When Buying Boots...

[loadsandlattes]

So I followed the forum advice and bit the bullet while boot shopping on Black Friday. I ended up buying four different boots that were all fairly similar and then tried them all. Here's what I went with:

• Schnees Beartooth
• Lowa Hunter GTX
• Crispi Guide GTX
• Kenetrek Mountain Extreme

I won't bore you with the details, but can tell you what led me to these options. I have a pair of 7" hunting boots now and they have been great, but I have noticed that as I get older, my ankles just don't support me as well as they had in previous years. I'm still young at 34 - but I have not been kind to my joints. I have a torn meniscus in one knee and scoped the other knee years ago for acl/mcl injury. So what was I looking for?

(prioritized)

1. Stiff, but comfortable
2. Waterproof
3. 8"+
4. Uninsulated

Opening those boxes gave me a giant chub and my inner gear whore wanted so badly to just .. forget to return anything. Tried them all on and walked the dog around the block over a few days, then made a decision. Everything was returned except for the Kenetrek's. This surprised me because I know people either LOVE or HATE them... but my goodness they fit me like socks right out of the box and I just couldn't take them off. Now I have to figure out how to get 50+ miles in them before a late January aoudad hunt!

Just wanted to write this out to confirm the hivemind opinion: All boots fit differently and you really should do yourself the favor and try on as many as you can. I did not love putting $1500 on my credit card in one evening, but I'll get almost all of that back. Sure, i'll eat shipping fees but I don't mind tacking that on as added expense ensuring my comfort over the next several years. They all looked similar, but felt wildy different. The only two that were relatively close on my feet were the Schnees and Crispi's.

I will also say that NONE of them seemed to be terrible boots. Truth be told, I probably could have gotten away with any one of them with a little break in. I guess I have a fairly flexible foot? In any event, this was my experience and worth exactly what you paid for it.