Posted: 9/15/2008 6:28:28 PM EDT
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Hello guys. I'm in search for a new pair of winter time boots. I'm a bit early on the season but I figured I would start shopping now. My situation is I'm a college student in Ohio. Nothing sucks more than being cold having wet feet and sitting through a 2 hour lecture. Last years boots did not really do so well. Besides walking around campus I do spend a good amount of time outside. Here is where I need your help. Not sure which features I should be looking for. It very rarely gets below 10 degrees in Ohio so I don’t need super insolated boots. What gram thinsolate should I look for? Do I need thinsolate? Gore-tex good bad? Should I be looking at work boots? Hunting? As far as price I’m not really too concerned $200-ish is about as far as I’m ready to go. But I have learned how important comfortable warm feet are. Below are 2 boots that caught my eye while doing searching. Thanks for any help. Meindl Ibex Danner Pronghorn |
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Honestly I'd probably look into some pac boots for urban winter wear rather than high end all leather boots which are just going to get wet constantly from slush and snow thawing on them going outdoors to indoors all the time. Plus they are quick on and off for when you have to run outside for a minute. I've also walked many many miles in Northerner rubber boots in the winter. If you do want boots like the ones you linked too, gore-tex would be recommended to keep your feet dry. Any amount of thinsulate will probably work for you in the conditions you are going to be in, I'd probably try to stay with 200-400gm or so as the heaver thinsulate gets pretty hot and makes for less comfortable boots IMO. Get 1/2 size larger than normal to allow some extra space for your feet, you don't want constrictive boots in the winter. |
Great. Thanks a lot for your advise. After doing some quick searching I think you are right. A pac boot style boot might work better for me. Any suggestions on brand, model for a pac boot? Thanks. |
| My Sorel Conquests were absolutely awesome the winter of 2005/2006, when I was working 80 hours a week as a skilift mechanic. They're very comfortable, very warm, very waterproof, and will stay that way if you treat the leather every few weeks (I use beeswax.) Also, get a "Peet Boot Dryer" and use it every night. |
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Rocky Blizzard Stalker
These are the boots that I have had for the past couple of years. I use them for everything. I wear them pheasant hunting in the fall, walking grasslands and corn fields, and they're light enough that my legs don't get tired walking all day, and don't get so hot that my feet get cooked. I wear them sitting in the deer stand, anywhere from -10 to 50*F and have never had cold feet. I also wear them snowmobiling, and they're sturdy enough to not get ripped up on the running boards and provide enough support that I won't break my ankle doing something stupid. I even stood in the middle of a creek with them a few weeks ago while trout fishing...the water was cold enough to have ice chunks floating on top but my feet stayed warm and dry in 6" of running water. Plus they're not too bulky, so you can put them on and pull your jeans down over the top so it hardly looks like you're wearing boots. |
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I live in East TN. It gets cold around here, but like you said, not under 10 degree's for the most part. I am on my feet alot. I bought my first pair of Danners about 12 years ago, and havent bought anything else since. They are by far the most comfortable boots I've ever worn. I like the Ft louis model. It is a 10 inch all leather with gortex. I like the 200 gram thinsilate in colder weather, but at times wish I had the 400gram model. Danner makes certain models in the USA, and they also import some. I can only recoment the USA made models. The Ft louis, and Arcadia models are black military type boots with out a real pronounced heel. The treads last me about 4-5 years, and the uppers are always in good enough condition to merit re-soleing, but I havent chose that option yet. The rain forrest models are available in brown or black, and are all leather. These have a deeper tread (all are typical vibram) and a seperate, pronounced heel, like a logger boot. I have both ft louis, and rain forrest models right now, and like the flatter tread of the ft louis for walking anywere but in the woods, then I like the heel on the rain forrest model. Either of these DOES NOT have a padded collar around the top. I personally do not like padded collars.
