Footwear

C

Chignecto Woodsman

Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
746
What do you wear on your feet? Here we have a fairly wet fall, and wet-cold winters. I wear cheap sneakers, work boots, or Kamik hunting rubbers a lot of the time, depending on the situation. Last year I made some mukluks, but I'm considering some of the Hoffman's Calk pac boots. I think I'm fine without safety boots most of the time, but would like to have them for bucking.

What do you wear? Any experience with Hoffman's boots?
 
I wear sneaks, or trail running shoes, or hiking boots. Hiking boots with thick socks are useless when it's cold enough. I picked these up recently but have not worn them yet, bet they will be nice and warm. And dry.

 
I wear a lot of differant boots. When chopping wood usually just 8 inch work boots. Hunting muckboots and hiking merrells
 
Yeah, something with a liner is crucial here much of the time. When dry and warm I definitely like sneakers since they're so light, but don't feel comfortable bucking with them.
 
I wear a variety of boots. None are insulated for cold, although my firemen's boots are insulated against heat.:D Insulated boots are not worth the cost for the 3 days of winter we typically have in Texas. :D When it's muddy, for barn yard and garden work I wear the firemen's boots, w/ steel toe, steel shank and knee high (left over from when I retired as a volunteer fireman). They were literally required footwear this past spring when I got 19.5 inches of rain in May and would sink into our gooey mud in the blackberry patch as much as 6 or 7 inches. Any other footwear would have been sucked right off.

When working with "long" tools, e.g., axes, post hole diggers, mauls, sledge hammers, etc., I wear steel toed work boots.
 
jblyttle said:
I wear sneaks, or trail running shoes, or hiking boots. Hiking boots with thick socks are useless when it's cold enough. I picked these up recently but have not worn them yet, bet they will be nice and warm. And dry.

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Is this a vintage pair of Canadian made Caribou model Sorels? They sort-of still exist in brand name and outward form but are not made of rubber anymore and crafted in Malaysia as of 20 years ago. Most folks carried a spare pair of felt liners in their pack so that a dry pair was on hand to replace the wet or sweat-soaked ones in the boot halfway through the day. And the liners easily pulled out for washing, and for drying overnight in front of the stove or over the heat register.
 
Hoffmans are great! It took me 20 years to wear out a pair. I got the air Bob sole instead of caulks. Caulks transfer too much cold to your feet, or more correctly, transfer too much of your body heat to the ground. Great traction with the air bobs. It's not as good as caulks but it's easier on your knees.

I got my wife a pair at the same time I got mine. Hers still look new. She doesn't work in the woods though. Hoffmann would be my choice for a winter boot. Good tight fit and warm. I put wool felt insoles in mine. They have been great. I think I paid $90 for them in 1991. I would buy a second pair if I don't retire first.
 
I'm usually wearing a pair of simple Baffin rubber boots with some good insoles in 'em. It's a matter of convenience as much as anything else 'round the homestead.
 
bbforstr said:
Hoffmans are great! It took me 20 years to wear out a pair. I got the air Bob sole instead of caulks. Caulks transfer too much cold to your feet, or more correctly, transfer too much of your body heat to the ground. Great traction with the air bobs. It's not as good as caulks but it's easier on your knees.

I got my wife a pair at the same time I got mine. Hers still look new. She doesn't work in the woods though. Hoffmann would be my choice for a winter boot. Good tight fit and warm. I put wool felt insoles in mine. They have been great. I think I paid $90 for them in 1991. I would buy a second pair if I don't retire first.
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That's a good point about the heat transfer and knees. Fortytwo mentions insoles which are crucial in any boot, you can even double up in some boots. Would good insoles help with caulks?

In my situation I would be using them primarily for the wet cold, when some snow is on the ground. And here there are a lot of rolling hills, brook territory, so that is a big reason for considering caulks. As well as pretty frequent ice storms. Tough decision. Caring for the back and knees is a big reason I like the lighter footwear.

