For those who track up north... what boots do you wear or recommend?

[PrewarM70]

This deer season (Vermont) was my first spent entirely on tracking deer in the big woods.  Lots of lessons learned, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, even though I didn't end up with anything hanging out in the barn as a result.

One of my biggest lessons learned was that I need footwear that is light, waterproof and has a sensitive enough sole to help with keeping quiet.  So, for those of you who have been tracking deer in the big woods for a while:  what do you wear for boots, or is there a boot that you would recommend, and why?  Any boots to avoid for this purpose?

Here is what I learned about tracking footgear this year...

I tried a pair of hunting boots by the Muck Boot Company - they are very light and comfortable, but soles are too stiff (not sensitive to sticks underfoot) and traction isn't so good on steep side slopes or rocky ledges.  My old LaCrosse Burly insulated rubber boots are great for support and traction, but are heavy and not as sensitive as I would like and seem too warm for really strenuous activity.  My 20 year old LL Bean Maine Hunting Shoes (10" high) are light, comfortable and sensitive, but close friends and family members have had problems with the leather upper separating from the rubber bottom. 

My overall list of lessons learned is over a page, typed single spaced.  Quite a learning curve, but was it ever a great time!  You could say that I'm hooked, even though I know that I won't be able to spend a month every year doing this.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

--Ian

[bucktales]

Up until 2 yrs ago, I too hunted Vt. for about 25 yrs. Mostly Nat. Forest land and tracked a lot. I had good luck with Danner elk hunter boots. Light and warm, I put about 20 seasons worth of hard hunting on my first set. I also like the "air bob" sole. I'm on my second set now. They aint cheap, but if I  got 20 seasons out of a set, I think it's worth it.

[K.K]

I like the knee high full-rubber boots from Rocky.  They are completly waterproof and double as scent proof for bow season.  Although I llike to track as well, there hasn't been decent snow in our area during the season for a few years.  Still wear those boots, though.

[Don Fischer]

I don't think not breaking sticks would be anywhere on my list of things to look for. In fact if they don't, the soles are to soft in all likelyhood. I also don't like rubber boots, they are to hot for me and my feet sweat so bad I might just as well be bare foot. Also, if your feet sweat to much and it's freezing, you better keep walking as your feet will feel like they are in an icebox even if the boots are insulated. What is necessary in a boot anywhere is that it gives a good platform to walk on, has a stiff enough sole to grab well on side hills, that the shoe breathes well, gives good ankle support and that they are water proof. Knee high has the advantage of protecting your shins better and guarding against snake bite where snakes are.

What ever you get, the first conciderations should be support, dry, traction and warm. I find nothing does these things better than leather, insulted if you like. All leather boots benefit from waterproofing, other wise they do leak. Danner and others have a liner in them thats supposed to do that. I've had one pair of Danners and they are good boots but, get your socks wet over the top of the boots and water wicks into the shoe anyway. My pair cost me $165 and lasted a long time and I would get another pair except for the price.

Now I buy boot's at the Wal-Mart so long as they are leather. They are cheap and you can waterproof them. As far as fit, which someone is sure to bring up, they fit as well as almost any you can buy if you try them on first. The only company I know of that built boots to customers feet were "West Coast" and "White" As I recall they cost about the same, maybe a bit more than Danner's and last a lot longer. Then if you do need them repaired, send them back and they rebuild them for you, at least they used to.

Other than "West Coast" and "White", the biggest reason they last so long is that they don't get worn everyday. "West Coast" and "White" are boots designed for logger's and timber cruisers. They wear them every day all day and without their feet, these guy's have a problem. They can be had without "hob nails".

[slave]

Rocky bearclaw when it is cold. Outback when its mild. All rubber when ever i have a bow.

[DLuke]

LaCrosse Uninsulated with the zip up sides....

[flathead]

Hello,

I had a friend and VERY serious hunter recommend Schnee's boots to me. They are almost all I wear now. I still have some light uninsulated Bean Guide boots without the steel shank. Great boots for warmer weather. But...now they have "improved" them with steel shanks. I have also had to send a few back for lace rot problems. They stand by their warranty though.
Schnee's offer many varieties. Extremely high quality, made in Montana, and mountain guides swear by them. For stalking get either the uninsulated or next one up. I've never needed my Extreme's for stalking in even below zero weather. The midweights will do fine. The Extreme boots are for sitting only. Not cheap but extremely high quality. I think they are at schnees.com or something like that. Good luck and God Bless.