Danners are not cheep. But, They do last a good while, and are a pleasure during that time. Good money well spent. Even though they are gortex, I use snowseal to treat the leather, and seams to ensure longevity of the leather. |
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the over boots shown here would work for you
I know it is a canadian site but you should be able to google sumthing down there N.E.O.S over boot |
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Quoted:
slight hijack... are any of the above mentioned boots ok on ice? Snow and Ice Cleats are what you want if your worried about ice. For the OP: I have several pairs of boots I use in the winter...insulated combat boots, insulated leather work boots, and pac boots. The ones I use the most is my Sorrel Pacs. I have two sets of liners for my pacs that I rotate out daily, I change out liners daily because if you're doing any walking moisture will collect in the bottom of the liners as your feet sweat and that moisture will make your feet cold not matter how good of a boot you have. Removable liners will dry out overnight but you can get replacement liners for under $30 so it's inexpensive to have a dry pair always at the ready. |
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Quoted:
Rocky Blizzard Stalker These are the boots that I have had for the past couple of years. I use them for everything. I wear them pheasant hunting in the fall, walking grasslands and corn fields, and they're light enough that my legs don't get tired walking all day, and don't get so hot that my feet get cooked. I wear them sitting in the deer stand, anywhere from -10 to 50*F and have never had cold feet. I also wear them snowmobiling, and they're sturdy enough to not get ripped up on the running boards and provide enough support that I won't break my ankle doing something stupid. I even stood in the middle of a creek with them a few weeks ago while trout fishing...the water was cold enough to have ice chunks floating on top but my feet stayed warm and dry in 6" of running water. Plus they're not too bulky, so you can put them on and pull your jeans down over the top so it hardly looks like you're wearing boots. I've got some lsightly bulkier Rocky's––the 135-below rated ones with the removable liners. They are great: warm in ALL conditions, fairly light, very comfortable. The only downside is that it is a little difficult for me to drive in them––so I generally change into a smaller boot when I drive much. I only wish I had worn them when I was deer hunting in a tree stand a few weeks ago. I thought my other insulated boots would be warm enough; they weren't. |
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I came to this thread today with the same question as the OP. The reason is my 5-7 yo Rocky's (worn maybe 5 times, stored indoors) soles complete crumbled. I nearly sprained my ankle on a hog hunt because the back corner of the heel completely chunked off in sand! I see some others mentioned here and will check them out, but felt compelled to add my $0.02 on Rocky's.
ETA: No, I'm not fat, either. 
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Quoted:
I came to this thread today with the same question as the OP. The reason is my 5-7 yo Rocky's (worn maybe 5 times, stored indoors) soles complete crumbled. I nearly sprained my ankle on a hog hunt because the back corner of the heel completely chunked off in sand! I see some others mentioned here and will check them out, but felt compelled to add my $0.02 on Rocky's. ETA: No, I'm not fat, either. Sounds like the rubber dry rotted. Try rubbing a LIGHT coat of Vaseline on the rubber before you store them. It keeps the natural oil of the rubber from evaporating. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I came to this thread today with the same question as the OP. The reason is my 5-7 yo Rocky's (worn maybe 5 times, stored indoors) soles complete crumbled. I nearly sprained my ankle on a hog hunt because the back corner of the heel completely chunked off in sand! I see some others mentioned here and will check them out, but felt compelled to add my $0.02 on Rocky's. ETA: No, I'm not fat, either. Sounds like the rubber dry rotted. Try rubbing a LIGHT coat of Vaseline on the rubber before you store them. It keeps the natural oil of the rubber from evaporating. The way it crumbled, you're surely right. Yet it showed no classics signs of dry rot. They were still a deep black with none of the gray haze or powdery feel and there was no obvious spiderweb cracking. In contrast to these boots, I have a pair of Wolverine summer weight boots that are over 15 years old (I date everything by before/after married ) that I've abused, left in the garage for a summer caked in mud, etc. and they're still going strong. They were from The Sportsman's Guide on clearance.
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| The "Mickey Mouse" boots, either the white ones or black ones, are awful for walking in, though. They're best if you're just standing still. While warm, they're basically 50 or 60 year old technology. You can get boots that are as warm or warmer that are lighter, less bulky, breathable, and much more comfortable. |
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I have a pair of Merrells - http://www.merrell.com/US/Default.aspx#store/M/M-F/12461M-23010/
They are great for everything |
| One of the guys at work has these. They seem to work great according to him. He wears them over his insulated redwing boots, puts a plastic grocery bag over his work boots first, allows him to easily slip on the over boots. |
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Quoted:
My Sorel Conquests were absolutely awesome the winter of 2005/2006, when I was working 80 hours a week as a skilift mechanic. They're very comfortable, very warm, very waterproof, and will stay that way if you treat the leather every few weeks (I use beeswax.) Also, get a "Peet Boot Dryer" and use it every night. +1 on these boots. $100 at Dick's, and they were warm and comfortable last night down to -18F actual temps. Had on ultralight polyester dress socks, under light weight acrylic dress socks, so most of the warmth was due to the boot. |