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My Cabelas 12" Whitetail Extreme Gore-tex 1200 grams Thinsulate are leaking after 8 years of climbing the WV mountains. Was satisfied with them. Not made anymore. Snow, creeks, climbing, 10-40 degrees. What to buy now? Can be 8"-12" tall.

I'd say you got pretty good use out of them!
Are you on the move a fair bit or climbing/descending to fixed position (stand)? I only ask because 1200 grams seems like a lot of insulation to be on the move with.

Your current boots are likely in the 4lb neighborhood (or a skosh more).
Are you satisfied with the weight?

I bought some US-made 800gram Danners a few years ago. Cost about $240 from Amazon. Have worn them in temps down to the teens with no cold toes. They might make them in 1200 gram too. Like all US Danners, they can be sent back for repair/resole.

Got a deal last year on Merrill Gore Tex hikers for warm weather. Very light and comfortable for early season.

Eye-ballin Danner Pronghorn 8" Gore-tex 800 gram Ins. and Irish Setter Elk Tracker 12" Gore-tex 600 gram Ins. $200-$240 range.

I have 2 pair of Pronghorns. One pair has been rocked solid and just sprung a leak after 10yrs. The other newest pair leak if you walk across a damp yard. They are super comfortable but my new pair is not very waterproof.

I have Danner Elk Hunters and a couple other higher dollar Danners that are still waterproof.


The Elk Trackers look good but I’ve never used a pair.

I was having a hellova time keeping my feet warm. I've tried a ton of heavily insulated boots. A few years ago I bought a pair of Under Armour uninsulated boots. They kept me pretty damn warm as long as I wasn't sitting for a long period of time. And even when I was for a few hours or so. I was over insulated in the past and I think my feet were probably sweating and then I was getting cold.

1200g of insulation is a lot. If you're moving I'd stick with 400 or so.

I use only UNINSULATED boots and polypro sockliners and smartwool socks. Never have cold/sweaty feet again. Also - just try some LaCrosse Alphaburly, unless you are doing a LOT of mountains...

Were your Danners true to size? My Cabelas boots are 9s. Just tried on some Irish Setters that were 10.5. Would like to order the 800g Pronghorns but not sure what size. None in stock nearby.

Smartwool socks are the bomb, haven't worn anything else since purchasing several pair, feet are always comfortable no matter the temp. That said I don't hunt in Manitoba, mostly the midwest and they suit my purposes just fine.

+1 on these

Agree LaCrosse Alpha Burleys

They are pricey these days but I have been wearing a pair of Danner Canadians for a very very long time. Gore Tex and 600 grams of insulation. For me it's been a good mix of not to warm when walking and warm enough for all but the coldest late season stand hunting.

https://www.danner.com/canadian-10-brown-600g.html

I think your on the right track with the Danner Pronghorns. I have owned many pairs of these, in 200 gram, 400 gram, 1 pair of 800 gram Pronghorns and several pairs of non-insulated. These are My favorite hunting boots by far. I do a pile of walking to get to My stands and hiking into remote, rugged areas to hang trail cameras, these boots are extremely comfortable and have proven to be very durable....Good luck...Hb

My USA Danne'rs have worked well. Depends on how much walking your are doing but 400 grams of insulation is usually plenty. If you are sedentary than much more will help, beyond around a 1,000 grams of insulation the boots will not be good for walking in.

If I had to buy hunting boots I'd get Cabelas Iron Ridge boots. I have had bad luck with soles that are just bonded to the boot.

Been using the Danner Canadian for many years, the airbob sole is quiet and gives excellent traction. Have sent a couple in to be rebuilt and was amazed that a worn out boot came back looking brand new! They've held up to Alaska rain forest hunting for many years.

So the Iron Ridge is not bonded? Sewn?

The US made Danners are sewn on and the over seas manufactured Danners are bonded. My US made Danner Grouse boots with the air bob sole have been terrific, but being leather, they hold more scent than a rubber boot. Boots for deer hunting depend on where and how you hunt. If I don't need to walk very far and want to stay warm for a long time my Caribou Sorel boots work very well, but I don't like them for walking. My LaCrosse Alpha Lites slip on and off well but they rubbed a blister on me that nearly cost me the deer season. The Muck Arctic Pro boots are a nice compromise for waterproof, pretty warm and better for walking than the Sorel Caribou boots. When I need to go a long ways or only plan to sit for a couple hours or still hunt, then it is those Danner un-insulated Grouse boots with a set of slip over Boot Blankets from my pack.

In the absence snow/real cold weather, I wear Meindl hiking boots (uinsulated) with wool socks. Otherwise, it Schnees pac-boots with airbob soles (Hunter II or Extremes) depending on how active I’ll be. The Schnees are essentially a lifetime purchase the soles can be rebuilt.

