The Hunter's Boots

When planning a hunting trip the last thing in mind might be boots; everybody is concerned about the proper backpack, the best apparels, a good knife, the ideal weapon and so on, but for the experimented hunter is a well known fact that the wrong pair of boots may end your hunting season before the planned.

With this in mind, boots become a critical piece of attire that must be chosen carefully and with enough time in order to avoid discomfort on the field.

Beyond the obvious fitting considerations regarding boots as well any other pair of chooses, there are several things to keep in mind when shopping hunting boots to choose the best pair for you, otherwise feet injuries or pain will lead to a premature closure of your season.

First thing to check to avoid problems are socks. Since most of shoes are tried on the store with regular socks, doing that when trying hunting boots may lead to problems because out on the field you will not use regular socks but wool socks, liner socks or a combination of both; thus be sure to try your boots with the socks you're planning to wear when out to guarantee a proper fit not only on the store but also out in the woods.

Once you have found the perfect size and shape for your feet and socks it's time to take care about insulation.

Insulation is critical when out hunting, particularly on cold, winter mornings; thus it's mandatory to choose the proper insulation to match your body requirements and the activity you will be doing.

The above means that not everybody regulates the body temperature the same way; then people who tends to have cold feet needs more insulation than those with natural warm feet. On the other hand, it's not the same to be sitted on a duck blind for hours than stalk an elk.

On the first case your body temperature tends to drop due to limited physical activity and then you'll need more insulation, while in the second the intense movement of your muscles will pump fresh, warm blood towards your toes keeping them warmer and reducing the insulation requirements.

An easy way to estimate insulation requirements is:

Uninsulated to 200 gram: The best for early season or high activity levels.

400 gram to 800 gram: The most common boots since this insulation level adapts to almost all hunting conditions

1000 gram and up: Designed for extreme, cold wether or long lasting inactivity periods.

To fail choosing the insulation level may be the first step of a bad hunting season.

Now you are aware about the basics of fitting and insulation but a good pair of boots is further than that.

Discover what everything is about by clicking here!