Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Meindl boot failure

Molded glued sole shoes are ok for some things I wear Keens a lot but if you want good reliable work or hunting boots hand made with sewn on soles will always be my choice.

I had a pair of Rocky Bearclaws that I saved just for winter coyote hunting. Took a trip to SD, and walking to the very first set, I was leaving a trail of rubber Helen Keller could have followed.

I ended up getting them resoled locally.

Looks like some Chinese molded vinyl glued to some sort of leather/vinyl upper. Get something like American made Whites Boots that are composed of saddle leather, triple or better stitched, with soles held on with stitching, glue, and screws. They also do rebuilds when one wears the bottoms out, and do custom builds as well.

Expensive, but damned well worth it. I do not tolerate failure, presently own four pair, and have lived 24/7 in them since 1982.

Danner may make a good boot, but I went away from them when they went through an era of producing lightweight yuppie trail walking leather/Gore-Tex stuff. Had a pair of their vintage rock climbers that wore out 4 sets of vibram soles. Then they went out of production.

Have a friend that returned from an Alaska Dall sheep hunt with duct tape holding his Meindl's together. Without duct tape, he would have been screwed.

I had a pair of whites rip the whole welt off in less than a week. Sure the sole is stitched on....but the welt will fall off. [Linked Image]

Had that happen to a pair of Danner. Had them several years but rarely wore them. Danner said so sorry, that happens to old boots.

My Dads employer gave him $100/year to buy work boots.
He usually got two years out of a pair.
Still, using their catalogs he bought a pair annually.
Probably had 5-10 pair in the closet when he retired.

When he needed a new pair to wear traveling, he found his oldest
ones had gummy/separated soles.

There were only on or two pair that weren't degraded.

Posted on this topic so often I'm weary of it, but if you want to hear my sad Meindl story, try to find it in the archives. I don't do randed boots. Which is too bad, as the Meindl Perfekts were the most comfortable boot I've ever worn. For living room use they would have excelled.

My current warm weather boots are Danner Reckoning. Cold weather Red Wing Elk Hunters.

What are randed boots?

If the Danner Reckoning will hold up under an infantryman's feet, they should hold up to anything!

Rand is the rubber strip that some boots have that covers the seam between the sole and the boot. (Black strip in the pic) Old style boots don't use a rand.

Thanks. ^^^

Mine did the exact same thing in November while I was hiking out an elk on my back in the dark in Wyoming. Fortunately I had my Keen boots in the truck which saved the day. I sent Meindl an email and this was their response. Sucks because I really like my Meindls but I think I'm going to change brands.

Thank you for reaching out to us and your interest in Meindl boots. Unfortunately, at this time we do not do any repairs out of our office. If you have a local cobbler in your area, they may be able to assist you, or we also recommend an authorized cobbler who works with a lot of European brands, including Meindl, his name is Dave Page. He is based out of Seattle and he has a unique skill set where he might able to fix certain things that maybe a local cobbler can’t.
We have provided a link below to Dave’s website which has all of his contact info. Please reach out to him via email or phone and he’ll be able to walk you through the process and give you some costing estimates.

www.davepagecobbler.com

All the best,
Meindl USA

I did too several years ago.

Highcountry:



That image does not even remotely resemble the Whites Packers in my care. Looks like some Chinese rip-off.

White's Packers link

In other words “sorry bout your luck”

Was this pair the new ones from Meindl USA or the Cabelas branded model?

Pretty much. My local cobbler said they can fix them but I haven't brought them in. I'm wondering if I should just get some new boots.

They are the Cabela's branded model. I didn't even try asking Cabela's since they don't sell them anymore and are owned by BassPro.

add Meindl to the list with Rocky. Make crap and don't stand behind them

Wash your feet once in a while.

Perhaps one of these? https://whitesboots.com/foreman/safety/

Sent David page an email. Depending on cost I’ll probably give that a try since they’re brand new never worn.
Ordered a pair of Danner Santiam’s today.