TheMAITS thread: “New hunter looking for end of season deals” has brought tup a long standing question for me.
In his thread “TheMAIT” mentions knee high boots in a list of items his buddy wants…..
I’ve been curious for some time as to why so many hunters have gone to 18” pull on boots, even hunters in my area where they would rarely encounter water high enough to warrant wearing them. And do any of them come with pull out liners? Liners are something I consider a necessity. I bring several pair of boots and alternate them as I let the sweat dry out of the liners from the day before.
I know they have zippers in the side now to make them easier to get on/off but seems to me hunters went to them even before the zipper.
I’ll never forget my buddy Oscar struggling to get his off. He was not young and I thought he was going to have a heart attack before he got them off. And the reason he was having a hard time is because they were good boots and the foot area fit his foot. The cheap ones came off easily because they had no shape, you just had a big hole where your foot fit. I’ve owned a few pair.
The only well fitting pull ons I ever owned that came off/on easily were two pair of OLD commercial Neoprene slaughter house boots I picked up at a rummage sale. I used them for yard boots. They came off easily because there was no lining and the Neoprene surface characteristics allowed the boot to slide off easily even though they fit like a glove. I have heard that kind of Neoprene is long gone because it was made from coal oil, and nowadays it’s too expensive to produce as coal use has dropped.
Back in the day if you were a serious hare hunter you had to stand in melting snow (melting snow will eventually go through leather no matter how it’s treated) and the all rubber (uninsulated) Servis 12” lace up was the boot.
The Servis were uninsulated but for hare hunting you moved a lot so they worked well. I still have a pair of the Servis lace ups for sentimental reasons along with a Red Head canvas hunting coat I wore to rags, etc. That boot could grow on you. They fit like a good pair of shoes. To get the fit and walking comfort though the folding part was thin and sticks could poke a hole in that area.
We fixed that though by applying new duct tape to the vulnerable area every time we went out. I wrote to Servis about it and they sent me a nice letter with a new pair of boots!
However, I should mention there were various brands of black Neoprene lace ups before Servis that wore like iron. I have found them at rummage sales.
Then Red Ball came out with an insulated 12” rubber lace up. Anyone remember the yellow and hunter orange (that quickly faded to pink) ones? I owned both the yellow and pink ones. I wish I had saved them so I could post a picture for laughs. The fit of these boots was terrible and I never liked them.
Then Cabela’s came out with a rubber insulated lace up in 12” and 18” and that boot had shape and fit. I went through two pair of the 12” from deteriorating in the folding area and ripped a hole in the toe of the 18” pair.
Once my hare hunting days were over I realized that even though a pair of lace ups had holes/tears in the folding area they were still fine for walking where you didn’t expect to encounter much water.
I still have the Cabela’s 12” lace ups (with the fold up area in shreds) I wear a lot for casual walking in the woods, especially in the Spring. It makes me wish I had saved more of those old boots.
I never liked the extra height of the 18” pair and that’s part of the reason I’m wondering why so many have gone to this higher boot?
It was the crossbow, December hunting and melting snow days that sent me looking for a new pair of 12” rubber lace ups at Gander Mountain some five years ago.
I couldn’t believe all the rubber boots were knee high pull ons! So, I ask the kid clerk with another kid clerk in tow if they had any 12” rubber lace ups. They both screw up their faces and the one incredulously says “THEY’D LEAK” as he looks to his buddy and they exchange this “do you believe this guy” glance. It was a good thing I was in a good mood that day, in my usual mood after I got done with the manager they’d both been out the door.
So, I go online and see that Bass Pro Shops has them (in vivid camo of course). Not only in 12” rubber lace up, but with 1200 gram liners and STUDDED soles! When I saw the studded soles I had to think of the two times I went flat on my back on the county road and the hundred or so times I almost did.
And the thousand or so times I would need to get a little running start to get over some knolls with my cart on way to my blind. I didn’t always make it up those knolls without falling. I finally came up with putting a long rope on the cart handle, climb up the knoll off to the side and then pull the cart up with the rope.
I LOVE these new RED HEAD boots, even though I only wear them in melting snow or icy conditions.
For other conditions I have a choice of probably 30 pair of high end Sorel type boots, all bought at rummage sales over the years and never paid over $5 for any of them. I can’t pass them up!
My last pair I bought was a pair of U.S.A. made LaCrosse Iceman for $2.00! I walked away from that rummage sale with at least $500 of quality hunting gear for $35!
They even threw in a beautifully hand made and painted wooden porch ornament (I wouldn’t put it out in the weather) about 3 foot high of a kid sitting with a fishing pole, a seagull in back of him on three 4” cedar poles tied with hemp rope to simulate a docking spile, etc. I couldn’t believe they would sell such a thing! The hunting gear I could understand, the camo patterns were out of style.
My all time favorite boots (I usually take up four pair to let the liners dry out, etc.) are my Canadian Sorels that are over 50 years old.
Some may remember when Canadian Sorels came in “regular” or “premium”. The premiums were $10 more than the regulars but by looking at them you had to wonder why.
To a young guy who didn’t know leather or about arch support, etc. they looked the same except the premiums had a red band about 1/4” wide around them just above the foot arch area.
I bought the regular pair (still have them) then I ran into a pair of the old premiums at a rummage sale for $1.00! about 20 years ago.
It’s amazing how you can put on boots like this or even high end gear/clothes in a pitch black room and know it’s quality. I love them old Sorels and only wear them when it’s totally dry snow or just damp ground.