I wear my work boots 🥾

The soles are sewn on. Looks like a Goodyear type welt.

I bought a pair of those last year (400gram) and liked them a lot. It's only one season use but so far so good. I may look for another pair on sale and get a back-up.

Spray them with a silicone water proofer.

https://www.amazon.com/silicone-waterproofing-spray/s?k=silicone+waterproofing+spray

Three pairs here depending upon my mood and the weather,

Cabela’s Meindl Ultralight Hunter 800g Thinsulate
Irish Setter Elk Tracker 1000g Thinsulate
Irish Setter Wingshooter Uninsulated

Almost always high boots because of the ticks. Always opt for the most insulation available in my deer hunting boots as it gets pretty cold on the West Mountain here in PA and the mountain in Sherburne, NY. All boots I wear are in Wide sizes.

I use wax toilet rings with a paint stripper gun to heat it and drive it into the leather. No adverse effects on the leather, works great and is cheeeeeap.!

I suppose that silicone spray would not put a lot of silicone into the leather like the raw silicone oil. We had barrels of the raw silicone oil at work to lubricate the machine tools and some of the guys thought it would be great to water proof their boots. Too much of a good thing they found when they figured that if some was good, more was better. The thick boot leather even on Sorel boots turned into mush with no ankle support.

I bought the Danner Powderhorns last year, very comfortable out of the box. I hiked around for a few miles in the hilly backwoods and they were great. They come in uninsulated, 400 gms and 1000 gms thinsulate:

https://www.danner.com/productfamily/powderhorn?sortId=product_family-asc

I believe that's what mine are, Danner Pronghorn 8". For me the ankle diameter is too small. I had to set aside the heavy wool socks and wear thin cotton tube socks instead because with the wool socks I was cutting off circulation. My feet were warmer with mere cotton socks and blood circulation than they were with thick wool socks and no circulation.

I like Danner a lot but I won't buy online, I will only buy them where I can go in with the socks I plan to wear with them and try them on in the store.

My preferred boots are a pair of Merrell Phaserbound .. little lower top but they fit well. I am limited in how steep I can climb in them though, I have substantial protruding heel bone knobs which wear against the near vertical back of those boots. Instead, if things are wet and I need waterproof, I've been wearing the Moab mid goretex boots. In dry condition I wear Moab ventilator low tops regardless of what I'm hunting in .. brush, rocks, etc. They fit over the backs of my heels well.

Tom

At Bass Pro several of the boots I tried on were a whole size larger than my size and still tight. Length was getting too long. My worn out Whitetail extremes were a 9. Don't know the width. I ordered a 9 wide Iron Ridge 800 gram delivered to the store so I can try on. If it doesn't fit I can leave it there and order up.

Tried them on to tight. But the 9.5 wides fit. Now to Sno Seal and break-in.

Thanks

I wore danner u.s. made nehalems for 15 years. I just switched to the Cabelas meindl’s which have been great. But basspro has ruined Cabelas so that is no more.

Same here, but I haven't used the heat gun. Strippers yes, but not the heat gun. That's a good idea.

Wax, even cheap crapper bowl rings do more for waterproofing a pair of boots than pretty much anything else I have tried. As long as there's no torn seams or blown out soles, wax does wonders to seemingly worn out boots.

The Woody Max Muck boots are hard to beat. They are worth looking at even though they don't exactly match your criteria.

I use the paint stripper gun to heat the wax to liquid and the leather to warm. Slop on the wax thick and use the gun to drive in the wax and repeat till it stops taking more. It's amazing how much wax some leather will soak up. It works very well. Have used it for years on work boots and hunting boots alike.

Supercub ,

Thanks for that tip , I'll head to the plumbing dept. soon .

Obenauf’s Heavy Duty LP and out in the summer sun for a couple hours here.

I used Danner Pronghorn snakeboots 90% of the time but when it gets in the 20s or below I use these (older version). They are very comfortable.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...ide-zip-hunting-boots-800-gram?a=2206126

Dryshod Shredders.But I’m a flat-lander...

Muck arctic sport are the only boot that I have found that keep my feet warm even down to below zero and they are comfortable to walk in also. Toes got frostbite in Germany while on maneuvers. I love their chore boot for bow season too.

I with ya.' I can't imagine wearing 1200 grams of insulation - I'd have to stop every 100 yards, or so, take off my boots and let my feet cool down.

I suppose it depends on the type of huntin' you do. I rarely sit, glass or stand for more than a couple of hours in the same spot. If my feet get cold, I get up and move.

This season I’ll try some Muck-a-look-likes.

$40 at the Sams club.

If they’ll last a season or 2 I’ll get my money out of them.