If I’m just out trail hiking I like lightweight trail shoes. Right now I’m using a pair of “ON” trail shoes and I really like them. Very light and comfortable. I even took them last year on my sheep hunt to use for crossing creeks and camp shoes. They’re light and seem to dry quickly.
If I’m mountain hunting I wear a leather boot. Meindl, Lowa, Kennetrek. My favorite pair for mountain boots was Lowa Cevedale Tech Light Hunters. They were awesome. I’m a size 8 foot and not a big guy and these boots were light but with good stiffness under foot for heavy loads and good ankle mobility. They had narrower soles than other boots in the same size and with the good ankle mobility I felt very agile and comfortable in rocks. Only problem was they leaked like crazy right from new. I wore them way past their expiry date because of how good they felt. My sheep partner threatened to throw them away because my feet were soaked all the time ha ha. I really like the Kennetrek Hard Scrabble I have now, but they are heavier and wider sole so don’t feel as agile. But no wet feet anymore.
When cold weather deer hunting I wear Hoffman 14” Pac boots or a pair of Helly Hansen light weight winter boots. The Hoffman’s are tall and very heavy but warm, good traction and good protection from getting wet.
The HH boots are extremely light and flexible like a shoe, and not as rugged as the Hoffman.
