Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Boot Insulation... Who's In The Know?

Brad,

I have a pair of Schnee's sitting in my closet right now, and I tried on a pair of the 2009 Lowa Hunters and compared them side by side. As far as I could tell the only difference was that the Lowa was nubuck vs. full grain, and the extra row of stiching on the Schnees. I can't find the specs on the thickness of the Schnees leather but they felt the same.

I think that the original Lowa Hunter GTX had Duratherm, as compared to the Schnee's version which uses Primaloft. However, the current version of the Lowa uses Primaloft also. I did, just other day, look at an old version of the Lowa sitting on a dealer's shelf, and the upper felt noticeably more supple...but that may have been the fact that it was a small size. It also said "Duratherm" on the lining.

Even Lowa's website listed the 2008 model as having Primaloft. I'm not vouching for a company's website though!

I think the current Lowa Hunter GTX Extreme and Schnee's SheepHunter are nearly identical, save for perhaps one row of stiching.

Check out Baker Shoes out of Oregon. They seem to have good prices, and were very helpful when I talked to them on the phone.

Ordered a pair of 9.5 W Lowa Hunter's from Bakers last night... $349 deliverd. Will report back

Schnees, if they even plan on carrying Wide Sheephunter's any longer, won't have a shipment until AUGUST!

Brad- I hear you on the boot conundrum! I currently go back and forth between my Hanwag's (threw away the custom liners they rave about and quit getting blisters..go figure) and Cabela's Meindl Alaskans. I think I am on a quest to find a boot that has the Hanwag/Meindl upper on a sole that has more flex. That would be my heaven right there!

The irony is the Cabelas Mountain Hunter was perfection for me!

Aggravating they're no longer available... obviously there was some quality issues with them via the manufacturer, but you'd think those could have been resolved... go figure!

Hope the Lowas work for me.

You and I are equally picky about our gear

Say it ain't so!!!!! grin

Sadly, the Lowa's from Bakers didn't work... too wide. The "Medium" was too narrow, Wide's too wide. Would also add the Lowa Hunter Extreme is needlessly stiff.

I've bittched about German lasts in the past not working for my feet and, once again, I reconfirmed same!

Anyway, located a pair of Kenetrek Mountain Extreme's locally... the 9.5 D's fit PERFECTLY. Not too stiff, not too soft. And, of course, they're made in Italy... my feet have always done best in Italian made boots and, once again, I reconfirmed same!

I walked out with a pair... got them on a good sale too, but would have happily paid full retail for the excellent fit.

Will prolly go shed hunting this weekend and give them a real trial...