Archive for Boot Info
Sole Inserts Can Breather New Life into Old Boots
Posted by: | CommentsOver the years, I've had a number of pairs of great boots that just plain wore out over time. I nursed my favorite pair of Rocky boots until they were almost in pieces.
A hunting buddy of mine happened to mention that he was using sole inserts like Dr. Scholl's to get some extra life out of his boots. I was intrigued so I asked for more info. He reported that his favorite pair of boots (it's amazing how attached hunters get to a "favorite" pair of boots) were on their next to last leg as the internal sole was all torn up and was getting darn near impossible for him to wear. On his wife's suggestion, he decided to try a pair of those Dr. Scholl's type inserts in his boots. In his words, the results were "amazing".
I'm kind of a "show me" kind of guy so I grabbed a pair of the fitted internal soles to try out. While I wasn't amazed, I was pleasantly surprised. The inserts made a huge improvement in both the comfort and stability of my foot in the boot. I decided to really out them to the test a few weeks ago when I went out to help a buddy train his new squirrel dog. I probably put close to 5 miles on the new internal soles that day and my feet felt great. Normally, they get pretty sore in that particular pair of boots.
The moral of the story: if you have a well worn pair of boots that are causing a problem due to the wear on the internal sole, give this tip a try. You might find that you can get another season or two out of that pair of boots and put the money you saved towards a new hunting toy.
Steel Toed Hunting Boots
Posted by: | CommentsEvery now and then I get a questions about steel toed hunting boots so I thought I would post something about that question.
Most mainstream hunting boots are not available with a steel toe insert. Typically, the steel toe option is only available in true work boots that are designed to meet safety requirements.
However, there are a few select manufacturers who do offer a hunting boots with a steel toe insert. Those include Rocky (pictured above) and Chippewa boots. The one downside to steel toe inserts in hunting boots is the added weight. While the added weight is usually minimal, every little bit helps when you are covering 3 miles of hard terrain.
 Mens Winter Snow Fishing Baffin Pac Steel Toed Boots  US $447.00
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 Muck Chore Hi Steel Toe Work Boot CHS 000A Sizes 5 14 US $98.50
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 Muck Wellie Classic WaterProof Work Boot LTH 904 NEW US $132.59
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 Frogg Togg MuddHogg 1200g Insulated Hunting Camo Boot 8 US $89.99
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 Whites Pacs Cowboy Airgrip Brown US $120.00
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 Vintage UNION MADE Mens RED WING Steel Toe Work Hunting Leather Boots 75 D USA US $195.99
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Snake Boots Offer Excellent Protection
Posted by: | CommentsI receive quite a bit of e-mail from time to time about boots (I have another boots site as well), and some of them bring up some really interesting points of view.
One reader recently pointed out that, while most hunters and outdoorsman are concerned about being bitten by a venomous snake, the truth is, you are far more likely to be bitten by a non-venomous snake. While I had some doubts about that info, I decided to do a bit of research on the topic.
According to data from Wikipedia, there are an estimated 45,000 snake bites in the U.S. annually. Of those 45,000, around 8000 are venomous bites. This means that 37,000 people are bitten in the U.S. each year by non-venomous snakes. Interestingly enough, my home state of North Carolina has the highest number of reported bites in the US, averaging 19 reported bites per 100,000.
So the reader was correct and his point was: snake boots will protect you from most any snake bite whether venomous or not.
Obviously, I'd rather take a bite from the non-venomous water snake in the top picture than from this big Western Diamondback Rattler. With snake boots, you don't have to worry about the species.
 Rocky 7534 15 Lynx Waterproof Snake Proof Boots Size 13 M US $89.99
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 ROCKY 16 SIDE ZIP SNAKE BOOT MOSSY OAK BREAKUP 7228 MENS 11M US $31.00
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 Hunting boots sz 95 Lacrosse Razor US $10.51
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 LACROSSE YOUTH SILENCER 541113 SIZE 2 BOOTS NEW US $30.00
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 LACROSSE YOUTH SILENCER 541113 SIZE 1 BOOTS NEW US $30.00
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 LACROSSE FANG HD SIDE ZIP SNAKE PROOF 18 BOOTS NEW SIZE 10 1 2 SAVE $80 US $89.99
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Hunting Boots Will Protect Your Feet
Posted by: | CommentsI'd like to share a story that a reader e-mailed me about his experience with his hunting boots along with a picture of the boot itself.
