Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Yet another boot question

So, there have been a bunch of posts asking for suggestions for the best elk hunting boot. I'd like to add another with a small twist. FWIW, I've been using an old old pair of Danner Elk Hunters with 400 grm of thinsulate. The books are pretty darn good, but they are wearing out and have a few shortcomings.

The Elkhunters I have, have a small toe box and I think that contributes to their being rather cold. And I have cold feet anyway. Too many episodes of frostbite I guess. So, a bigger toe box would be good. Maybe more insulation too.

I walk a lot, so they can't be super heavy or clunky like felt lined pacs.

Finally in size 10.5 D's they may occasionally have to fit into stirrups that are not mine.

Some of the Cabelas Meindle boots look pretty bulky, and I can't say much about their toe box volume. Though the Meindle-Cabelas Ultralight Hunters with 800 gr of thinsulate might fit the bill. There must be some folks here with experience and suggestions.

Thanks

I hunt in the Meindl from Cabelas and have for 3 years now. Mine are uninsulated. My Danners are insulated and I cannot walk very far in them. I prefer uninsulated to walk in, and we cover a lot of miles a foot on a hunt. I wore them 17 of 20 days this year. I have horses and do not ride in the Meindl. The meindl is just too big for stirrups in my opinion. I hung up a boot, not a Meindl, several years ago and just do not take the chance. I have bad feet and cannot wear a lot of boots, the Meindl has a large toe box, an excellent innersole, and footbed that works well for my foot. I wear 2 pair of wool socks and have not been cold yet. I do carry a pair of insulated over boots if it is really cold, but have not needed them. I have worn Danners, Rocky, and a couple of others, but nothing is like the Meindl. It is all about fit and the Meindl is great for me. My brother wore a boot from LL Bean and loved them. Another guy I hunt with wears Vasque and rides in them.

Maybe Meindls have been changed over the years, but a couple of us with "meaty" feet found the toebox to be too low - top to bottom. It was in 1994 when we had drawn sheep tags, and Cabela's was running a special introduction deal where you could buy and actually field test the boots, return them if you didn't like them. We wore them on a short scouting trip. It was short because the boots were so low over our toes that they literally sanded the skin off several toe knuckles on each of us.

Better try them on and see how they are for your foot. If you have long skinny toes, maybe OK, but I personally have never worked up the interest in trying another pair.

They do look like a great boot, and were well made. Nice boot, but not for these feet.

I agree that uninsulated boots are better for walking, but if I can have only one pair of boots in the backcountry, I guess I want some insulation to avoid freezing my feet in camp. Like I said, I get cold feet easily.

Boot covers is a very interesting idea though. hmmm.

Will be driving past a Cabelas today. May have a few minutes to stop in and try on pair.

My Elk Hunters are comfortable enough of flat ground but less than idea on side hills. I've had other boots that fit better, but wouldn't be up to the cold and wet.

I think the perfect boot, like the perfect pocket knife, remains to be invented.

FWIW, I have bought all of my hunting boots at REI for at least the last twenty to twenty-five years. Mostly Vasques, but a couple of pairs of Asolos, too. I can always find something that will work with my long, narrow feet and extremely high arches. I make it a point to have two pair at a time, one narrow enough to fit in garden variety stirrups.

I wear the Meindls Alaska Hunter, and had them in some stirrups just 2 weeks ago with no problems.

I've also found myself with a tight (and damn dangerous) stirrup fit with the same boot. Not all stirrups are created equally sadly.

The Meindls fit the bill for a good sidehill boot however, and the 200 grams of thinsulate isn't too warm for me and the normal temps one finds during elk season.

i bought a set of irish setter trail phantons for my elk hunt in Co this year in 2nd season. to date i have nothing but good to say about them, zero issues during my hunt very light,extremly comfortable, waterproof. Im sure they wont hold up as long as the higher end boots but for 119.00 its the best pair of boots that ive owned rockys and danners is usually what i wear Ron

May give these a look:

http://www.schnees.com/product/2640/hunting

I wear Asolos also. Very comfortable and high quality. As far as the toe box, I think the Asolos may be on the smaller side so that may be an issue

Tough to beat Kenetrek, I have the uninsulated Hardscrabble and the Mountain Extreme.
http://www.kenetrek.com/products.asp?dept=12&pagenumber=1&sort_on=&sort_by=

I have elk hunting in hiking boots from Vasque, Reichle and Asolo. I keep trying to make them work but in the snow, my toes freeze and gaiters are a must. Just don't work for me for some reason. In warmer - snow free conditions, they are hard to beat for traction and projecting the bottoms of my feed from bruising. My first elk hunt was in LLBean boots with the rubber bottoms - stealthy as all get out for bow hunting but by the end of the week I thought a marching band soles for base drums. Damn they hurt.

Well anyway, a couple hours ago I was in a Cabelas and got to try on the Meindle Ultralights. Quite an experience actually, I was blown away at how light they were and comfortable with a bunch of support that the Danner Elk Hunters never had. I wish the soles were more agressive but they look workable.