[ruffled feather]

one thing about "white's, nick's, cruz, west coast." from first hand knowledge with all except west coast, they are all triple stitched leather of greater thickness. my size 8 white's with a 8" top outweighed my buddy's size 10.5 redwings. but as mentioned they do last a lifetime, I have one pair that is over 20 years old, being rebuilt once. Nick's are made by a former white's employee that says he saw white's going down in quality so he decided to strike out on his own. I have had a pair of his and didn't like them at all, mostly due to the fact that they didn't fit and then when the company tried to stand behind them the glue they used had been frozen and they came apart and then when I got them back a second time they didn't fit again, I just gave up. have had friends in the wildland firefighting game swear they were the best though. on the other side of the coin though, White's qualty has returned and they are still #1 with the firefighting crowd in the west. they make a cheaper version of their own boot called the Hawthorn. If you go with White's they can also custom fit them to you for an extra fee, then in the future if you need boots, you just call them and tell them who you are and they look you up in their database and make your boots the same as before. White's also makes a rubber bottom leather topped insulated boot with airbob soles that have been popular in the northwest. but again, being well-made it is heavier than others.

[deltecs]

Now I buy boot's at the Wal-Mart so long as they are leather. They are cheap and you can waterproof them. As far as fit, which someone is sure to bring up, they fit as well as almost any you can buy if you try them on first. The only company I know of that built boots to customers feet were "West Coast" and "White" As I recall they cost about the same, maybe a bit more than Danner's and last a lot longer. Then if you do need them repaired, send them back and they rebuild them for you, at least they used to.

Other than "West Coast" and "White", the biggest reason they last so long is that they don't get worn everyday. "West Coast" and "White" are boots designed for logger's and timber cruisers. They wear them every day all day and without their feet, these guy's have a problem. They can be had without "hob nails".

Well, it's my opinion that a good GoreTex lined pair of Rocky, Merrill, Cabela's, or the like about 8" high to be about right.  The outer can be all leather or a combination of Nylon and leather.  Cost from $75.00 to $180.00 depending on insulation and brand name.  One thing I do know is that as a retired  power lineman and Electrical Engineering Tech, my West Coast boots were 9" high instead of the 16" ones.  I wore them all day long with a set of climbing hooks on a pole too.  The insoles of these boots are extremely stiff and rigid.  They do not lend themselves well for hunting purposes.  I now reside in Alaska's coastal area of temperate rain forest much like the Pacific Northwest and I wear a pair of 200 gr insulated, Gore Tex lined, Vibram shallow rubber sole, Merrill 8" boots daily.  I've worn the same pair of boots now for over 2 years.  These are still the same boots I take to the woods.  At least once a day the boots get wet in salt water moving the skiffs or getting in and out of them at the shore.  They still do not get wet inside or leak. 

[buck460XVR]

I have found over the years that there is no one boot that is ideal for all conditions. I too do a lot of tracking/stalking/still hunting in large tracts of public land here in Wisconsin, and generally have a spare pair or two in the truck besides the ones I have on. Temperature, weather and terrain all factor in and sometimes that changes as the day goes on.....thus the spare pairs in the truck. The more ground I intend to cover, the lighter the boot. I have found Merrell gore-tex hiking boots work very well in most situations where I won't be doing much stopping and standing. With one good pair of socks even when stalking very slowly my feet will stay warm enough. I've found that being a little cold is better than being too warm and sweating which leads to being even colder in the long run. If I will be stopping and standing along with stalking, I'll sometimes go with a lightly insulated Rocky gore-tex boot. I tend to stay away from most rubber bottom boots when walking any distances cause even the gore-tex ones tend to trap foot moisture in the rubber bottom. When I'm trudging the big swamps, it don't really matter what I wear.....sooner or later I'm gonna end up with wet feet.......

[lester]

I like a lightweight, uninsulated rubber boot for tracking or still-hunting here in Walden, VT.  Used to wear the Lacrosse 18" Burly's, but they're too heavy and my foot slides around a lot. 

Couple of years ago I bought a pair of Lacrosse Alpha Burly's, uninsulated.  First time I put 'em on it felt like I was wearing sneakers.  Haven't worn anything since.

Lester

[The Gamemaster]

Since I do not have experience hunting in Vermont, I don't know if what I am going to say to you will make any sense.  But here is my two cents.

One of the reasons why you did not see any deer was because you were walking around and not sitting.

One of the first mistakes that I made while hunting in Pennsylvania as a junior hunter was walking around, following tracks and chasing gun shots.  All of those mistakes will only lead to not seeing any deer, moving deer into other hunters - which will have a greater chance of success if they are not moving around.  Most all you are going to see walking around is tails!  That's what my daddy said to me as a boy and that is what I would tell my own son - if I had one.

Considering that I live in deer country and I hunt most every day of the rifle season - I can tell you that there is only about 4 pairs of boots in my closet and they are all the more boots I will ever need.

