|
|
|
From the NSSF
|
|
|||
Up to the ChallengeTough terrain requires a tough boot By Slaton L. White
For the past few years hunting boots have been on a serious diet, shedding pounds faster than some of the contestants on The Biggest Loser. That's because many of these boots are modeled on athletic shoes, where bulk is to be avoided at all costs. If you cater to warm-weather stalking bowhunters, who want to feel a twig underneath as they slip cautiously through the woods, light is right. But what about a rifle hunter trailing elk in the mountains? There, a light boot will kill his feet--and the hunt.
That was my dilemma last summer as I prepared for my first elk hunt in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. Since I was hunting in late October and wasn't concerned about snow and ultra-cold weather, I figured I didn't need a heavy insulated boot. But I would be walking all day and climbing steep, rocky slopes, so sturdy boots were a must. What I was looking for was a heavy-duty model capable of giving me a lot of ankle and foot support, but also flexible enough so I didn't feel I was wearing Herman Munster boots. I surprised myself by opting (at the urging of a hunting buddy who said the boots would be up to the challenge) for a pair of 9-inch-high SCARPA Liskamm GTX mountaineering boots. SCARPA is an acronym for a very long name in Italian that translates into Associated Shoe Manufacturing Company of the Asolo Mountain area of Italy. It's a family-owned business that has been building performance footwear in northern Italy for more than 70 years. It specializes, obviously, in mountaineering boots, and my pair (which weighed 5 pounds) reflected that heritage. When I first laced them up, I felt I had passed through a time portal into a different era, one in which canvas rucksacks, tweed breeches, and Borsalino hats were de rigueur. Or maybe it was just the loden green rather than the camo I wear so often.
The Liskamm GTX uses an EVA mid-sole that provides a good deal of cushioning and shock-absorbing ability. (That last item was key for me, as I've been dealing with a heel spur for months.) The boot also features a Gore-Tex liner and a full rubber rand (both of which help keep it waterproof ), as well as a full-length shank (which helps make the boot stiff enough for sidehilling in relative comfort). The ankle is flexible (again, for comfort) and the fully gusseted double tongue helps keep out annoying debris. The Vibram sole is robust and can handle just about anything elk country will throw at them. In my experience, stiff boots such as these require break-in time. I wore mine on a short antelope hunt where they broke in quickly, with no hotspots.
One morning, in particular, summed up the boot's overall performance. My guide and I had climbed up to a high meadow at first light to intercept some elk that he knew would be moving through a draw. But when we got to the top and glassed the area, we saw that the elk were about to flank us. We had to move quickly downhill and across a boulder field to get ahead of them. The uneven ground was studded with rocks, and I felt as if I were running over duckpin bowling balls. I was sure I would end up turning an ankle. And yet, the boots were up to the task. We got into position just in time, only to have a lone cow wind us and alert the herd. They fled into another drainage, where we heard a shot. Well, that's elk hunting, and this is one tough pair of boots. SRP: $369.
|
||||
     |
||||
But I quickly grew to understand the build quality of these boots. The solid construction gives the foot unparalleled support when sidehilling. Hunters often consider build quality when moving uphill, but going downhill is often the more difficult task.