Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting pac boots for hunting

looking at the 10" outfitter II who has used them and did you like them, looking at these for a deer hunt in MN in Nov.

http://www.schnees.com/

Mine are taller than that, but you can't beat Schnee's quality. Mine will fit in a stirrup, too, which a lot of pacs won't.

I have 3 pair of Schnees, the Hunter II's are the most comfortable pair of footwear I have ever used hunting. Highly reccommended......DJ

If you are going to be moving quite a bit then the Schnee Outfitter II would be good but if you will be sitting much you probably would want the Extreme or save a little money and get something like LaCrosse IceMans. Remember that boots for sitting should not fit too tight. It would make a big difference if you are hunting near Rochester or Orr.

What Jackfish said.

Minnesota in November can run from 60-above to 10-below depending on where you are in the state and how lucky you are. I usually hunt in SW Minnesota where odds are the temps will bottom out around 20-30 above. Somedays this is baskin' in the sun compared with the temps up north.

Most days in the SW, I bite my lip and wear 400-gram thinsulate on the deerstand - but I always have a backup pair of heavy pac boots in the truck just in case. My feet might might get cold for a while until the day starts to warm, but that's better than too heavy a boot all day.

I have ZERO experience with Schnee boots, but my general experience with boots of that type is they offer a poor compromise - too hot for serious walking and not warm enough for sitting.

If you're planning on bringing a second pair of moderately insulated boots along with the Schnee's, I'd say you were in good shape.

I have schnees and love them, great quality but mostly wear the lacrosse rubbers here in the so. lost of water

If you want to keep your feet warm, the layering method of clothing has worked for me in your neighboring state of ND. First, keep your head warm. Your grandma was right about this. On your feet, wear a pair of polypropylene socks to wick the sweat away from your skin. Next, a pair of heavy wool socks, because wool still insulates when wet (sounds like cross-country skiing doesn't it). Outside that, a pair of tennis shoes that are big enough to not pinch or restrict circulation. The outer layer is a pair of too-big golashes (I use the Tingley slip-ons). 1/2" of air space will keep you warm. If the snow is deep and the temperatures cold, I wear all the layers. Moderate snow and temperature allow skipping a layer. The rubber outerboot also keeps your foot odor off the trail.
Our recent mild temperatures during the deer season have had me in ordinary insulated hunting boots, but the layering system is always available in case the weather turns arctic as it did in 2000.

Norske,

Your galoshes-and-tennis-shoes get-up reminds me of being a kid - and I don't remember getting cold feet. Be careful you don't turn the boot industry on its ear <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />.

I love Schnees -- my wife and I have 4 pairs between us, but 3 are mine. Their store in Bozeman was a must-see stop on our honeymoon in Montana.

However, my least favorite pair are my 10" Guides (uninsulated) -- the height is just wrong for me. The tops cut into my calves something awful, and they aren't quite tall enough to tuck in my pants.

My first pair was the 13" Hunters, which are a lot more comfortable. I've walked several miles a day in them, day after day; the only day they ever hurt was the first, where we did a lot of sidehilling (this in northern Maine).

However, I suffer from really cold feet and don't find even these warm enough for stand hunting much below freezing. When it's cold here in VA and I'm going to be sitting still, I go for 18" Lacrosse burleys with 800 grams of Thinsulate, which also happen to fit me really well.

John

I have both the outfitter and outfitter II's and find them both warm and comfortable.

Are these boots better than LL Bean's Maine Hunting Shoes?

Jeff

I tried to solve the boot dilemma many moons ago by getting a good pair of walking boots and toting boot blankets/covers for extended sits. It's the best method I've found if you simply can't have a campfire handy.

I've put plenty of miles on my Sorel pacs, but none in the last few years.