I have a pair of Rocky Bear Claws that have 800 grams of Thinsulate with a Rocky type sole.
They are high top boots and last year I was not in shape when hunting season came around from working in a machine shop and not doing much walking.  I ended up pulling my Achilles tendon the first day of bear season - which comes before deer season and spending countless hours of agony since then because of the damage that I did to my tendon with the high top boot.

Unless you were going to spend hours in a mud bog, I would not recommend any boot more than 6 inches high for walking.

My second pair of boots are Lacrosse Ice Kings, they are rated from +20* to minus 100 and are the only boot you will ever need - if you plan on spending long hours in a tree stand.  The very warmest boots you will ever buy.

Third is a pair of Carolina Work boots with steel toe, they are are durable as a locust post and wear like iron and they keep my feet dry on them long days of small game hunting.

My fourth pair is a pair of Wolverine hiking boots.  My feet are a size 13 1/2 EEE and most manufacturers do not make a boot that is wider enough for my foot or big enough for my foot.

I take it as a personal insult when I have to travel 100 miles to buy a pair of shoes that fits my feet.

I went to Bob's Army and Navy store looking for a good pair of shoes and tried on more than 40 different pairs before I found a pair wide enough and big enough to fit my feet.  They even had to stretch them some on a machine to get them to fit.

The Wolverines that I bought are the most comfortable pair of shoes that I own and I even wear them to church!  When it comes to a insulated work shoe - hiking shoe that you can wear all day and walk for miles - the Wolverine's are the best!

I had shoes that I bought at Wal Mart and the liners wore out and the outsides still looked like new and I wore out several dozen pairs of new socks - some in one day because of them shoes - and I wouldn't recommend then to anyone!  When a man has to special order a pair of size 14 work shoes - then that place is not the place to buy a pair of shoes.  A real shoe store cares about their customers and will carry a shoe in sizes for everybody and not just size 8 through 12!

If a person wears size 8 - 12, and they have a problem, they can take them back and get a replacement pair on the spot.  What do you do for shoes if you had to special order them and they fall apart and you cannot get another pair for 3 weeks?  You are S.O.L.!

[The Gamemaster]

Maybe shoe manufacturers will read my post and take it to heart - that there are good manufacturrers that makes good shoes for people size 8 - 12 and do not make them in bigger sizes for sale to the general public - without charging more money for a special order!

I have had shoe stores that has said that they can only order shoes twice a year and that the manufacturers either refuse to make them bigger than size 12 or they only make a few pairs at a time and you have to get on a waiting list to get a pair.  Even then - they want as much as $30 more for sizes bigger than 12!

[deltecs]

I can sympathize with people who's feet are larger than 12.  I had a devil's time finding shoes for my growing son who now wears 14's.  However, I have to put my 2 cents in again.  For rubber boots there is nothing I've ever found that compare to BF Goodrich ExtraTuff.  I demand that all my commercial fishing crew members buy and use these boots on my set gill net aluminum boats.  The soles are extremely non skid, yet you can feel the surface with good arch support.  See, the picture in the attachment.  I wish I had used them when I was a young man hunting in Pa before I moved to Alaska.


For extremely cold weather, we use vapor barrier boots that the military used to use.  I've had warm feet on caribou hunts at -40 on stands.  Never had cold feet with them.  For the rest of the time, one pair of Gore Tex 400 gr insulated and one pair GoreTex uninsulated leather or composite brand name boots less than 7" handle everything else. 

The extreme climate conditions is Alaska demand the very best in footwear when hunting or living in the bush.  I've tried most during the last 40 years here and these are my selections.

[buckshooter]

Guys I am from Ohio where there are all kinds of hills and or mountains. What I would recommend are hiking boots at Cabela's or Dicks. They work great for me.

[jhm]

When I lived in Michigan my winter boot for deer hunting in the Mio/ Lewiston area was a pair of the higher end Sorrels, I did TRY the old Mickey Mouse army surplus boots for 2 seasons and never did like them, now I wear the Muck brand boots here in Arkansas on the place most of the season but if it gets real cold I have a pr. of the Rocky Bear Claws, small game a pair of the old GREEN Kangaro lightweight that you could buy from Sears back 35 to 40 years ago.  And I still have my old Eddie Bauer Down Filled hunting coat I used in Michigan, but that was when Eddie Bauer made hunting stuff not clothes for the FASHION TYPES.   JIM

[Old Time Hunter]

Well here's my 2c, use Sorels with felt insert so far so good. Current pair are relatively new, 'bout 20 or so years. Went out this morning at 0630 it was +7 F degrees stayed out until 1630 when the temperature had made it to a balmy +12 F. My odometer says I walked 8.33 miles, saw a large 10 point whitetail at 1330 (unfortunately it currently is anterless only here in Wisconsin). We also have 'bout 12" of snow on the ground to waddle through. Only wear a single pair of cotton socks too.