I've got Christmas money to use and am attempting to patiently wait for my pair of Hoffman pacs (Pro Thinsulate Extremes) to arrive. This has me thinking about the rest of my boot arsenal. For grouse hunting in the mountainous parts of the Northeast, I've been wearing a pair of Danner Explorers. I've had them for the past 8 or so years. They are finally wearing down & haven't been anywhere near waterproof for half or more of their life. I doubt I'll replace them with something very similar as they aren't very comfortable on hard ground (though pretty nice in the woods), don't give much ankle support, and seem to bother my knees & lower back when descending.
This all has be eyeing up the euro style mountain boots with the rubber rand for protection and more modern sole design. Grouse hunting around here is hard on boots between the rocks, moisture and kicking through the remnants of logging operations. My budget would be somewhere in the $300 range give or take. These would be used for early archery deer hunting, almost daily in October chasing ruffed Grouse, some snowshoeing throughout the winter and some summer hiking in the extremely rocky White Mountains of NH.
The two boots that have my eye are the Lowa Ranger III GTX and the Hoffman Explorer. I have a pair of Lowa shoes and the footbed shape works for my feet (they have also stayed waterproof after almost 2 years - Amazing right?) The Hoffman's look solid. What other models and brands should I take a look at?
Also, while I know this varies widely based on usage, how many years of use do most of you get out of this style boot? That is, how long do you find the nubuck leather and soles to hold solidly together? My expectations of gore-tex/waterproof membrains staying waterproof on any pair for more than a few months is pretty low, so I'm not too concerned about that. I'm getting fed up with $150 boots that are unusable after a season or two and hoping to make an investment that lasts.
This all has be eyeing up the euro style mountain boots with the rubber rand for protection and more modern sole design. Grouse hunting around here is hard on boots between the rocks, moisture and kicking through the remnants of logging operations. My budget would be somewhere in the $300 range give or take. These would be used for early archery deer hunting, almost daily in October chasing ruffed Grouse, some snowshoeing throughout the winter and some summer hiking in the extremely rocky White Mountains of NH.
The two boots that have my eye are the Lowa Ranger III GTX and the Hoffman Explorer. I have a pair of Lowa shoes and the footbed shape works for my feet (they have also stayed waterproof after almost 2 years - Amazing right?) The Hoffman's look solid. What other models and brands should I take a look at?
Also, while I know this varies widely based on usage, how many years of use do most of you get out of this style boot? That is, how long do you find the nubuck leather and soles to hold solidly together? My expectations of gore-tex/waterproof membrains staying waterproof on any pair for more than a few months is pretty low, so I'm not too concerned about that. I'm getting fed up with $150 boots that are unusable after a season or two and hoping to make an investment that lasts.