Getting back to them knee high boots…why are you guys wearing them?
In his thread “TheMAIT” mentions knee high boots in a list of items his buddy wants…..
I’ve been curious for some time as to why so many hunters have gone to 18” pull on boots, even hunters in my area where they would rarely encounter water high enough to warrant wearing them. And do any of them come with pull out liners? Liners are something I consider a necessity. I bring several pair of boots and alternate them as I let the sweat dry out of the liners from the day before.
I know they have zippers in the side now to make them easier to get on/off but seems to me hunters went to them even before the zipper.
I’ll never forget my buddy Oscar struggling to get his off. He was not young and I thought he was going to have a heart attack before he got them off. And the reason he was having a hard time is because they were good boots and the foot area fit his foot. The cheap ones came off easily because they had no shape, you just had a big hole where your foot fit. I’ve owned a few pair.
The only well fitting pull ons I ever owned that came off/on easily were two pair of OLD commercial Neoprene slaughter house boots I picked up at a rummage sale. I used them for yard boots. They came off easily because there was no lining and the Neoprene surface characteristics allowed the boot to slide off easily even though they fit like a glove. I have heard that kind of Neoprene is long gone because it was made from coal oil, and nowadays it’s too expensive to produce as coal use has dropped.
Back in the day if you were a serious hare hunter you had to stand in melting snow (melting snow will eventually go through leather no matter how it’s treated) and the all rubber (uninsulated) Servis 12” lace up was the boot.
The Servis were uninsulated but for hare hunting you moved a lot so they worked well. I still have a pair of the Servis lace ups for sentimental reasons along with a Red Head canvas hunting coat I wore to rags, etc. That boot could grow on you. They fit like a good pair of shoes. To get the fit and walking comfort though the folding part was thin and sticks could poke a hole in that area.
We fixed that though by applying new duct tape to the vulnerable area every time we went out. I wrote to Servis about it and they sent me a nice letter with a new pair of boots!
However, I should mention there were various brands of black Neoprene lace ups before Servis that wore like iron. I have found them at rummage sales.
Then Red Ball came out with an insulated 12” rubber lace up. Anyone remember the yellow and hunter orange (that quickly faded to pink) ones? I owned both the yellow and pink ones. I wish I had saved them so I could post a picture for laughs. The fit of these boots was terrible and I never liked them.
Then Cabela’s came out with a rubber insulated lace up in 12” and 18” and that boot had shape and fit. I went through two pair of the 12” from deteriorating in the folding area and ripped a hole in the toe of the 18” pair.
Once my hare hunting days were over I realized that even though a pair of lace ups had holes/tears in the folding area they were still fine for walking where you didn’t expect to encounter much water.
I still have the Cabela’s 12” lace ups (with the fold up area in shreds) I wear a lot for casual walking in the woods, especially in the Spring. It makes me wish I had saved more of those old boots.
I never liked the extra height of the 18” pair and that’s part of the reason I’m wondering why so many have gone to this higher boot?
It was the crossbow, December hunting and melting snow days that sent me looking for a new pair of 12” rubber lace ups at Gander Mountain some five years ago.
I couldn’t believe all the rubber boots were knee high pull ons! So, I ask the kid clerk with another kid clerk in tow if they had any 12” rubber lace ups. They both screw up their faces and the one incredulously says “THEY’D LEAK” as he looks to his buddy and they exchange this “do you believe this guy” glance. It was a good thing I was in a good mood that day, in my usual mood after I got done with the manager they’d both been out the door.
So, I go online and see that Bass Pro Shops has them (in vivid camo of course). Not only in 12” rubber lace up, but with 1200 gram liners and STUDDED soles! When I saw the studded soles I had to think of the two times I went flat on my back on the county road and the hundred or so times I almost did.
And the thousand or so times I would need to get a little running start to get over some knolls with my cart on way to my blind. I didn’t always make it up those knolls without falling. I finally came up with putting a long rope on the cart handle, climb up the knoll off to the side and then pull the cart up with the rope.
I LOVE these new RED HEAD boots, even though I only wear them in melting snow or icy conditions.
For other conditions I have a choice of probably 30 pair of high end Sorel type boots, all bought at rummage sales over the years and never paid over $5 for any of them. I can’t pass them up!
My last pair I bought was a pair of U.S.A. made LaCrosse Iceman for $2.00! I walked away from that rummage sale with at least $500 of quality hunting gear for $35!
They even threw in a beautifully hand made and painted wooden porch ornament (I wouldn’t put it out in the weather) about 3 foot high of a kid sitting with a fishing pole, a seagull in back of him on three 4” cedar poles tied with hemp rope to simulate a docking spile, etc. I couldn’t believe they would sell such a thing! The hunting gear I could understand, the camo patterns were out of style.
My all time favorite boots (I usually take up four pair to let the liners dry out, etc.) are my Canadian Sorels that are over 50 years old.
Some may remember when Canadian Sorels came in “regular” or “premium”. The premiums were $10 more than the regulars but by looking at them you had to wonder why.
To a young guy who didn’t know leather or about arch support, etc. they looked the same except the premiums had a red band about 1/4” wide around them just above the foot arch area.
I bought the regular pair (still have them) then I ran into a pair of the old premiums at a rummage sale for $1.00! about 20 years ago.
It’s amazing how you can put on boots like this or even high end gear/clothes in a pitch black room and know it’s quality. I love them old Sorels and only wear them when it’s totally dry snow or just damp ground.
Getting back to them knee high boots…why are you guys wearing them?
Just curious....
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