Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Quality Inexpensive Boots

I am going elk hunting this fall and don't have appropriate boots at the moment. I need to get some ordered (I live out in the boonies) so I can start wearing them and getting them broken in. Can anyone recommend a pair of boots that won't break the bank. I've looked at Kenetreks and other top quality boots but they are really expensive. If they were the only item I needed to buy for this November hunt I would be okay, but I have a lot of things to buy. I looked at the Meindl Perfekt Hunters for $229 but they didn't seem to fit my feet too well....little loose on the heal. Anybody have any suggestions for something in the low $200's or less?

Thanks for all your help.

I was very pleased with these. Wore out the cusion before the rest of the boot. No break in time for me.

Edited: wore out the cusion after 3 years of constant wear.

http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ...dex&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true

don't skimp on boots, I don't know where you live, but if its in a non mountainous area, please don't skimp on boots. it sounds to me like you have a narrow foot like me if the meindls were too big in the heel. I highly recommend the danner proghorns, they are fairly cheap about $150 right now. are light and comfy and have decent traction especially the new model pronghorns. are there more durable boots out there, yeah, are they the best quailty, no, the meindls are a much more durable boot, with higher quailty construction, but I don't know of a boot that truely needs no breakin like the pronghorns do, they are comfortable and get the job done. I personally also like the now discontinued danner frontiers they are a more substantial boot than the proghorns, but the ones I have are 400 gram, so I wear uninsulated proghorns for the early season bow hunts. the frontiers did need some breakin though

I remember your post about boot fit. If there's anyway possible to try them on befoere you buy them then make the effort to go somewhere that has a selection to try on.

You may not have to spend $200.00 for a pair that FITS. That's more important than any brand that anybody can recommend on this forum. The one thing I've done is to not wear my hunting boots for anything other than hunting. They fit my feet so well I'm going to get many, many years out of them before I have to try and find another pair that fits as well.

I have learned that I should have enough room to put two fingers, side by side, down the back of the boot w/o my toes touching the end of the boot. Just a little heel movement isn't bad. Some looseness in boot fit when your feet are cold, not warmed up from alot of walking, is to be expected. Too tight and the foot can't pass moisture and tends to pinch the foot, all of which can cause all sorts of discomfort.
The bottom line is they should feel comfortable and like they are a part of you from the start.
I can afford any boot I want. My elk hunters are Asolo TPS 520's or the synthetic version, the PW Matic 400 which would fit your budget. They work great for any mountain hunting. E

Fish Head,

Other than going to Cabelas (where I tried on the Meindls) I have no place to try on quality boots. Bass Pro may have some but that is three hours away, just like Cabelas.

Cummins, I may give those Danners a shot. I will probably need something with 400 gram insulation though for mid Nov in CO.

400 gram is probably what you want for that time of the year. cabelas will have the pronghorns to try out, also I checked that link somoene else posted about the cabelas mountain hunters, those might be worth a try. I normally wear my new boots about 3 weeks sometime before the hunt to break them in while I am at work.

The fella I am going with uses Asolos and I have tried to find some online but have only come up with hiking models which probably won't do in a foot of snow or better. Anyone know where I can order them - they come highly regarded by lots of folks.

Hiking boots are just fine. Wear gators I have been weaing hiking boots and gaitors for around 25 years in snow for snowshoeing and hunting. Even in standard boots you will need some gaitors or else you will get your pant legs wet and they will wick into your socks and your boots.

My current boots are Aslo Sasalongs from Siera Trading Post. They're much stiffer than the cabelas boot, and i've found require quite a bit of break in for my foot. I'd say though that your heal issues may be the same, since mine are the wides and without my orthotics I'd have serious heal issues.

You'll be using a gator if you're not wearing a pack boot anyway. I wear hikers in all kinds of weather.

check out sierra trading post for Aslo's.

Mike.

Yes, I will be wearing gaitors. I didn't think the hikers would be warm enough or tall enough. I'll check them out.

Gaitors add some warmth so they do help. If you doing alot of setting then you will need something else. I wore my uninsulated kenetrek hard scrabble in 8 inches of dry snow and in the teens last winter for a week and had no issues but I was moving a lot.

I don't know about winter but I have these as hiking boots. http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/2317..._method=pp&feat=505550-sub2&np=Y These are comfortable out of the box and you can get them in different widths. LLBean has a great return policy. Unlike other places that only let you walk around on carpet until you decide to keep the boots they actually encourage you to take them out on the trail to try them out. If I didn't get these I would have bought the Cabelas Mountain Hikers. Both are made in Romania.

If you can find them, take a hard look at Danner's Frontier series. I've been wearing the 7" uninsulated one for 7 or 8 years and I love them. They've held up exceptionally well.
Of course, they have to fit your feet. Ask around to see if all Danner boots are sized the same. If so, you could try another style to see if these would fit.

my favorite backpacking boots are Nike ACG boots, got them from STP for $60, I've also got Montrails, Technicas, La Sportivas HanWags, Solomons and Danners.


the Nike are the cats azz for me.

lucky find, I'll be sad when they're gone

Slidellkid,

IMO NH Hunter has given you some good advice. Get a decent pair of backpacking boots and a quality pair of gaiters and you'll be set.

Personally, having two pair of good back packing boots that you can alternate from day to day is even better. Sierra Trading Post has some good deals on some great boots if you have time to watch for the deals during the year.

The Cabela's Gore-tex leather hikers shown in the link by NH Hunter are a very comfortable boot and as he stated will require little or no break in time. I have tried them on and had the exact same opinion about them. The LL Bean Cresta Hikers, I would bet, would do you just as well.

Vasque makes some good boots too that don't require much break in time.

I own Vasque, Asolo, and AKU hikers and use them all with gaiters(hunting in 8"-15" of snow in Utah every year) and my feet stay plenty warm, dry, and comfortable by just wearing a mid-weight merino wool hiking sock with them. Of course I cake the waterproofing wax on them also to aid in keeping the leather dry.(Nikwax)

You could do alot worse than buying the cabela's/ LL Bean hikers, gaiters and a bottle of nikwax.

Good luck, Leftybolt

Thanks for the advice.

A decent hiking boot is fine in snow.. add a set of gaiters. I would rather wear a set of hiking boots that I knew fit me well and I have put real miles on than a new set of hunting boots that are untested.

Boots are a big deal to me. If my feet hurt it makes the rest of the trip miserable. The fit is the most important and I tend to have slip in the heels of most boots thanks to a normal fore foot and a narrow heel. The best boot that I have found for me and my narrow heels are the Lowa Rangers. They will cost you 50.00 more than you are wanting to spend but will last you several years or more. Refer to the below link for Baker shoes out of Oregon. Great company and they offer free shipping on orders over 80.00. I have owned a lot of boots (ask my wife!)trying to find some that really fit and the Lowas are worth every penny.

http://www.bakershoe.com/shop-by-brand.cfm/brand/lowa-boots/product/lowa-ranger-gtx/

Do a search on the Danner Pronghorns. I have them like a lot of people and although comfy, they do NOT hold their waterproofing well. Dont take my word for it, do a little research. The Pronghorns are made in China. The made in the USA Danners are better. The best I have found are the Schnee Beartooth. Schnees as a company stands behind their product the best of any company out there.