After arguing with my wife what we have more in our house my hunting boots or her shoes, I've decided to write this article. I lost, because handed out a lot of hunting shoes but still had enough.
It's the important and complex theme how and what boots to choose for the mountains. Our feet suffer in the first turn because we hike a lot in the mountains. It’s hard to find the generalized and structured information in the one place, everybody praises only its own goods. It's time to improve this mistake and to change the situation.
Almost all hunters have realized now that rubber boots aren't the best choice for the mountains though some of them have argued with this statement even five years ago. The first group who defended the rubber boots rights was consisted of the highlanders who didn’t extra money and had no possibilities to buy other boots, the second group - city dudes and I belonged to them too.
I must admit that the set of consumer qualities of good rubber boot, produced in Ufa is well: 100% waterproof, a good grip on various surfaces; light weight and a low price. I could accept my feet freeze fast in these boots in the wintertime but they don't fix the ankle at all. If you live in the mountains all your life it’s not a problem. The locals who hike everyday have strong ankles but it’s critical for those who live in the town. I've got such experience during my spring bear hunting on the east of Kazakhstan. In the first day I could hardly return back to the camp and realized that wouldn't change my Mendl boots to others.
Why it is so important? It give me the absolute comfort during the trekking. The orthopedic pads fix the ankle. The fluted sole provides maximum gripping on any surfaces. They are waterproof and have vapor permeability for sweat from inside. Different models have additional options such as extra synthetic or wool warmer, ventilation, soles and bootlegs which can be made individually, antibacterial coating, damping in the soles and others. I want to write about it.
The outdoor industry grows fast and there are many companies producing lots of goods for people who like active life style. The most famous ones in Europe are Hanwag, Meindl, LaSportiva, Scarpa, Salewa. USA - North Face, Wasco, Daner, Irish Setter and others. All these brands have models, suited for mountain hunting.
Mountain boots are classified by:
A - for walking and everyday usage;
B - for hiking by low mountains, marked trails, hiking till altitude 2000 masl;
BC - medium difficulty trekking till 3000 masl altitude;
C - alpine trekking, height limits - 4000 masl
D - off road trekking, climbing with crampons, the altitude limits till 5000 masl.
Some producers call these groups in the different way: Walking, Trekking, Backpacking, Alpine.
Each group has its definite features. The higher mountains require harder shoes and soles, the boots become heavier, more warm and have higher ankles. Boots from BC and C categories are enough for Kazakhstan mountains but some of my friends choose models from the group D. According my experience the best pair of mountain boots weight about 1600- 1700 gr (10 size). The heavier ones can be higher only. The average height of the models for hunters is 25 or 26 cm. They keep the foot and protect from snow but the experts say that the height of 12-14 cm is enough to fix the ankle, because it's just in 5 cm from the sole. I always wear additional gaiters that's why use boots with the height three quarter. Their weight is in 200-300 gr lower than the high ones.
Materials and technology
The top of the right shoes is made from the bull skin. This natural material has a number of advantages. It's flexible, easy to work with, keep the form and wear-resistant. The skin, used for mountain shoes, can be from 2,6 to 3 mm thickness. It's handled by special water-repellent compounds and additionally pressed. Synthetic material are wide used too but most of them with skin. Cordura are lighter but doesn’t keep the form well and the manufacturers use the additional composed materials. It's not critical at all because the most of leather boots have inserts made of other materials which add more reliability and functionality. The artificial materials will completely replace the skin in future.
They say that the top has to be done from the whole piece of leather. It makes it more reliable and durable. If you look at the most expensive models used for climbing for the eight- booms, they all are in stitches and made not from leather. The matter is not in the number of stitches but in the work and material quality guaranteed by the high- class companies.
The stitches can be a problem but in another way. Once after three active season I noticed that they had wiped in the places where the leg kept in the stirrups. But I used them seriously.
The more important thing is to have the fused structure of shoes with the tongue. In the opposite case all trash like small stones, thorns and humidity will be in your boots. The modern boot tops are made of not only leather but other materials to increase the users’ comfort.
GORE TEX prevents the penetration of humidity inside but allows to save the bandwidth for diffusion of sweat outside. It works. But only if you use it right. You must not to overheat it (to dry near the fire or under the hot sun) otherwise it’ll lose its properties.
The other synthetic layers will adapt to your individual anatomical features and provide additional comfort, ventilation and warm.