"I happened to see some of your posts about the importance of a good pair of hunting boots and thought I would share my story:
Just before the start of bow season in September of 2009, I went out to set up an early tree stand so I could guarantee myself rights to this particular spot (within my hunting club). The stand was an older non climbing model (I'll keep the name to myself as I don't want any trouble from the manufacturer if you publish this story) that I had owned for years. My plan was to set the stand up about 12 feet up a medium sized pine tree and then access it using screw in steps. This particular day, I decided to forgo my safety harness as I didn't expect it to be a major operation. I was able to get the stand up and mounted with no problems. However, as I was standing on the foot platform getting ready to climb down, the platform started to shear or break off at the base of the tree. I lost my balance and fell straight down. As I hit the ground on my left hip, the platform came tumbling down and landed squarely on my right foot. While a jagged edge did cut through the boot and hit my foot, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. It hurt like hell and I had to get a few stitches, but shudder to think what would have happened if I had been wearing something other than a good pair of hunting boots."
The “Perfect” Pair of Turkey Hunting Boots
Posted by: | CommentsFor many years there have been debates, both in person and online, regarding the "perfect" pair of turkey hunting boots. One the first questions that people ask are "why won't my regular hunting boots work for Turkey hunting?"
Well, they might work just fine, but take the following 2 things into consideration:
#1 - Temperature - Most turkey hunting is done in the spring when temperatures are going up. Depending on the geography you hunt, it could be anywhere from 50 to 80 degrees on a typical hunting day during the season. Most hunting boots are built for colder weather hunting so they will probably be to warm to use for turkey hunting. I wore a pair of my cold weather boots one year turkey hunting in South Carolina and I was miserable as my feet were sweating so bad I couldn't stand it. In most situations, boots used for turkey hunting will need to be lighter and less insulated.
#2 Snakes - Springtime in most areas means the possibility that snakes are just coming out after the winter. this means that the possibility of encountering a venomous snake increases. It's vitally important to understand that standard hunting boots may offer the wearer some protection from snakebite, but nothing compared to the protection guaranteed by true snake proof boots. Case in point: A good friend of mine who bowhunts happened to step on a large water moccasin (also called a Cottonmouth) while walking out of the woods. He was wearing standard hunting boots when the snake whipped around and struck the toe area of his boot. While the fangs didn't penetrate into his foot, they did penetrate deep enough into the boot to inject venom on his sock. The next day he was at the local sporting good buying snake boots.
While these 2 points are a "requirement" for a good pair of turkey hunting boots, I would definitely take them into consideration when buying boots. Although I don't get to turkey hunt much anymore, my personal pair of turkey hunting boots is a pair of Justin 18" non-insulated snake boots.
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Rocky 7534 15 Lynx Waterproof Snake Proof Boots Size 13 M US $89.99
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LaCrosse Alpha Lite Hunting Boots – Not So Tough
Posted by: | CommentsI grabbed this pair of boots about 3 years ago as I felt that I needed some really high boots (these are 18 inches high) and completely waterproof. Some of the areas that I use to hunt would flood and after the flood, there would be these deceptive little side creeks that looked perfectly fine to walk across until you stepped in and sank up to your knee in muck.
Mine didn't look exactly like the one pictured, but you get the general idea. I have to admit that they performed really well in the beginning. Although this was the first pair of hightop boots I had ever purchased, I did grow to like the higher ride as I could tuck my pants leg inside the boots and it did a great job of keeping ticks and chiggers off my feet.
Would I buy the La Crosse Alpha boot again? Probably not. I was kind of disappointed in the durability of the boot. The second month I owned the boots, I stepped into a submerged hole and a stick ran right through the rubber. Needless to say my boots are no longer waterproof. The Alpha Lite's I had were 1200 grams of thinsulate, so they were very warm. Too bad they weren't a bit more durable.
