Hunting boots

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brybenn

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Location
southern ontario
Im in need of new kicks for hunting. My leather and gortex redheads finally gave up the ghost and im in need to replace them.
Was looking at danner pronghorn and irish setter vaprtrex but will look into others

I need all day comfort and 100% waterproof. Prefer gortex if i can get it. Leather uppers are preferred as my hunting boots usually double as my dress boots. Solid construction of at least 8" shank with heel and ankle support and good lugs for traction in mud and snow. Speed lacing is also a must

I dont want rubber boots

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I hunt a variety of terrain across all ontario from low swamps and creek bottoms to rocky canadian shield and i put alot of miles on foot
 
salarguy said:
All day comfort, spelled D_A_N_N_E_R. I can vouch for 8" Tachyon GTX Gortex. Like no other IMHO.
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I like everything but the soles. The danner site shows them as having a very flat sole with level lugs evenly spaced around the perimeter. Id think that would allow alot of slippage on wet rocks and logs. I find having an arch support mid sole really helps grip when climbing. How to you find them on rough terrain?
 
I have a couple pairs of Irish Setters.
The leather ones are still kicking up a fuss.
The phoney fabric sort split at the soles on an elk hunt.
Nice cummfy bewts, but longjevvititty sucks.

From now on I'll stick with leather uppers.
Gewp'im up gooder and just use them for hunting.
 
brybenn said:
Im in need of new kicks for hunting. My leather and gortex redheads finally gave up the ghost and im in need to replace them.
Was looking at danner pronghorn and irish setter vaprtrex but will look into others

I need all day comfort and 100% waterproof. Prefer gortex if i can get it. Leather uppers are preferred as my hunting boots usually double as my dress boots. Solid construction of at least 8" shank with heel and ankle support and good lugs for traction in mud and snow. Speed lacing is also a must

I dont want rubber boots

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I hunt a variety of terrain across all ontario from low swamps and creek bottoms to rocky canadian shield and i put alot of miles on foot
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stay FAR AWAY from the Irish Setter Vapor Treks.
When I first put them on in the store, they felt great..... nice and light, felt like a hightop running shoe. Advertised as breathable/waterproof and I bought the unisulated version.
Well.... they were used 1 season for deer hunting and I wore them fishing in the tin boat and some daily general use.
My feet would get hot and clammy.... not normal for me and the boots felt insulated but were not so meant they were not breathing.
I found them to be extremely slippery on any smooth wet surface..... no good at all
then i put them away at end of october , not to be used till following april when i went bear hunting/scouting. By the end of that day of walking..... maybe 10K total , one boot had a seam leak.
tried to take them backand got the run around..... used shoe glue and they were fine for another month and then they literally fell apart..... I wish I had taken pictures.
Worst boot failure I have ever seen..... stay far away LOL
 
Another vote for Irish Setters, my elk trackers have been stellar for the past two seasons I’ve had them. One of the most comfortable pair of boots I’ve owned, they felt broken in the first time I put them on.
 
brybenn said:
I like everything but the soles. The danner site shows them as having a very flat sole with level lugs evenly spaced around the perimeter. Id think that would allow alot of slippage on wet rocks and logs. I find having an arch support mid sole really helps grip when climbing. How to you find them on rough terrain?
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I don't do as much rock hoppin' as I used to, but slip they don't, very grippy. Unreal support and I need it. a nice bonus is no sweat! I try to get EEE but most manufacturers give you extra wide, Danner however gives you real EEE
 
I bought a pair of Danner pronghorns last summer and have one hunting season in them so far. So far I really like them, they say completely dry through the entire fall into the winter. I see what you say about the flat soles on them, but I didn't have any problems last year and I did quite a bit of hiking. Some other models from Danner offer much more aggressive sole.
 
I wear Altberg Defenders practically every day. They aren't Goretex because they don't need it. They just don't leak. Properly tanned one piece tops take care of it.

The European test spec to just be called water resistant is 100,000 wet flexs. Bend it 100,000 times under-water and take on nothing.

Near as I can tell "water-proof" with most makers means "leaks like a sieve".
 
For the wet and muddy and cold and snowy I wear cabelas Pinnacle 15" front zip. They are 5 or 6 years old now and still performing. Too bad they discontinued these.
After my bad experience with the Irish Setter Vaportreks for an all around boot , I bit the bullet and got a pair of Meindl Vakuum GTX. Break in was rough but these boots are outstanding.
 
Do you find they're true to size?


Dogleg said:
I wear Altberg Defenders practically every day. They aren't Goretex because they don't need it. They just don't leak. Properly tanned one piece tops take care of it.

The European test spec to just be called water resistant is 100,000 wet flexs. Bend it 100,000 times under-water and take on nothing.

Near as I can tell "water-proof" with most makers means "leaks like a sieve".
Click to expand...
 
Dogleg said:
I wear Altberg Defenders practically every day. They aren't Goretex because they don't need it. They just don't leak. Properly tanned one piece tops take care of it.

The European test spec to just be called water resistant is 100,000 wet flexs. Bend it 100,000 times under-water and take on nothing.

Near as I can tell "water-proof" with most makers means "leaks like a sieve".
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To me Waterproof that doesn't leak, normally means sweat like a bugger. Milspec Gortex means It's got a big hole where your foot goes in and water can go in too. Until that point you're dry.
 
Dogleg said:
I wear Altberg Defenders practically every day. They aren't Goretex because they don't need it. They just don't leak. Properly tanned one piece tops take care of it.

The European test spec to just be called water resistant is 100,000 wet flexs. Bend it 100,000 times under-water and take on nothing.

Near as I can tell "water-proof" with most makers means "leaks like a sieve".
Click to expand...

I wear two pairs of Altbergs... Bergens for general use and Hogg All-Weather for motorcycle use... they are excellent boots.
 
Irish Setter Elk Trackers here. And +1 on what 'Looky said, goop them heavily with dubbin or mink oil especially around the stitching. Warmest boots I ever wore besides my original Sorels by Kaufmann. Bought those in 1979 and still have them! I just change the liner every year and silicone the rubber parts and mink oil on the leather.
 
I'm on my second pair of Elk Trackers and for hunting pheasant in rough terrain they give good support and are waterproof and warm. They do require maintenance as mentioned but last well and give good traction on various surfaces including snow.
 
Irish Setter Elk Trackers, best boots I've ever owned. I hunt a lot of swamp, wet stuff in Ontario and I've never had a leak. HOWEVER I Snow Seal them 2X a year. I got them a half to a full size larger and always wear wool socks. My feet don't even get cool, wonderful boots.
 
Mik123 said:
Do you find they're true to size?
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They are true to British sizing. The quick conversion is to minus one, though there is probably a cordwainer who could point out subtleties. The British system has a size zero and that throws us off. I take a size 11 here so need a British 10. They also have 1/2 size spacer that fits under the insole for a little fine tuning in that direction if needed.
 
hoytcanon said:
I wear two pairs of Altbergs... Bergens for general use and Hogg All-Weather for motorcycle use... they are excellent boots.
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I have the Jungle boots as well, for when I flat out know I'm going to be wading. Got those for wading around up to my nuts with leaches and crocs in the Zambezi Delta, which when I think about it is a sport for lunatics. The good thing is they self drain and walk dry if you happen to find some dry ground. A conventional boot would weigh 20 pounds apiece and rot off your feet.

My son likes his Tabbing boots. I wear my Defenders on the motorcycle.
 
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x2 on the Danner Pronghorns. I have at least 12-13years on mine, work and play, and they have another spring , and some yard work this summer, in them while I break in the new ones coming for my Bday
 
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