The toe box is huge, no problem there. They seem to run a bit large too, so I think I'll go with less insulation and more sock.

As for the stirrups, it occurs to me that I think I'm going to actually have to ride a horse, I can bring my stirrups from home. They are plenty large. I really don't have much use for riding horses - we own two, and I think they are much better on a leash (preferably with a dead elk on their backs - but my oversized dogs will probably stay home and someone else's horses will get the exercise).

The Kenetrek looks like great boots but pricey. Might be more durable than the Meindles too, so the price might balance out in the end. Something to really look at but I like what I saw in the Meindles today.

Brent

I wear boots year around and my approach may not work for you, but here it is anyway. I generally buy uninsulated boots with a Gore-Tex lining that are a half to a full size longer than my dress shoe size. Every year, I�ll spend a good amount of time at REI selecting the newest and greatest socks and liners of various blends and materials to have on hand to adjust for the season of the year. I use skip and/or double wrap lacing techniques to adjust for the blend of sock that I am wearing and the ground conditions in which I am working.

One of best deal out there today is on ebay. The government has turned loose a bunch of new ICB Gore-Tex lined boots that you can pick up on ebay, in about any size and in several different configurations, for under $50.00. I bought three pairs last week, and they are every bit as good as any pair of the $250.00 Danner boots that I have. CP.

Here, drill down through this link�
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk...nkw=ICB+boots&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I tested a pair of the Cabela's Meindl Ultralight Hunter (no insulation, but Gore-Tex liner) this fall, starting in September in South Texas and ending up (so far) in early November in southwestern Montana. Wasn't prepared to be impressed, due to the made-in-Vietnam label, but was. The size ordered (9-1/2 EE) was just right for my feet, and took maybe 2 hours of break-in just walking around. The traction is very good on dry ground, but prefer my Kennetrek 400's when it's wet.

Used them from 90 degrees while still-hunting in Texas to riding horses and hiking much up-and-down in Montana in 20-50 degree weather. They could have been a little slimmer for the stirrups but weren't bad.

So far they haven't had any care, but do have had some pig, pronghorn, deer and elk blood on 'em. Dunno how they'll hold up after another season or two but am very pleased so far.

I can see why you didn't expect the Meindls to work too well. They are so darn light. I too worry about their longevity.

CP, if I didn't have a pair of uninsultated boots, I'd buy some of those for bird hunting. That looks like a heck of a good deal. I use Russel Mocs for uninsulated boots. I had to try a custom boot just once. Since I have pretty normally shaped feet, I sure could have spent that money better. They are okay but nothing super special.

In all of my boots, I hunt with a liner sock and a thicker insulating sock. Even in the summer. But in the winter it's not warm enough unless I'm out for only a couple of hours and have a warm truck/house to return too. For some reason, when I elk hunt it is -10F in the morning, knee deep snow and then somewhere, it melts enough to get everything wet and then freezes again. Maybe climate change will help with this

I am pretty hard on boots- Central and Southern Arizona is pretty rough and you walk in rocks a LOT. I have/have had, three pairs of Meindls. My current pair, with worn out soles and rands, is Alaskan hunter. They are very good boots. I have hundred of hours in stirrups with these boots and similar but I run overshoe sized stirrups when hunting. I also have a fairly new pair of Kennetreks. I am not particularly impressed by them. They tend to hurt my feet more than the others. They also came unbonded on their maiden voyage. Maybe I just got a bad pair? They seem to fit pretty good.

Last weekend I was elk hunting in some very rough stuff and decided to dust off my Danner Santiams. Although the bobs only lasted two outings, they did better than I remembered. I think I will have them resoled with something more durable than the useless bob type sole.

The Danners are quite a bit narrower than either the Meindl or Kennetreks. I wear EE and the Danner EE are not quite wide enough- forcing me to up a size.

I will probably buy some other Euro-made boots for my next pair. Lowa is on my short list.

I agree with dghuppert..."tough to beat Kenetrek's"!

I don't have any answers for great boots but i can tell you this. I wear an 11.5 or 12 ee and even a cowboy boot will hang up in the wrong stirrup. When i go elk hunting i use overshoe stirrups as even an uninsulated boot will hang up. Seems to me a 2 or 2&1/2 inch is better than the wider ones.I tripped steers for a while and found the 2 inchers easier to get away from.
I'm looking for a pair of insulated boots as well. Have a pair of cabelas mountain hunters that i've had for years come unbonded. They were warm and dry but slick in the snow. Is there somebody that can change soles on them?
If i were going on a hunt away from home i would darn sure take my own stirrups. The cossack drag is a stunt i preformed once and hope to never again.

Fred

Thanks for the pointers on stirrups Fred. I may own horses, but I'm sure not an expert about them.

Brent,
Valley Manufacturing at 503-928-1271 builds all kinds but i like a 2 inch deep roper overshoe stirrup.

Fred