 LACROSSE MOSSY OAK DUCK BLIND MALLARD HIP 1000G WADERS hunting camo fishing US $101.99
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 LACROSSE 2000 GRAM HUNT PAC BOOTS {NEW} SIZE 9 US $49.95
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 LaCrosse hunting boots US $49.99
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 LACROSSE EXTREME TOUGH WELLINGTON BOOTS SZ 115M NEW US $50.00
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 LaCrosse Game Country 10 inch Boot size 75 m US $25.00
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 lacrosse pac hunting boots size 11 US $30.00
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 Mens Boys Size 7 LaCrosse Water Hunting Boots Made in USA US $9.99
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 LACROSSE HUNTING BOOTS SIZE 10 WIDE THINSULATE ULTRA 11 HIGH GORE TEX GF0307 US $11.99
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Hunting boots sz 95 Lacrosse Razor US $10.51
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 LACROSSE ALPHABURLY SPORT WATERPROOF BOOT MOSSY OAK BREAK UP SIZE 11 200004 US $99.99
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Turkey Hunting Boots
Posted by: | CommentsAs turkey season is only a few weeks away, now is the time to start planning for opening day. Most turkey hunters spend hundreds on turkey shotguns, calls, and camo; but don't really think about their boots.
Three things come to mind when turkey hunting:
- Major league camo - Turkey's have amazing eyesight and are one of the few hunted game that is not color blind. That being said, good camo is an absolute must.
- Snakes - Since Turkey season is in the spring, snakes are a possibility, especially in the warmer states.
- Heat - Spring can be downright hot in some parts of the U.S.
While camo boots aren't really needed, I would certainly think the snake protection is worthwhile. My biggest issue with turkey hunting use to be the fact that I wore my winter hunting boots so my feet were so hot they almost caught on fire. I finally bought a pair of boots that were specifically designed for warm weather turkey hunting. They had very light insulation so they were pretty comfortable.
 NEW Mossy Oak Irish Setter Red Wing Mountain Viper Hunting Snake Boots 17 95D US $99.99
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I Wouldn’t Buy Cheap Kids Hunting Boots
Posted by: | CommentsOwning a hunting and shooting store, I get to pick up on trends and issues that I routinely see. One of those situations involves parents (mostly Dad's) buying hunting boots for their sons or daughter. In many cases, it's the first hunt or something along those lines.
In almost every instance, Dad doesn't want to spend that much money on a boot for 2 reasons:
- They aren't sure the child will enjoy or even continue in the hunting/shooting activity
- Kid's feet grow so fast they will outgrow the boot in a few months
Both are valid arguments, but here are a few things to think about:
- Cheap, especially really cheap, kids hunting boots are very rarely well insulated or even fully waterproof (water resistant, maybe). In many cases, either one of two things will happen: the child's feet will get cold and they will want to leave, or, even worse, they will step in water and their feet will get soaked, and they will want to leave. It's vitally important to make that first hunt or outing as fun and comfortable as possible, so this really isn't a good start.
- Even if your child is growing like a weed, when the boots are too small, you can always sell them on Ebay or Craigslist and at least recover some of your money.
I say this and speak about this issue from experience. Although I could have bought my 10 year old son a decent pair of boots wholesale, I elected to get the el-cheapo Wal-mart no names for all the reasons I talked about.
What happened on our first squirrel hunt? His feet froze and he didn't have any fun. If I could do it all over again, I would have bought him a decent pair of boots and then just resold them when he outgrew them. I've been able to overcome that initial bad experience, but it took some time. I had to re-visit the issue about midway through the following year before he would even express any interest in going back out.
My personal opinion: don't spend a fortune, but invest in a decent pair of boots for him or her. It's a small price to pay to get them into the woods.
Sizing for Boots
Posted by: | CommentsBuying boots off the internet or online means that you absolutely have to have a clear understanding of your boot size. There's nothing worse than buying and receiving a pair of books online to find that you ordered the wrong size. Then you have to deal with the pain and hassle of a return and re-order.
Generally, it's a good idea to look at boots that are one size larger than your tennis shoes. This is done to accommodate the thicker socks that most hunters wear during the cold weather seasons.
For example, I ususally wear a size 11.5 shoe so I buy a 12.5 boot. This sizing method has worked very well for me over the years.
800 gram redhead boots with side zipper, comments?
Posted by: | Comments
Hey, lookn for a new pair of insullated hunting boots mainly for deer and duck hunting and was wondering if anyone had tried these out. If u have i would apprectiate comments both good and bad.