Shoe laces
The lace-up Shoe – is the very important trifle. The lace-up shoe allows a boot to fit the leg. If it’s not right it can lead to disaster. Once I was too lazy to tie the shoelaces and began to descend with the heavy backpack. As the result, I dislocated thumbs on my feet. There are several types of shoelaces rings - above the foot lift and with easy shoelaces running. The hooks of DIGAfix type are located near the heel where the foot transfers to the lower leg. It helps to fix the shoelace and to protect from dissolving.
These hooks allow to make the lace- up shoe of different strength. The lace-up shoe fixes a foot what is very important. You can rub calluses if the foot will slide back and forth while you are going up or down. The boot top is laced on the hooks what makes it easy to untie the boot in the upper part. The hooks allow to tighten shoelaces fast. Probably you have noticed that boots which have been wet and then have dried, are stiff when you try to put it on and hooks help to resolve this problem. After thirty minutes’ walk boots make warm and enlarge and you have to tighten shoelaces.
The double knot allows to strength the shoelaces fixation. There are many kinds of the lace-up shoes from the classical cross to the complex variants what eliminate the disadvantages of pairing the foot with the shoe.
Let's talk about shoelaces. The good quality shoes have good shoelaces. But if you need to buy new ones you can use paracord. A few years ago, shoes with cable ties appeared on sale. But they are inefficient. You can't regulate the fixation in different boots parts, the cable often breaks and you stay without the shoe. This accident had happened with my fellow when we were in the mountains last year. Fortunately, we had a rope and wrapped his shoe,
An excellent sole is a multi-layer cake. The most famous (but not the only one) manufacturer of good quality soles is – Vibram®.
The classical sole consists of such layers as:
1. Breathable insole lining
2. Midsole made of polyurethane foam
3. Special material for stabilizing walking
4. Vibram ® non-slip rubber sole.
Each company has its own secrets but the construction is more or less similar in all goods: first layer under the insole is light material for ventilation, then comes a layer of polyurethane foam, to reduce the impact when walking and to prevent lateral twisting and the last one is the rubber tread to provide maximum grip on any surface. I have to note that soles made from other plasticized materials slip on the wet surfaces and don't suit for mountains. There are several rubber types (as for the car tires) - for summer, dust and stones - the hard one but freezes when it’s cold; for the winter time, too soft for summer but ideal for frost. That is one of the reasons why you need to have two pairs of mountains shoes for summer and winter.
The bottoms always have deep tread to provide the maximum grip with different surfaces.
Some models have the rubber edging to protect them from banging into rocks. It’s a good idea because allows to extend the service life of boots. The Alpine models have special edging for crampons but I haven’t seen yet any man hunting on the glacier.
The soles from different manufacturers are similar. Last year on the Show in Munich I found the interesting model of Meindl with the retractable spikes. There is a special key in the heel, you need to turn it to activate the spikes. From the one side it's sound interesting but from another... The shoes weight dramatically grow. It's more comfortable to have crampons and to use them if necessary.
Other " small things»
You have insoles when buying the shoes but the market suggests so many models made from breathable material, with arch supports, with insulation, thermoforming and so on. So you can choose any to your taste. I’ve bought insoles for my summer shoes to reduce the walking impact and the insoles with the electric heating for the winter model.
Socks are your partner. You can choose any: for summer, winter, with wool or with Thermolite or Coolmax. Most of men like slim girls. But the socks have to be thick. I have a narrow foot but the most of tactical shoes sold in our shops have broad fitting. That’s why I use two pairs of socks in summer and winter. Winter kit: sport synthetic (for mountain skiing) and wool socks for temperature to -33C (Merino wool, 100%) + sport socks Mund. Summer kit: thick cotton socks from Mund + light socks with Coolmax.
I’d like to remind to take extra pair of socks when go to the expedition. The feet sweat faster than the membrane can remove moisture, and wet things cool faster than the dry ones.
Crampons I’ll try to find the affectionate name for them. They are light, durable and useful in the definite situations such as first snow on the rocks or the grassy slopes. I use them a couple of times in the season.
Gaiters. Some people call them lanterns. These armbands for legs put on above the shoes and protect you from snow and debris. The best ones can even safe you from water when you pass swiftly small rivers or springs. The main requirement: they have to be done from non-noisy material. Your camouflage will down the drain if the gaiters rustle. The other requirements are: to be waterproof, to fix tightly up and down and to have a strap under the heel made from the cable (the rocks will cut the textile one in the first day). I know the only gaiters which meet the requirements, made by Spanish company Hart but they are also not ideal because have a zip on the back side. The other ones rustle.
