Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Boots - With or Without GoreTex

Do you recommend with or without for a new pair of sheep hunting boots. I've heard both pros and cons of waterproof linings in leather boots. Was looking at Lowa's and see a simialr pair with Gore Tex (Tibex) and without (Baffin). What's your take?

I vote for Gore-tex, i have the Lowa Tibet's and love them. My feet have never been wet, from the inside or the outside.

Every Gore Tex I"ve had leaked eventually.... Its been easier for me to keep leather sealed instead of worrying about goretex... Just my take on it.

Wife has goretex right now though, and 3 years of hunting and so far so good, but we dont' use em that often.

I wear nothing but Gore-tex. However, the insulation is on the outside of the membrane. If you're in water, the insulation gets soaked. Your feet will stay dry, but the water is right up against the skin and they can get very cold. You need to size the boots so you can wear heavy, warm socks. I think uninsulated boots are actually better because of this. There is no insulation to get soaked.

All of my trail, hunting and mountaineering boots have Gore-Tex linings. They work especially well with synthetic boots.
Used with Dahlgren socks, my feet are never very cold or wet. None of my boots are insulated.
I clean and treat them with Nik Wax once a year, sometimes more but not often. I walk alot, year round, in them and wear them out in just a few years. They may see lots of wet meadows, creeks, and lots of time in snow and ice.
I have no complaints, none at all, which is nice to finally achieve. E

Does goretex work with nik wax or are you simply totally sealing the boot? I"ve used nik wax on leather boots before and it works fine as is.

Simply curious? I was under the impression that goretex simply had to be kept clean to work or treated with something specifically for it, or you lost its advantage to " breathe" which never worked well IMHO anyway.

Not always a deal-breaker for me, but in most cases I prefer with-out.

I prefer boots without but it's not a deal breaker for me either.

The (Lowa) Baffin is essentially a Tibet w/o the gtx.

For my mountain hunting boots here in AK I prefer the gore-tex. It works fairly well so long as you aren't wading up the to rim of the boot for 15 minutes straight and the like. However, for just hiking and backpacking with lighter packs on I just go with a good uninsulated hiking shoe for the sole reason that I will be wading across creeks and it is my only pair of footwear I take when hiking so they need to be able to dry out fast and gore-tex prevents that from happening.

When hunting though if I know I have streams to cross over the boot tops I'll take some knock-off crocs or even some lightweight hiking shoes along for that purpose as well as camp shoes to let my feet have a break from my hunting boots at the end of the day.

Gore-tex is amazing stuff. It isn't perfect and will fail, but there is no other material out there (yet) than offeres the same kind of breathability with waterproofing. Breathability is important in keeping you warm, as moisture sucks heat from your body and it is breathability that lets it escape. When I was wholesaling sports apparel, gore-tex came to train us on their product and had us put a plastic bag over one hand and a gore-tex bag over the other. The difference was significant. You shouldn't use nik wax or other water-proofing products over Gore-tex, unless Gore-tex has failed.

I think you may be wrong on that one, no offense. There are other products that do that, someone correct me if i am wrong. eVent is just one that comes to mind. I have not seen it put to use in boots though. Gore-tex is wonderfull stuff though.

I've had good luck with Cabela's Dry-Plus. I don't know who makes it. It might even be Gore-tex. There are a number of different brands on the market but Gore has done the marketing.

30+ years ago, Gore made a near-fatal mistake. They'd invented the stuff and started selling it to clothing makers. But, they didn't control how it was used and some very poorly made stuff hit the market. It wasn't the membrane at fault, it was the clothing construction without proper seam sealing. I bought a pair of early Vasque Gore-tex boots that were as waterproof as canvas tennis shoes. They were terrible and a total waste of money as far as being waterproof.

Gore's reputation hit rock bottom. They then went to the clothing makers and demanded that they be allowed to control how the membrane was used. They closely controlled seam sealing and anyone who didn't comply couldn't put the Gore-tex name on the item. It was a long road back to being respectable, but they did it. They still tightly control the process.

I have found Gore Tex to be great in a boot but poor in rain gear. The earlier problems with Rockies has been remedied but it isn't bullet proof forever. Boot dressing is also important with this discussion. In a technical style sheep boot you are looking at, I would consider it a plus but other factors like support, weight, insole material and overall fit are more important.

Thanks for all the comments so far. I've been using Gore Tex lined boots for a while now and have really liked the way they performed. I had all leather boots previously and did notice they would dry a little faster. Kind of a toss up...both seem to work well. The boots without Gore Tex need to be paid attension to a little more. Agree Bigwhoop...overall fit is more important.

I'm not sure about that. I don't believe I'm totally sealing the boots.
I believe it just slows the water down.
I also am convinced that while Gore-Tex does breath, it doesn't breath nearly as well as it needs to for my feet to stay dry or nearly so. That's where the Dahlgren socks come in. They really do wick moisture up and out of the tops of boots. E

You might wanna take a look at the Kenetrek Mtn Extreme uninsulated. I know lots of people who love theres.

Dober

Dober - Thanks for dropping the info about the Kenetrek Mtn Extreme Uninsulated boots. Great looking boot, not too heavy (under 4lbs) and it looks like it just keeps on trucking.

I've always wondered if socks that wick water from the wet area to the dry area will also wick rain water in to my dry feet.

I have never owned a pair of Gortex boots/shoes in which the Gortex lining hasn�t failed making the footwear no longer water proof. So I prefer boots with rubber on the lower section. Those boots/shoes which have failed become street shoes or day hiking boots.

eVent breathability blows all conformations of Gore out of the water. Breathability Chart
Kayland uses eVent now, but I'm not sure of any other boot makers that do.