Which brand would ya'all think offer the most ankle and arch support ?

I've got real weak ankles and flat feet ; a boot with inadequate support has got me hurting bad in no time .

Been using a pair of Lacross "bitteroots" for 4 or 5 years , but I see the rubber bottom on one is cracked out big time , so a new pair is in order .

The Lacross were not too bad in the support area , but I'm thinking the higher grade stuff like the schnees/kenetreks should be better ?

Can't talk about Kenetrek as I've never owned but you will not lack for angle support in the Schnees. My ankles turn in and I've never had an issue with Schnees.

I'd be surprised if Kenetrek isn't equal but only a guess.

My Schnees offer very good arch support, I really like um...

Haven't ever tried on the Kenetreks...

My ankles suck and the Kennetreks are good as far as ankle support. The heel is tall, which for me makes the boot a little more prone to turning ankles on hard ground but in snow they're very good.

I have a pair of Kennetreks and my brother has Schnees. Neither of us has had any problems and/or complaints.

As far as the "tall heel" smokepole, did you get the "Cowboy" model which was made primarily for horseback riding?

I have the 13 inch Grizzly model and have never felt that the heel was a problem.

donsm70

Wife wore the Schnee Extremes for a sheep hunt and prairie elk hunt in November and they were stellar. For her first ever sheep hunt they performed great and allowed her to hike in the snow/mountains very well while keeping her feet comfortable and warm for the entire hunt.

Dont know much about the Kenetreks but I'm sure their product is very good as well.

Nope, but I should clarify, lots of boots have a similar heel height, I just like shorter.

Same here

sorry to jump outside your suestion here, but I have bought my first pair of hoffmans pac's out of kellogg ID. I live in the same town as whites boots and I can tell you from my exp the hoffman pacs are made with better materials and more love.....nail down soles, no made in china or tiawan tags or sole casting. kinda nice seeing Idaho on the sole.

I have a pair of Kenetrek pacs I wore a lot last fall in the rain. I don't need a lot insulation in the early fall so I bought a pair of schnees un-insulated and to be honest the boots look and wear about the same. The Schnees have bob soles and the Kenetreks have vibram soles. They look identical I don't think you can go wrong with either brand.

I am also looking at pac boots and it is between Kenetrek and Schnees. Correct me if I am wrong, Kenetrek pacs made in Thailand and Schnees made in Bozeman?

Not all Schnees are made in MT. I have 2 pairs, one of which is made overseas.

All the rubber bottoms on all the pac's are made over sea's. There are no 100% made in USA pac's.

ok, constructed in the USA...

That's why I went assembled in Montana on my Schnee's

I called every place trying to find ones that were made 100% in the US.

What about Hoffman's? aren't they made in the USA?

I've been using a pair of Schnee's hunters for several years. I just got a pair of the Kennetrek cowboys for Christmas. I've been pretty happy with the schnee's and only went to the Kenetrek cowboy because I wanted a riding style pac not because of being unsatisfied with the schnee's. I haven't really worn the kenetreks yet but I'm sure you'd be happy with either.

Not the rubber bottoms.

Both companies will repair the boots or replace the bottoms in the US at their company.

My Schnee's have Goodyear rubber.


Ralphie, let us know how the Christmas boots go.

I have never used Schnees but the Kenetreks are stiff and I had no problems with them, I even had a well jacked up ankle on my deer hunt from when I hurt it at work and I was able to make it through 8 days of coues deer hunting

Be careful that the 13"ers aren't hip boots for you...

all I know is the sole of my hoffmans says IDAHO, my whites say CHINA

This is from Jim himself when I emailed asking about there pac's a couple years ago.

"The uppers and soles are - there are no rubber manufactures left here is the USA for the rubber shells."

Tyler, pretty sure there is no "load limit" on either; you should be fine.

Schnee's had a cut-rate "Sportsman Series" that is no longer in their catalog. I'm thinking that may be the overseas assy.

Good thing I only have to walk 100yds to my tree stand now. Anything farther would be 'extreme'!

Is it as cold there as it looks like on the Weather Channel?

thanks fellas for all the replies .


to anyone that use used the Kenetreks ; how were they for warmth at subzero ?.....I see their liners in many of the boots are only 6mm thick .

That doen't sound like alot , but mebbe the Thinsulate makes up for being on the skinny side ?

With a pair of good wool socks and a liner socks no problem as long as you move around a bit. If you are going to be sitting still for long periods at 0 and colder temps you want a boot designed for such.

I wore my Kenetrek Cowboys for the first time. We moved the cow herd. Temps probably ranged from 10-25 F. I was in the saddle for about 5-6 hours. My feet stayed warm, much colder though and I think I'd need something warmer. The boots work great in and out of the stirrup. I'd recommend them for anyone wanting a pac boot for riding.

well , I hope they're gonna be warm enough cause I up and ordered the Kenetrek cowboys yesterday.....cabelers had them on sale . I'll be using them for cattle feeding and other chores , so I will be moving around some but some weeks in the bad of winter we struggle to reach zero .

I find a packer style boot does pretty good at holding up my flat-assed arches , so we will see how they feel in a couple of days .

I'll bet they'll be warm enough for that. They'd be fine for riding in cooler weather too as long as you weren't just riding lazily along. I get pretty warm if I'm trotting or roping etc.

This is true, same with things like tires, virtually all vulcanized rubber production takes place overseas since LaCrosse closed their rubber factory 15 or so years ago. Schnee's bottoms come from Thailand, but buy the Hunter or US contructed models and everything else is US sourced (the leather, brass, laces etc) and cut/built in Bozeman. Finally got to dust my 13" Hunters off, ice fishing and goose hunting season is in full swing out here in MT!

I really am impressed with the Schnee's PAC boots. Always get a second set of liners to change out each day while the first set drys.

These have kept my feet warm hunting and in last years blizzards!

Peet boot driers are the ticket if you wear them alot. I'm lazy and haven't taken the liners out in a couple weeks. There is also electricity, might not work in a tent.....(grin)

Gonna order a new set of liners and see they make a bottom liner, only $10 might have to get a pair.

I have the Schnees and love them. they provide great ankle support if you lace them snuggly. Fantastic customer service as well.

I've not owned nor tried Schnees, but have used Kenetrek's Grizzly's for the past two hunting seasons. Last year on a SD mule deer hunt we scouted one day in 2 to 10 degree temps with 20mph wind for about 6 hours and my feet stayed comfortable while glassing for 15 to 20 minutes at a time with a lot of waking in-between stops. The first day of the hunt we had a couple of inches of snow on the ground and the temps warmed to around 20 degrees or so and my feet stayed completely warm. I was fortunate and killed out early the first morning. I also have a pair of Kenetrek Extremes (I use for hunting in CO) and was concerned that the additional weight of the pac boots would be a problem but, I hardly noticed the added heft of the boots. Also, they are stiff, but broke-in much faster than my other boots.

Hopefully he settled on a pair in the last 8 years...

Good grief, isn’t that true...

I have Kenetrek because Schnees does not make a 13 W that fits me and Kenetrek does.

That said my kenetrek mountain extreme are great boots and worth the money!

I've used Schnee's for about ten years. I've only worn them in snow, very warm in zero temps, plenty of support, very good quality. However, I bought the 13" model, would go with 10" next time. 13" are great for very deep snow, but 10" is plenty adequate 95% of the time.