doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Hunting OT but just a little

Kid, how high up the leg do you need them? If mid calf then there are plenty of options with Gore-Tex and Thinsulate boots being made, but if you need them higher up the leg then rubber boots may be your only option.

It's hard to get any more "marshy" than where I hunt. If there is a truly waterproof boot I've never seen it which is why I hunt in breathable waders and lug soled wading boots. There are sealskinz socks, a little more insurance inside whichever waterproof boot you choose. For leather conditioners I'm also a fan of sno-seal.

Kid, I know you said "No Rubber Boots" but the current issue, Nov./Dec. 2013, of Shooting Sportsman magazine has an article titled "The Great Rubber Boot Test."

It is a large article and seems very comprehensive. They test 9 different rubber boots. Some of the issues they test for include: On/Off, Fit, Arch Support, Comfort, Tread, Height, Weight, Intended Use, & Price.

I never realized how specialized/sophisticated rubber boots have become.

BTW, the winner or Editors Choice, was Bogs World Slam boots.

Guys, I'm truly grateful for all of your posts, but I feel bad that I didn't say from the get-go that the boots I wear are from Le Chameau, are leather (tops and bottom "shoe"), nu-buck in between, and lined with Gore-Tex.

They're about knee-high, or just below the kneecap. My wife bought them for me for an insanely low price about 9 or 10 years ago. They're great: as light as my Browning kangaroo leather boots but much more protection, and much lighter than my Danners that I bought from Cabelas in 1990 and used for only 3 seasons or so. They also work well with breeks, which I find extremely comfortable to wear as well as more maneuverable than my much loved old double tin Filson pants.

I just started feeling guilty because from the first time I wore them to hunt in I NEVER prepped them in any kind of protective way. It's true that they've held up remarkably well considering the terrain I hunt in - and have NEVER let me down by leaking or any other kind of way boots can fail.

So I got them out recently and cleaned them up even though I did that before putting them away, and I just felt like such a slug for never bothering to give them any kind of protection to keep them going forever. I think these kind of boots are meant to be worn in conditions like I wear them in but I bet 90% of the guys who wear them basically stick to clear moors and dirt roads only. No water to wade through, no blackthorns to rip at the leather. You know the type - the posers who've got the money for the expensive gear but heavens to Betsy they should soil or bump or scratch any of it!

And 1cdog, I read the article you mention just a couple nights ago. For what it's worth I have a pair of Hunter's rubber "Wellies" and I gotta say they're not too bad. The thing I like in my hunting boots is HEIGHT. 9 or 10 inches just ain't gonna make it for the places I hunt. It's a major reason I mothballed the Danners and the Browning Kangaroo's.

So I feel like I should apologize for leading everyone blind because I was too much in a hurry to specify exactly what the boots in question are. Guys, I apologize for doing this.

I must say, though, that the thread is genuinely good reading packed with good information.

I can't recall who recommended Picards, but I have a tub of that on my bench and I think I'll just smear it around the seams and work it in. Maybe then I can feel good that my boots will outlast me!

Again, a big THANKS to all of you!

Would you describe those boots as truly waterproof with the gore-tex? Given they are leather and nubuc would you have any hesitation about the wading through water as you would with a rubber boot?

BTW, I use Pecards

Amen to the above on Russell Mocassin, best boots ibn the world IMO, the preservative they recommend and so do I is Obenauf, see https://www.obenaufs.com/ I have been using it for 16 years and have never found anything else that comes close and if you have a triple vamped pair of Russell Grand Slam Sheep Hunter boots they are 100% waterproof, best, Mike

+3 on the Obenauf's. I've been using it for several years now with excellent results. That being said, once my Cabelas Kangaroo Upland Boots started leaking, even the Obenauf's (nor Nik Wax, Mink Oil, etc.) didn't fix them.

Tom

The leather boot has to be triple vamped for 100% water proofness (if there is such a word). A double vamp won�t do it in very wet conditions, best, Mike