtwarden]

My Schnee's pacs are 25 - 30-ish years old, have been resoled once (and about due for another)- I probably put on 300-400 miles per year between elk hunting and snowshoeing, so I can say with certainty that I've got my monies worth out of the them

Obviously I haven't had need to buy a new pair; if something has changed that leads to shortened life- that would be sad indeed.

 

[Brettm1983]

Absolutely yes. Since Jim Winjum left Schnees to start Kennetrek, things have gone WAY downhill. I switched over to Kennetreks after my oldest pair of Hunters needed to be resoled and didn’t last one hunt. That was after an extra long and difficult resoling process.

Agree with this big time..

 

[fightthenoise]

I had to have Schnee’s re-bottom my Hunter II’s after 3 seasons. On my dime. I thought that was premature but figured it was luck of the draw. If this set of rubber cracks again in a similar time frame I’m moving on.

 

[Lawnboi]

Mine need to go in for new soles after the winter. Keeping an eye on this thread. I think dry rotted in three seasons is a bit ridiculous. I don’t beat the crap out of them, and they get stored properly in the off season. Anyone else resoled and noticed a difference? Might just use the money to get a set of hoffmanns.

I wonder what they charge for just a resole. I don’t need new liners, tongue guard or laces.

 

[Schnee's]

Anyone else having issues with newish Schnee pac boots? The guys in my deer camp have moved almost exclusively from Bean boots to Schnee’s but we’ve now had 3 failures with newer models. The bottoms appear dry rotted and developed holes after just over 2 years of use. Schnee refuses to warranty them saying they only stretch the warranty to 2 years.
It seems as if they have an issue because those of us with older Schnees are still getting good longevity but these newer ones are failing.
We’re thinking maybe Hoffman’s are the next to try, as 2 years for a high end boot, used for just 8 weekends of hunting a year, seems like a steep price to pay.

Hello there. Sorry to hear you're having trouble with your PAC Boots. I am not sure who you talked with, but our number one priority is our customers and we stand behind every boot we build. If you or anyone else has any issues, call us at 800-922.1562 or shoot me a pm/email. [email protected]. I can promise you we'll take care of you. Whether that means a re-bottom or new boots.

Full transparency, I have seen bottoms crack prematurely here and there. The vast majority have been operator error. One issue I see among these is that people fail to condition the rubber. Personally I like to put a bit of meguires leather conditioner spray on mine. The high oil content really keeps the rubber like new. I have 5 hard years on mine without any issues. Not saying that's what the issue is with any of your boots, just one thing to know.

Feel free to PM me and I'll see what we can do!
- Matt

 

[Lawnboi]

@Schnee's
Whay is the price of a resole only? Is that an option? I don’t need laces, tongue guard or liners the rubber is just cracking and leaking. I wear these boots ice fishing weekly, so they see quite a bit of water

 

[HoughLePuff]

I had an issue with my bear tooth 2's after my first elk hunt with them in Colorado. One boot didn't have a good waterproof seal. I called Schnees's and they did the right thing by taking care of me. They paid for me to ship the used boots to them and then they tested them. They then agreed with my assessment and sent me a brand new pair of boots. It would be nice if the boots were perfect the first time but they resolved the issue in my eyes.

 

[Schnee's]

@Schnee's
Whay is the price of a resole only? Is that an option? I don’t need laces, tongue guard or liners the rubber is just cracking and leaking. I wear these boots ice fishing weekly, so they see quite a bit of water

That would be a normal rebottom really. Cost is $90 for Tire Tread and $100 for ADV bottom. Rebottom includes new tongue saver, laces and we clean and recondition your leather.

Schnee's Boot Rebuilding

Have your pac boots re-bottomed at Schnee's.

schnees.com

@robby denning did an excellent post about our rebuild process a while back.

 

[robby denning]

That would be a normal rebottom really. Cost is $90 for Tire Tread and $100 for ADV bottom. Rebottom includes new tongue saver, laces and we clean and recondition your leather.

Schnee's Boot Rebuilding

Have your pac boots re-bottomed at Schnee's.

schnees.com

@robby denning did an excellent post about our rebuild process a while back.

There were two videos, one on how the boot breaks down:

here's the video of the rebuild.

That was in 2017, so four more seasons (plus I wear them all winter) on that pair and I'm starting to see hairline cracks where the foot bends, but still not leaking. I'll get them done again before next year. So this will be my 4th rebuild in 14 seasons. I've never put the rubber conditioner on them, just treated the leather.

And I'm on my 2nd set of liners.