There are many shoe care products which you can buy everywhere and they extend the service life of shoes. I talk about leather boots. I like the production of the American company G 96. They make great cleaning reagents for weapons, and a special spray with the silicone base to prevent ingress of moisture to the layer before the membrane. It’s very important. Because the wet shoes can weight 1500gr in spite of 800 gr.
How to buy.
First of all you need to define your size. It has to be in 1 or 1,5 size large than you usually wear. There has to be about 1 cm space between the tiptoe and the inner surface the shoe, that you can enter the finger between the heel and back to the sole when the shoe is unlaced. It fits you well if the tiptoe just touch the inner surface of the shoe but don't buy if the fingers flex at the joints. If there is a space, the shoes are too big. The ankle sides can stretch out but the size in length won’t change. You’ll cold in the small shoes and the calluses can spoil your hunt.
The shoe tree is the most important element of the shoe. Each manufacturer has minimum four shoes. This is due to the peculiarities of the structure of the feet of different peoples. People in America and Europe wear shoes made by different templates. The different manufacturers have different shapes. So, you'll need to try models until you find the suited one. The mountains shoes seem to be rough and not comfortable when you try them at the first time. It's normal. Don’t be in a hurry when you buy the shoes. Give you time to walk in the shop, the shoes need time to warm and to form under your feet. You need not less than twenty minutes to realize what’s on your feet. It's better to use the same socks which you’ll use later in the expedition.
I divide all my shoes into three seasonal groups: for dry summer weather; for the main hunting season (fall - spring); and for cold season what starts from the beginning of November and lasts until March.
Meindl Safari which I have bought for Africa trip, are from the first (summer) group. Distinctive feature: no membrane, not heavy and has light color.
I wear these shoes in the dry mountains ( we have the mountains where there is almost no precipitation). The second group (fall-spring): Meindl lhotse and almost new Meindl dovre which have all listed features of classic mountain boots. The third group (winter, frost): Irish Setter Mountain Claw – are real winter shoes! Cordura, they made from, make them light (despite the insulation). They have great bottoms from soft rubber and high ankle. I used them four season and wanted to buy the new ones but they went off the market. The ankle of these boots is softer the shoes from the second group but it’s not critical. the snow smooths out uneven terrain and the feet are tired less and don't’ get cold. The next winter shoes are – Meindl Nordkap. They are so called two-pieces mountain shoes. The top layer is made from Cordura with the lace-up and the sewed gaiters and the inner layer is from GORE TEX. The inner surface is made of thick felt with natural fur, the lower part of the liner is rubberized what allows to wear them in the camp or a tent. I used them twice in the last winter and liked it. What may be more comfortable than the felt boots with fur, Vibram bottoms under the Cordura and the membrane.
Few words.
I need to say some words how to break in shoes. The first rule: Never do in on the hunt or in the expedition because it’ll go to the bloody calluses even if you use good socks. Last year I decided to break in new mountain shoes just in two days before the serious expedition. So, I took a walk along the tourist trail for 3 hours. And got corn bladders on both legs. Fortunately, I found the plaster “the artificial skin” and it saved me. It works great.
You need to wear your shoes gradually. It’s better to put on and to wear them from time to time. It takes time while the shoes adapt to your feet. Once I even wanted to throw away one of my mountains boots because not like them. Later I broke them in and used them several seasons.
The service life of a good shoe is 3-4 seasons if you actively use them 50-60 days per a year. It doesn’t mean that they will fall apart after that time but can lose some of their features. I try to change them each 3-4 years though I didn’t like it. I get used to good things.
The summary:
The mountains shoes for off road adventures and for the heights to 4000 masl have to be:
1. Good quality (made by well-known company with high reputation);
2. The weight of one pair is from 1400 to 2000 gr (the light ones are for trekking, the heaviest models - for climbing);
3. With the ankles from 12 to 24cm;
4. Category: BC, C or trekking, backpacking;
5. With the lace-up for two zones on rings and hooks;
6. With multi-layers bottom and the rubber tread;
7. With membrane, high quality materials and feet’s fixation
We all look for universality but all our life teaches us that the attempts to create such things end in failure and we have to choose everything, including shoes, for the concrete situations and tasks.
