Long Range Hunting Footwear Kenetreck Boots

[Ddwarren]

I have to replace my old american made Rockys that are 8 years old and need to find some new ones. Unfortunately, all the crap I can find is made in China. I heard about some Italian made boots for a Bozeman company called KiniTrek. Has anybody heard about them?

 

[cinch]

I have heard a lot of good about them. They are expensive, but what I've heard worth the money. I plan on buying a pair next time I get to a Sportsman Warehouse.

 

[Mark Hampton]

I just bought a pair earlier this year. I believe I have the hardscrable hikers, it's the 7 inch hiking boot. Just returned from British Columbia on a stone sheep hunt. They are a well-made boot and great for mountain hunting. I am very satisfied with these boots.

 

[KenetrekGirl]

OK, so by the looks of my name, maybe I am slightly partial to the boots. Kenetrek is by far the very best hunting boots available on the market. We run a succesful guiding operation in British Columbia. My husband and I have been wearing Kenetrek boots for the past six years. I even had to wear a pair out of the box with no time to break them in. They were as comfortable the first day as they are now! We have many of the different styles and types. We are not without them. All our guides are now wearing them as well. They are made with the highest quality materials, and designed for comfort.
They have a facebook page as well as a newsletter sign up on their website. If you sign up for both you will be sure to get emails and updates with information on the products as well as promotional discounts!

www.facebook.com/kenetrek www.kenetrek.com

 

[Shooter264]

+1 on the Kenetreks. They are by far the best boot built. I used to blow through a pair of Danners every year even when they were built in the good ol USA. I had one pair of the Chinese ones and they were complete junk!! I am on my Third year on the Kenetrek Mountain extremes and they are still in good shape. The break in time is like uh 5 minutes or so and they are still comfortable after a 10 hour grind.. You wont be dissatisfied.

 

[MTBULLET]

+1 on the KENETREK. i use the non insulated for work/play/hunting. going to africa in a week, will let you know how i like them in that environment. Also, I had the same miserable experience with Danner, two years old, ruined 'em in Panama. JUNK

 

[Villreinjeger]

I'm thinking of using a pair of the Hardscrabble or Desert Guide for the alpine hunting on the Western Coast og New Zealand. I suppose the wear on the boots Will be somewhat similar to BC?
I Wonder if the sole to leather bond on the sides on the Desert guide is strong enough? The rubber band on the Hardscrabble is a better solution I think.
It is more rainy in NZ, so I might consider the Desert Guide as it probably dry up again quicker. Wet boots are inevitable, so have mixed experience with insulated membrane boots... Wet boots for weeks on end destroys them pretty quick.. The Desert Guide seems ideal, provided it is greased up properly. I also tend to have warm feet, so don't like the membraneboots for that reason too.

How is the fit compared with other brands like Scarpa, Meindl, HanWag, kayland etc?

I have a wide forefoot, and don't have any stores selling them here in Norway, som might take the chance to order a pair..

 

[kc]

My foot was crushed, so I went through many pares of boots and they damaged my skin graft.
I got with Cabelas and bought a pair of MEINDL boots and its been a love afair.
One foot is a 8 1/2EEE and the other is 10D but I have never had a blister or a drop of blood from the liners in my boot they have been the best boots out there..just trust me when you go to Cabelas try on a pair.

 

[mtbohunter]

When Kenetreck started they went to Italy to search out and learn how to build good quality boots. They have been around for about 8 or 9 years and have made really nice boots as of late. Crispi on the other hand has been building mountaineering, trekking, hunting and hiking boots since the early 70's in their own factory in Italy and have innovated most boot designs since that time.

I was lucky enough to search out Crispi's about a year ago and now own two pair in different styles. The Ascent Plus GTX for early season {non insulated trekking} and the Hunter HTG GTX for late season. Right out of the box, with heavy packs on every time and have to say the innovator is the best boot maker on the planet!
I have had many different Mendl's in the past and none of them have stood up like the Crispi's I now own. The Mendl Perfect hiker is pure comfort out of the box because of the cork foot bed but only lasted one long season. I have logged over a hundred miles this year in Crispi's with absolutely no complaints in either comfort or durability! Go with the innovator! Everyone else is trying to catch up.

 

[FAL Shot]

The Italians make most of the high end hiking, skiing, hunting and mountaineering boots. My Telemark ski boots are made by Scarpa. Other excellent brands are Crispi and Garmont. These companies make many kinds of boots. Choose by how they fit your foot. Scarpa has a reputation in ski boots as fitting narrow feet, and Garmont as fitting wide feet best. I guess Crispi brings up the middle ground.

My motorcycle boots are also made in Italy by TCX. They are light years ahead of cheap Chinese motorcycle boots. My Danner Ft. Lewis boots are authorized military motorcycle boots, but my TCX boots are much better.

Danner boots are good, but what they want for the American made Danners will get you into or almost into the top end Italian boots. A Chevrolet Corvette is a nice sports car, but what we would want even more would be a Ferrari. The top end Italian boots are Ferraris for your feet. However, an American Danner should beat anything coming out of China.

Not as well known as Danner, the Cove Shoe Company has been building boots in the USA for the military as good as Danner at a lower price. The local Army-Navy store sells a lot of them to police and other service personnel. They are nice, but they are still not Italian. Worth looking into. The make the Tanker boots and Army jump boots, among other styles.

If you want a lower price than Italian, look at boots coming out of Romania. The ski boot manufacturers are having some of their boots made in Romania. I have some Rossignol cross country ski boots made in Romania, and they are good quality for $200. The workmanship seems almost as good as Italian. To stay competitive, the Italian manufacturers are sending some of their production there. The Austrian Fischer ski company now has many of their skis made in Romania, and Fischer takes more Nordic skiing wins than all other brands combined. Eastern Europe seems to be the new place to build top quality footwear at a reasonable price.

My LL Bean Cresta hikers were once made in Italy. The replacement pair I recently ordered says made in Romania. I can't tell any appreciable difference between the Italian and Romanian boots. Style and weight are identical, and they feel the same on my feet.

Just keep your money and your feet out of China, whatever you do.