Testing the Crispi Nevada Legend GTX Insulated Boot

Ross

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These boots were provided to me last week, so a review will be forthcoming next month, but while I am running them around the mountains of North Idaho and Montana I will be documenting my day, feel of the boot and amount traveled. Fire away with questions as you see fit.

These boots are being used exclusively for shed hunting at this time of year and a typical day will be 4-12 hrs of use, covering 5-15 miles with a lot of side hilling.

First impression when received very well designed boot that will take abuse:) When received I wore them to the gym that night on the treadmill for 30 minutes, otherwise there was no break in time before taking off the next morning. I wore them for 5 hrs in the rain and expected I would be a hurting unit at the end, but other than a couple of mild warm spots I was going to be good to go the next morning. Being an old man with many prior ankle rolls, I am always aware of how a boot will provide support for my ankles pretty much above all else. These boots provide excellent ankle support and are very stiff, allowing you to comfortably walk on side hills without much strain. I was pleased with the first day.



Day 2 was the next day and it was a full 7-7 day covering approximately 15 miles, 5 of that being side hilling. I started the day with no discomfort from the prior day. The stiffness, no lateral movement and traction never let me down throughout the day. They were a pleasant boot to wear with no real break in on a very long day. The as advertised A.B.S.S. Ankle Support Structure is excellent as my old weary ankles never felt tired or close to a rollover throughout the day. For someone with ankle issues I can see this as a excellent boot.



Day 3 to come this weekend.

5/24/16 UPDATE:
Editor Robby here. I just published Ross' full review on these boots. You can link here:
Crispi Nevada GTX Hunting Boot
 
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whitingja

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Have you tried the key in the Kenetreks extremes, or the Schnees granites or Beartooth? And how do these compared to those so far?
 

WesternHunter

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My concern with Crispi boots is service after the sale. Thoughts on this?

Crispi has a new US distributor, new website, new everything pretty much. Customer service shouldn't be an issue with the new distributor. There were a lot of issues with the old distributor and Crispi cut ties with him entirely and started fresh. I'd say buy with confidence!
 

jonny5

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Crispi has a new US distributor, new website, new everything pretty much. Customer service shouldn't be an issue with the new distributor. There were a lot of issues with the old distributor and Crispi cut ties with him entirely and started fresh. I'd say buy with confidence!

The new distributors are top notch...you are going to have a different level of service for Crispi vs anything that was experienced before.
 

Slim Jim

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How did you like the amount of insulation? Was it light enough for warmer weather?

I had the Summit Browns a couple years back and they work great for early season. Light, good support, and very comfortable. Just wish the rand was rubber or I'd order another pair. Maybe the new ones are rubber now
 
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Ross

Ross

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Hate computers type up great reply and get logged out!

Wore a pair of Kennetrek 400 Gram Mt Extremes from Cabelas last November and throughout January-March shed hunting. I did the same with them have no break in and taking them to the mountains. Great boots the Kennetreks are. Comparing the Crispi to the Kenntreks at this stage I would rank as follows. Ankle support I would give to the Crispis. The support is super solid, especially for a lower cut boot over the Kennetreks. Sidehilling I would give to the Crispis due to the added ankle support I feel slightly more stable and confident in not rolling my ankle. Comfort I would give to the Kennetreks, for my feet they just feel like a glove. Durability yet to be determined. After 150+ miles on the Kennes one small tear on the tongue from hooking some brush. Traction both are excellent.

Customer service I will let Kendall chime in and comment.

I wore these boots in one full day of rain, starting temps in the high 20's and ending in the high 50's. 2nd day was wet but clear 20's to start and 50's again to end the day. I wear two pair of socks. 1 heavy and one mid weight. Very comfortable to start the day and at the end getting a little warm. My feet run cold. I would say for most these boots will be too warm when over the high 50's and into 60's.

Toe boxes. One of my favorites. My wife of 29 years always asks when I get new boots, "how is the toe box"? She has seen many black and lost toenails and needles in use to release the boiling blood from a very small toe boxed boot :) I can say the toe box is plenty roomy after two days, never felt constricted or like I did not have enough room in the end of the boot going downhill &or that at the end of the day I would be cringing and looking for needles when I got home or that I would hear the Mrs saying you did not check the toe box did you? :)

I will say the boots do not let you fly, some sheds we left as we were to far in to pack out trash.
 
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ktowncamo

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My concern with Crispi boots is service after the sale. Thoughts on this?

camping1601 - thanks for the question. I'm one of the partners in the team that is the new US distributor. We've spent the last 14 months working with Crispi Italy to re-establish things here in the US. By all means are we not 100% done, but we're off to a good start.