I live in Norhtern Alberta, and I have stoped using pac boots for hunting. I bought a pair of prospector gortexlined 600 gr thinsulate boots they make for our RCMP. These particular boots have lots of room in the toe area but still fit snuggly around the rest of my foot. The first layer of socks I wear are moisture wicking fleece and then a really heavy pair of polyester/wool tall boot socks. I am a wimp when it comes to the cold, but the only part of me that hasn't gotten cold in the last two years are my feet. Pack boots make my feet sweat and then they get cold when I stop moving. This combination of goretex boots, with a warm wicking layer and a heavy wool/fleece sock is just great. This is what I wore at the heritage classic outdoor NHL game in Edmonton last year, outside 10 rows from the top of Commonwealth stadium in Edmonton for 7 hours, my feet never needed the chemical foot warmers I brought with me, the temperature was -26 celsius completely stationary for an hour at a time for a total of 7 hours.

Martinbns,

Is "Prospector" the brand of boot, and if not, who makes them?

I have a pair of Schnee 13" pacs I bought in 1991 while employed with the Alberta Forest Service at Hinton and first wore them during a mid-June snowfall of about a foot. I have used thhem in cold weather and deep snow since and they are the finest pac boots I have ever used-of several pair over 40+ yrs.

The post about tennis shoes and galoshes made me smile as I grew up in the deep snow and severe cold of the Kootenays. We were NOT financially well-off and could not afford fancy clothing; my best footwear of severe cold was heavy wool, homeknitted sox, woven wool carpet slippers and galoshes and nothing I have ever tried including my "Mickey Mouse" boots has ever kept me warmer. Indian trappers I used to know in northern B.C. wore much the same thing and were out in temps of -50F, w/o cold feet.

The only downside to this is the lack of support in steep terrain which is where Schnee's really shine. I have noticed that Schnee's are commonplace among the guides in northern B.C. and I have yet to meet anyone who did not like theirs. I have found that Gore-Tex lined boots make my feet more sweaty than pacs do and the linings wear out far too quickly and then they can/will cause blisters, BUT, different strokes for different folks, eh!

Kutenay,

If you were going to hunt in 30 to 40-degree weather, would the Schnee's get the call? My concern is they would be too warm.

What about 1200 Rocky's in Idaho Unit 1 in Nov.

JOG,

30-40 deg. F. is pretty normal during deer season in Virginia (Nov.-Dec.) and I wear my Schnee Hunters all the time. Have never been too warm, even while traipsing over brushy hills, but then again my feet do run very cold.

Come to think of it, I've worn them from about 10 below to almost 60 (a freakish day in northern Maine); the only time I got really uncomfortable was 5-6 hours in a tree stand in Virginia. It was about 30 degrees but with a 20 mph wind from directly in front of me -- naturally, the one side where the stand wasn't enclosed!

John

Most of my hunting is done in that temperature range and down to about -10F during the later deer season and the Schnee's have been about the best boot, overall, for that. I always carry spare sox in my daypack as I can comfortably handle very severe cold except for my feet.

I intend to buy an un-insulated pair for most of my general hunting of Grouse-Deer and, rarely, spiker Moose. I use Browning Trek and Mountain sox and Wigwam Ultimax, both medium and heavy weights and have been comfy in pacs while hunting hard for many years.

There is no such thing as warm creeks in B.C. and I hate icy water in my boots just as dawn breaks, so, I frequently wear Schnee's. I switch to the Mickey Mouse boots for what little stand hunting I do and serious, high-end mountaineering boots for any alpine stuff.

I wish that Schnee's had a Canadian store, they make a fine product at a reasonable price, IMHO.

Prospector is I think a Canadian company, they are more famous for the guarantee on the sole of their casual shoes, As long as you own the shoes, the sole won;t wear out or they will replace it. The boots in question were made by the Brown shoe company in Perth Ontario, Canada, this factory is one of two I believe that makes all Browning footwear, I love mine. I bought mine here in fot mcMurray ata local shoe store, they bought surplus cheap, I only paid $99.00 cdn, the company made a run of the boots and then lost the contract for the RCMP(Mounties) . They lost the contract to Danner, a buddy of mine in the RCMP prefers these to the Danner's he now wears to work.
On the 30-40 degree F weather, that's is pretty warm for Northern Alberta in November, but the setup I wear is just great.