Gear Reviews

Foot care is one of the most important aspects of wilderness hunting or hiking. If your feet are not warm, dry, comfortable, and supported, you will not have an enjoyable outing. I spent a lot of time researching different boot brands and I decided to go with the Kenetrek Hardscrabble Hiker. I wanted a tough, light, waterproof boot that would provide ample support while I was scaling the rugged mountains of British Columbia in Canada.

The Kenetrek Hardscrabble Hiker has a 7” boot and is made of 2.8 mm full grain leather. The light boots weigh only 3.6lbs, a reason I chose these over the Lowa Sheep Hunters. The components are top notch and the boots are made in Italy. The Windtex membrane provides the waterproofing while allowing your feet to breath. The high traction K-Talon outsoles with stiff nylon mid soles provide exceptional support and prevent slipping and ankle rolls.

I have used these boots on numerous outings now, and I highly recommend them to hunters and hikers. The boots have kept my feet dry while walking through streams, and have kept my blister free during grueling mountain adventures.

After a few hunting seasons I have noticed that these boots have stretched a little bit as they were almost too tight at first and now they are on the verge of being too lose. Even though these boots are made of high quality components, they are not as comfortable as my Danner boots that fit like a glove. Kenetrek uses a high quality leather and sole but once the sole is worn out you might as well chuck the boots out as you cannot have another sewn on as with the Danners. On one recent trip we were hunting blacktail and Roosevelt elk in the rainy pacific northwest and on day 4 I notice there was a bit of moisture inside my boot. I do not know if they were leaking or just saturated but after the boots were dried, it did not happen again. It is an issue I will be keeping a close eye on in the future because these boots have kept me totally dry in the past.

Posted November 05, 2009 by Justin Ott