As to your question, are you referring to warranty? If so, it's a one year no questions asked when it comes to manufacture defects. After that we will take care of each situation individually. We are instructing our retailers that we will do the same. If we can repair it, we have 2 repair houses (Dave Page Cobbler in Seattle and Gary's Shoes in Richfield, Utah) that we've contracted with. If it can't be repaired, we'll replaced it.

As for general customer service, I'm here and of course you can contact us directly via our website/email/phone.

For the record, we operate under High Traverse Distribution dba Crispi US. The primary owners (I'm one of them) are the same guys that own Camofire.com and BlackOvis.com. We will be starting a full thread in the footwear section for any and all details, a bit of history for those that have or have not had interaction with Crispi USA (the former distributor) and of course for guys to contact us with current or past concerns that we can address openly and quickly.

Hope that answers your question.
 

ktowncamo

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I had the Summit Browns a couple years back and they work great for early season. Light, good support, and very comfortable. Just wish the rand was rubber or I'd order another pair. Maybe the new ones are rubber now

Slim Jim - this is great feedback. I too wore the Summits for about 3 seasons until they got WICKED wet and I dried them over a fire and they shrunk a bit. I should have known better than to do that. Just couldn't get the fit right after that. I didn't see the PU coated leather rand separate for me. Did they do this for you? PM me, or post it here, with further details (don't want to hijack the review aspect of this thread) as I'd really like to consider a rubber rand on the Summit for 2017 if we really feel it's needed. The one piece of feedback we've heard from a few hunters is that the Summit is different from the rest of the line which is one reason for liking it...aside from the warm weather aspect of this boot.
 

2ski

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Hate computers type up great reply and get logged out!

When you hit the button to post the reply and it says you are logged out, hit the back arrow to go back to the page you had the reply typed out on, highlight the whole reply, copy it either by hitting "ctrl" and "C" or right-clicking on your mouse and choose "copy", then re-log on and paste the response and submit it.
 
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Happy to hear Crispi's will be easily available in US again. I have had 3 pairs of Kennetreks, 5 pair of Crispi's. I bought up Crispi's when I thought they would not be available in US. Both superior quality. Crispi's have more room in the toe box, and are more comfortable on my feet. Try them, you will love them!
 
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Ross

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No tub test needed, another full 8 hour day in the jungles of Nidaho that were fully saturated with rain. Covered another 15 miles in the brush. Everything was soaked other than my feet. I wear a pair of gaiters which does help but at hour 6 I stood in the creek for a few minutes testing the boots even further. They continued to keep my feet dry for the final 2 hours out. When back at the rig my two pairs of socks were slightly damp which I expect was more sweat than anything. I used obenhaufs the night before. At 24 hrs of use and no hot spots I believe they are fully broken in. This was a day in the high 40's and rain all day. They did very well and get a grade A for waterproof as waterproof can be in country that when wet you are a sponge.





Regarding size. Look to run the same as most. I wear a 9.5 in the Kenetreks and these are 9.5 as well.
 

ktowncamo

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Hey Ross, awesome report.

I'd be open to anything anyone else has experienced, but I've heard from both Crispi Italy and a couple of boot shops (Baker's in Oregon for example) that Obenhaufs will cause the leather to crack and the rubber rand to come off prematurely. I'm a Nikwax guy so this was something I hadn't heard before.

Anyone have experience with Obenhaufs causing the rand to come off or cracking?
 
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Ross

Ross

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Another 15 hours in the boots in various conditions, some rain, ice pellets, snow fields and lots of side hilling another 15 miles in the books...boots continue to perform well with no issues to date. Temps stayed in the 30-low 50s......will see how hot my feet get this next weekend with temps approaching 80...got up today with my feet feeling better than the balance of my 52 yr old body :)



 

Schleppy

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Great review. I've been using the Nevadas for 3 years and this year will be my 3rd elk season on them. I initially bought Lowa Tibets, but the soles were so stiff my toes couldn't bend at all and they would get extremely sore after a short period of time. I do have flat feet and have to wear custom made orthotics, and I have one big toe that wont bend due to almost severing it after stepping on a broken glass jar when I was hunting in tennis shoes as a kid, so my feet are far from "normal". I gave the Lowa's to a buddy and he loves them, they just didn't work for me. The Crispis for me don't wear like a backpacking boot and I wear them for everything. I even wear them bowfishing because they fit my orthotic insoles perfectly and my feet don't get sore after hours of standing. I have been using the Lowa boot cream and water repellant spray that Lowa makes and it seems to be working fine. The leather is starting to crack a little at the creases in the toe area and the rand is starting to separate a little bit, but I would consider it normal wear and tear for a boot with this kind of mileage and lack of a proper maintenance regimen on my part. Up to this point these are my all time favorite boots and the most comfortable boots I've ever owned.
 
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