You’ve been planning this hunting trip for months, knowing this once- in-a-lifetime chance will become a memory you’ll always cherish. You’ve cleaned your rifle so many times you could eat off the stock. Your pack has been packed and repacked down to the ounce, and you’re ready to go. This is going to be the best hunt ever. Then, just a few hours out of the trailhead you begin to blister up, and by the time you make it up to camp, you can barely walk. That’s when you realize that if your boots fail you, nothing else matters. So, how do you avoid this ever happening to you? You take advantage of my 30 years of hunting and boot building because I originally thought of designing boots when I was laid up in camp while my buddies hunted without me. My goal here is to assist you in finding the right boot for your next hunt, the right style and fit specifically for you.
Let’s start with style. First, consider the type of terrain you’ll be in. A 10-day sheep hunt way above the tree line in the Chugach Range in Alaska may require a different type of boot than a Wyoming elk hunt. Next, consider the weather, specifically the temperature range. A rut hunt for Alberta bighorn in November has far different insulation needs than a Desert sheep hunt in Baja, Mexico. How long are you going to be out for? How tough and durable do your boots have to be for one specific hunt? That’s how I suggest you look at it, one hunt at a time.
Say you know a sheep guide who has scouted terrain for a month and then led six consecutive hunts. The guide knows their sheep hunter clients may be spent after a four-day hunt, so they would never recommend the boot they wear to them. Their boot is much stiffer and heavier than they’ll need for a four-day hunt. That’s where the “one hunt at a time” strategy comes in. You need to select a boot that works for you, which may not be the same boot your guide requires. Trust me on this one, everyone usually knows who is the hunter and who is the guide after the first day of a 10-day sheep hunt.
Yes, other factors like boot height, boot weight, waterproofness, and breathability may also come into play, but begin with the big three – Terrain Type, Temperature Range, and Durability Factor. Then look at the other options as you begin your style selection process.
Okay, you’ve figured out the style that best suits the hunt, then it becomes all about fit. There are a lot of great boots on the market today, all constructed differently. They are built on different lasts that provide different experiences for the wearer, which means they all fit differently. Different lasts, different fits. Don’t just pick a style you like and try on that pair. I heartily recommend trying on several styles from different manufacturers to find the best fit for your feet.
At Kenetrek, we have not only spent a lot of time developing our exclusive lasts, but we’re continually updating and redesigning to fit the emerging needs of our customers. That’s why our lasts feature a more forgiving heel pocket that tends to fit the shape of North American feet far better than other European brands. We not only studied who our customers are, we are them. We field test every boot repeatedly, which requires us to get out and hunt as often as possible. Just saying, somebody’s got to do it. Now, back to sizing.
Kenetrek boots are sized according to the Brannock Device, the consistent standard in the shoe industry since 1925. Most high- quality boot suppliers will have the Brannock available, and you should ask for it if you don’t see it. It will truly give you the most accurate measurement. The Brannock measures your overall foot length, length of your arch, and foot width. If you can’t find a Brannock, visit our website at www.kenetrek.com and download one of our sizing charts based on the Brannock. Even if you’re looking at another brand, our charts will help you out. Sure, we’d love you to buy our boots, but we’re hunters first and we’ve experienced bad fitting boots and boot failure, and we don’t wish it on anyone.
Once you’ve picked the style you want and confirmed your measurements with the Brannock (or our print version), you’re going to try on a boot and take it for a walk around the shoe department or your living room. Stop. First, double check for toe length because even with Brannock measurements, every toe box is designed differently. Sit in a chair and put the boot on without lacing it. Then, slide your foot forward until any part of your toes just barely touch the end. Don’t smash them forward, just make light contact. Check for a finger’s width behind your heel. That’s how you’ll know that when the boots are laced snuggly, you will have adequate toe room in front of your toes. This makes all the difference in the world when you’re going downhill with weight on your back.
You’ve picked the boot and the size is right, so next, let’s “fine-tune” the boot by addressing the volume. You want your mountain boots to fit snuggly with no pinch points or pressure points, which now brings sock pairing and thickness into the equation. A lot of people prefer to use some type of snug-fitting, wicking liner sock with a fitted boot sock over the top. Some may prefer one sock, no liner. Neither is wrong as everyone is different. What really matters is choosing the right fabric. Wool blends wick foot perspiration away and insulate when damp, while cotton holds moisture against the skin and won’t dry while you’re wearing it, and it doesn’t insulate worth a darn.
At Kenetrek, we’ve used the same “design- build-test-retest” process we use for boot creation to develop a variety of soft merino wool and durable synthetic fiber blended socks specifically designed to ensure the perfect boot volume you need to spend day after day hunting in the same boot/ sock combination. We start with merino wool because it naturally provides anti- microbial protection with superb wicking properties. The synthetic fibers, like nylon, polypropylene, and lycra, protect the delicate wool, increasing the durability and structural integrity of the sock. We also build them in a variety of thicknesses and sock weights because every customer-boot pairing and hunt is unique.
Sometimes, what seems logical might not work for you. For instance, it seems to make sense to put a thicker sock on when the weather is colder for additional warmth. Wrong. That logic will defeat all the work you’ve put into finding the right fit. If you throw on a thicker sock than you’re used to using, the boot will fit too tight, which actually makes your feet colder by compressing the boot insulation and reducing circulation in your feet. I recommend finding the best fitting sock combination for your boots and always using the same sock system with those boots no matter what the temperature is.
For a lot of folks, myself included, we find that we can further fine-tune the fit and upgrade performance by adding a performance footbed. Therefore, we went back to the drawing board and testing process to build our own. Think of it as the “secret sauce” that makes Kenetrek Mountain Boots so popular. So much so that we’ve made them standard in every pair of boots we sell. Our footbeds feature strong, durable arch supports that help ensure your arches won’t suffer from collapse. That’s super critical when you’ve spent a long day hauling a heavy pack while walking on rocks and hopping over logs. We also designed pronounced heel cups to give you that “cradled” feeling by eliminating heel movement, especially when sidehilling. We think of them as “anti-blister” technology.
Remember, take the time up front to think about Terrain Type, Temperature Range, and Durability Factor in regard to the specific hunt you’re going on. Go through the boot selection and fitting process and find a boot- sock combo that works for you, and then stick with it. It’s the best way to ensure your next hunting trip will be all that you want it to be. There’s nothing better than all day comfort, which starts from the ground up. Good luck, and happy hunting!
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