Tall Rubber Hunting Boot Recomm.
Equipment
I'm in the market for a new pair of tall rubber hunting boots and I'm looking for some recommendations before I shell out $150+.
My old pair are Irish Setters. I was going to get them again as i was happy with them, but the online reviews I've read seem to indicate that their quality has really gone down hill.
Any input would be most welcome.
Thank you in advance.
I've worn LaCrosse Grange boots for a long time and I continue to buy them when I need a new pair. They are a little taller than most(17 inches??). No insulation though so I use them mainly for Spring Turkey and Whitetails until the temps get down around 40 degrees or so, then I go for something insulated or a "boot blanket".
I'll second everything JTV just wrote. My girlfriend and I both love ours. Mine are about worn out and are soon going to be replaced with another pair of the same, in fact, I may get both the 3.5 & 7mm weights
My wife bought me a pair of the Irish Setters with that flex heel thing. I seriously couldn’t get the danged things off my feet without a huge struggle.
I took them back and bought the Muck Arctic Pro. Love them.
I recently started a thread on this and went with the Lacross Alpha Burley's due to a lot of recommendations and I absolutely love them.
Lacrosse Alpha Burley
Fabric style boots can't handle briars and crossing bob wire fences. Snagging eats the fabric style boots up.
Mucks are in a league of there own in regards to being comfortable. Muck Artic and Artic Pro are good but the Pro model is much more stiff. I prefer the regular Artic model. With wool socks you easily make it in the single digit temps.
Mucks are my favorite. They are even great for mountain hiking, no bs. I used them all over the Cascades in the steepest country I could find. Versatile, water boots, mt. boots. go anywhere with comfort and warmth. And the tread never wears out.
Alpha Burly, I've tried a few different ones and they are the best of the bunch.
X2 buffalo 1. I'm in need of new ones this year and my setters were very comfortable but didn't hold up for sht. Going back to lacrosse and thinking about some grollia tape around the ankles . Easy to puncher in flooded timber.
Take a look at Dryshod boots.
The original designer of Muck boots started DryShod and the boot is slightly better in a few ways. To name a few off the top of my head;
-More torsionally stable under foot (less prone to twisting)
-More insulative under foot
- Stitched interior seam
For general mid-late season hunting, Muck WoodyMax are awesome. Love em.
Aeroheads here Pat did a review on them several years ago and I've been using them since....besides with a name like aeroheads how can you go wrong!
I’ve got Muck Wetlands, but they sweat my feet out bad.
I rarely wear them for that reason.
"...their quality has really gone down hill."
Unfortunately this is the world we live in and the same could be said about probably all competitor's boots, and for that matter a lot of items in general. Personally, my experience is that it applies to the beloved Lacrosse boots as well. Having said that, I'm giving a pretty new set a try that I received as a gift last year. Hopefully they change my opinion back to what it once was of Lacrosse. Mucks aren't much for the woods, hunting terrain, treestands, etc. imho.
Panther Bone - get some Alpaca socks. Like wool, it's warm when wet, but it's 3x as warm as wool. I get it from a local Alpaca farm, but you can buy them at a bunch of places now. If they need a liner, wear a thin, sport focused merino wool liner with alpaca over them.
That works for any rubber boot...
It's what I do with my mucks, and whether it's 50 or 10, my feet are warm.
David, May I suggest the LaCrosse Alpha Burly Snake boots? I got mine online for $137 I have a 15 yr old pair of Alpha Burly’s (non-snake boots) that I love but are pretty well worn out. Decided to get the snakeproof version for hunting swamps and in rainy weather. It’s a no brainer since they don’t cost anymore than the “regular” Alpha Burleys.
They are tight in the ankle, but to me that is a good thing. I just sit and cross one leg over the other(foot of one leg resting on knee of the other). Grip the heel and as I push with my hand, I pull with my leg and it comes off no problem.
Aero heads have been great for me, tougher than the Muck’s I’ve had and so much more comfortable! I did see that Muck has finally come out with a gusseted boot this year.
Mucks for me are terrible as the fit sucks. The Irish Setters are nice for fit but the durability sucks. Lacrosse Alpha Burlys are my go to. A pair lasts me about 4 years and that is really beating them up. Shawn
