Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Schnees Absaroka OR Kenetrek Hardscrabble

Like em both. Seeing as both are centered right down the road I have the option. BOth fit well and I could like either.

I don't like boots that extend up the calf. I have large calfs and most if not all boots tend to rub. So that why i choose to pick either of the ones mentioned.

I want the good the bad and the ugly.

Who has had either or preferably both.

Break in time
Durability
satified?
Pros
AND
Cons

Uh, "like them both" as a question?

Yeah tried em on, etc. Just want to know outlook and opinions after some use. Both companies are located about 50 min. from me.

Seemingly similar boots. Guy from one company used to work for other... both have tried to stay on the cutting edge and continue to revolutionizes the boots.

Talked to people representing the companies and both name dropped several big names who have done this and that in their boots. However, I'm looking for more opinions. Both are $400 and that ain't no chump change for shoe leather. (at least not for me)
Both are local companies but have their boots made elsewhere so that's a wash.

But looking for "I've put XX or XXX numbers of miles in these" and here's what I think.....

Neither, mine have lasted only a few outings and have fallen apart twice. Not even going to send them back for a second repair. Sole lookes like new; bonding process, not so new...

I will stick with my Meindls thank you.

I love my Hardscrabbles. This will be year 5 for my pair�granted I only hunt a couple weeks a year in mine, then they are cleaned and doused in Obenauf�s for the next year.

I have wide feet, high arch, and fairly small heel � see blister prone! They are great boots IMHO.

Dont have either, but I do have the Schnees Beartooth and I love them. Have had them since 2008 and they have held up awesome on several elk hunts and countless pheasant hunts (which can tear boots apart faster than mountain hunting due to the constant weed abrasion).

Keep telling yourself that!

You disagree with that statement? Have you had a lot of experience hunting pheasants in the upper midwest?

Notice the word "can". Not always, but if you havent hunted late season cattails in Minnesota, then you simply dont know how tough it can be on boots.

While mountain hunting requires some very good boots (and conversely pheasant hunting does not always require good boots), some mountain hunting is not all that hard on them.

I went all in and ended up with Mountina Extreme NI's...

freaking love these boots!

Ryan at Carter's in Bozeman spent about an hour with me. I'll recommend him and that place to everyone!

Dennis... I have a year guarantee on mine and they said they'll, rebuild, repair or re-sole or even replace them if I am unhappy with them.

Kenetrecs tend to be tough and they hold up well. Schnees do not as well. If your ankles are prone to twisting get Lowa boots, nothing is much tougher to break in, but when you get them broken in they really hold up well.

They fixed mine and they fell apart the next time I wore them, better wait until you hunt them before giving such a big endorsement. Mine are crap.

As for Pheasant hunting? You are kidding right? No cattail can compare to scree, cactus and steep side hills. Yes, I have hunted pheasants in the upper midwest, I wore 'upland' boots with crepe soles and did fine. Maybe I should qualify that mountain hunting in the southwest is incredibly hard on boots.

I sure as heck don't want to hunt pheasants in my technical mountain boots. Pheasants and sharptails are why they invented the cushy upland boots.

The stuff Dennis hunts in is as hard on hunting boots as anything I've ever seen, a lot tougher than any sort of Midwestern bird hunting. I've hunted Arizona in tough "logger" style boots with very hard Vibram soles, and still wondered how long they'd last.

I also know somebody who bought a pair of Kenetrek Mountain Extremes both for hunting and working around his ranch. He basically wore them out in a little more than a year, because they're not designed for walking around on concrete.

On the other hand, I've had a pair of Mountain Extremes for 4 seasons now, from Alaska to Colorado. They've mostly been used on tundra, breaky plains country and on elk and mule deer mountains, often in the snow. They're not my only hunting boots, so are just used when the terrain and temperature are right, which means cool to moderately cold weather, which means a month or two each fall. They're in great shape and I expect them to last several more years.

Hey JB

Are your boots the 400s or the 1000s? What do you consider moderately cold weather? Thanks.

Concrete ranch, must be Gallatin County...grin

My intent here is not to bad mouth Kenetrek. They are probably a great little company. My only concern is that folks are thinking that these boots are the cure-all for whatever you hunt and they are not. I suspect I am harder to impress than most folks and the older I get the worse I get in this respect.

Mine kept disbonding. I was asked in an accusatory tone, what I put on the boots. I got the impression that they wanted to blame my waterproofing material for the failed bonding. I explained that I had never put anything on them and they let it go at that. They still send me catalogs and promotional emails but I won't buy anymore as they are too expensive to experiment with.

During a typical year, I may spend 200 days in the rough stuff. I go through a lot of boots. I have three pair ready for recrafting right now. I don't mind wearing them out but I don't like them falling apart at the seams.

I had the same thing happen with my 5-10 shoes. My first pair was awesome, lasting more than a year with several rigorous outings on them including a 50 mile scout hike. I replaced them with the closest thing I could find to the same model ($125 for Chinese made sneakers) and the fell apart in two months. Now I can wear them to work on airplanes in but not in the field. They are my last pair of Chinese shoes. Just bought some Merrels, they are made in Vietnam . Time will tell if they hold up any better...

I wish I could find some decent shoes.


Not to hijack the thread, but here are just a few photos that show some of the boot killing stuff:

From last year's bear hunt.



And scouting for elk

And I've had 3 pairs( as I loved these boots) of meindls that the heal came completely apart on hunts, in the exact same place. Cabelas did prorate them for me, I took give certificates instead of getting new boots.

I don't put enough time on a pair of boots any more to make any recommendations, as I wear trail runners in the early season and the 400 gr kenetrek mountain extremes as it gets late season. I've been happy with that set up for years now.

I started using aqua seal( I believe that's what it's called) on the toe and all the sewn seams of my upland boats years ago and it makes all the difference. It prevents the grass from cutting ridges in the front and prevents the seams from getting ripped up and loosing the stitching.

It's not the cattails that rip them up its the miles in thick tall grass that is hard on them.

first of all, i was very careful to say "can" and "some" with respect to mtn hunting vs upland. I guess you missed that. Secondly, we will have to agree to disagree. Grass and cattails can rip apart boots pretty quickly, if you dont think that is a true statement so be it, then I wish you the best in your hunting pursuits and hope that your boots of choice hold up well. As stated, I have hunted the mountains and it has not been hard on my boots. It requires solid boots, but has not been hard on them.

HA now that's funny! and pretty much true..

IN the end I hoping these Kenetreks serve me well.

I've worn out boots from most of the major players in the big leagues over the years. Out of the gate these Kenetreks feel good and even a bit better than the Asolo's TPS 520's. Which for me were flat out awesome!

But I needed more and I like the fact I can drive to where I bought them and have them fixed not ship back and then get a new pair only to do it over and over again. I did that with many other brands.