Thread: What kind of boots for NZ?

What kind of boots do y’all wear when hunting/hiking? Crossing rivers/water? What do you wear when you’re going 5-10km up a catchment to capture some food or what not? I’d tell you what I have but that’s irrelevant.

I wear Salewa Rapace after I was put onto them, have been brilliant so far. Used to wear La Sportiva before that but the Salewa range suit my foot shape much better. I did use a pair of Grisport Hikers which are cheap for a couple of years too and they were actually better than the Sportiva's to be honest.

I wear Lowa tibets for everything but they are more of an off trail alpine boot.
Really not what you want if you're crossing streams and stalking in the bush. Once they get wet they weigh about 3kg and take 2-3 days to dry out.

Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

What kind of boots do y’all wear when hunting/hiking? Crossing rivers/water? What do you wear when you’re going 5-10km up a catchment to capture some food or what not? I’d tell you what I have but that’s irrelevant.

I hunted for Forest Service for five years in Te Urewera and was a senior Ranger in there for 8 years - we only ever wore Skellerup Buller rubber boots - not one of us wore anything else - we used a 5 foot strip of 6 in wide light canvas as a putty around the top to keep crap out - I had two pairs -one pair without holes when we were not going to be river crossing and one pair was prepared for river travel - we burnt two holes -low down either side of instep to get water out once we had crossed river - quarter inch hole does it - dont be tempted to put hole on front - that sucks gravel in - much of Te Urewera is accessed by river travel and 12-15 crossings are not uncommon per day - they really are a superb choice for North Island bush country and even semi farmland -very quiet to stalk in - but Bullers are not suitable for much of the South Island or rocky parts of North Island such as Kawekas -one needs a decent alpine leather boot - Bullers are for soft ground not rocky stuff - my hunting in Taranaki bullers nothing else

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

If you are going to hunt a range of terrains, you'll want two or three different grades of boot. Hunting alpine areas in a soft flexible down country boot is quite dangerous in my opinion.

you are right - I tried once to walk up a south Island ridge in Bullers when on a visit to friends in Haast - had very sore feet within a matter of hours - but did not think about that before leaving North Island and only had leather work boots at home - hard lesson very quickly -yes several different kinds are the go - our goat hunters here really liked the leather Meindls on Mt Taranaki

Crispi Colorado's for me have tried many many boots and these fit the bill perfect

https://www.crispius.com/colorado-ii-gtx

Originally Posted by Mohawk .308

Not sure if you can get bullers anymore, only see the higher cut Ashley’s. Great boots for bush stalking

yeah not sure - Farmlands had them and even our local Hunting fishing had them - I have 3 new pairs put away in the dark so wont need to buy any ever again - well unless a dishonest hunter burgles me

Meindl guffert gtx, has a wider sole than the Island Pro model. Found this great as an all-round boot. Med stiffness shank, good leather, medium rand. Covers all of the North Island hunting I get to do.

Thanks boys!!
I have two pairs of Lowa Tibets and three pairs of Salomon 4D GTX in various states of “beat to shit”. I was wondering about whether you have mid or high or even super high boots that are needed?

If you are going to be in and out of rivers quite often then I would steer away from full leather boots as being wet all the time ruins them quickly.

My son hunts in Salomon 4D GTX’s and they are a great boot for river use as they dry out quickly. I have had several pairs of expensive full leather Meindl boots that have had a short life by being constantly wet when hunting, and impossible to get dry while away on a trip. I went to Crispi Summit boots - partly because they have semi synthetic outers so are easier to dry out, and partly because the rand is stitched to the boot so won’t peel off like it did on my Meindl’s.

where in nz are you visiting?

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

If you are going to hunt a range of terrains, you'll want two or three different grades of boot. Hunting alpine areas in a soft flexible down country boot is quite dangerous in my opinion.

Couple of weekends ago, I did about 25km not accounting for elevation gains and losses, lots of river crossing zig zag stuff, proper steep tussock, scree, climbing through rotten rock, rear end of a reasonable sized young bull in the pack, did it in Ashleys. No dramas had or given. No matter how fancy your Gortex go faster boot is, tussock swamp, creeks and wet tussock will soak em out in quick time, now you have heavy wet cold weights on the end of your leg. I do tape my ankles for the genuine steep stuff though.

Bring one pair of each you have there and you'll be fine. Boots that fit is the most important consideration. Any high end boot with decent tread will suit the type of hunting you are likely to do in NZ.

Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

Thanks boys!!
I have two pairs of Lowa Tibets and three pairs of Salomon 4D GTX in various states of “beat to shit”. I was wondering about whether you have mid or high or even super high boots that are needed?

Those sound fine. Don't need high cut boots over here. No snakes to bite your shins

Originally Posted by Joe Schmo

Thanks boys!!
I have two pairs of Lowa Tibets and three pairs of Salomon 4D GTX in various states of “beat to shit”. I was wondering about whether you have mid or high or even super high boots that are needed?

Salomon are an excellent boot for NI Bush hunting.