Good to hear yours have lasted so many years, you got your money's worth. I have heard that even some of the top American companies have fallen off in leather and rubber quality, but Hoffman's are supposed to be the best for pacs. If I got even five years out of them I think it'd be worth it compared to most of the cheap stuff out there. Thanks.
 
I wear work boots 365 almost 24/7 :) except when muck boots are more appropriate. Hate insulation, but will wear wool socks if near/ below zero or markedly cold and wet, especially with mucks.
 
Yeah I don't like insulation in boots. I like for there to be enough room in my boots for insulation to be optional. In winter I wear thick wool socks and that does the job nicely.
 
I like Timberland or Redwing boots for brush busting. In wet weather, I like Muck chore boots.
 
300Six said:
Is this a vintage pair of Canadian made Caribou model Sorels? They sort-of still exist in brand name and outward form but are not made of rubber anymore and crafted in Malaysia as of 20 years ago. Most folks carried a spare pair of felt liners in their pack so that a dry pair was on hand to replace the wet or sweat-soaked ones in the boot halfway through the day. And the liners easily pulled out for washing, and for drying overnight in front of the stove or over the heat register.
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I guess I got luck to find such old boots in very nice condition. I got these for $12 at a yardsale. I never thought to buy used footwear before, but my feet were cold on walks in the woods last year and I figured what the heck, They look to be in great shape and boots like these are not cheap.



 
I have 3-4 pairs of http://www.oshatoes.com/ from work when we were looking at buying a company that required steel toe on their production floor. I wear mostly really old Vasque Sundowner boots with the oshatoes, year round.

EDIT: I have absolutely no affiliation to that company however they are very comfortable whether I'm wearing dress shoes or work boots and if it weren't for them I'd have a webbed left foot (from an axe) as of about six years ago and missing toes on my right foot as of about four years ago (from a pallet falling from a forklift). They work.

EDIT #2: For some unknown reason I'll ride a motorcycle in flip-flops but I refuse to swing an axe without proper footwear, gloves and eye protection.
 
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Now those are interesting. I was thinking of something to just slip on for bucking, and I didn't really want to invest in chainmail cause it's probably hard on feet, socks, and boots. Possibly those metal plates from chainsaw boots could be rigged as well. Or something that could easily slip over mukluks and hold in place.

I see they have these:
http://www.oshatoes.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=95&idcategory=29

But I also hate carrying extra things around. Have to look into the weight difference more.
 
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I go barefoot and wear rubber flip flops through the summer up until the snow. In the fall I'll wear warm socks and those rubber swamp slippers as long as the bush is dry or frozen with a dusting of snow. After that its winter boots for the winter.
 
jblyttle said:
I guess I got luck to find such old boots in very nice condition. I got these for $12 at a yardsale. I never thought to buy used footwear before, but my feet were cold on walks in the woods last year and I figured what the heck, They look to be in great shape and boots like these are not cheap.
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Good score! Hardly any miles on those 20-30 year old boots. Sorels such as these cost about $125 twenty five years ago. Difference between the Caribou and the Chieftain must have been with regard to the tread; Caribous had Vibram-type hiker's soles. Anyway the unfortunate part of all this is that natural rubber dries out and becomes brittle with age. My prized boots (I actually used mine every fall and winter) began to crack and split and the soles became so hard they didn't 'purchase' on smooth concrete, rocks or pavement anymore. After 25 years I had to throw them out. As of yet I don't have suitable replacements either.
 
I have a pair of Olive Drab Sorels, that I got in Mass about 30+ years ago with Vibram soles, just put some leather dressing on about once a year, and have Wiggy liners. Wore them in Fairbanks a few years back and it was -25 degrees F. Did not spend a lot of time outdoors, but had no problems with cold feet. I saw an article a few days ago that LL Bean was falling behind in production of their rubber bottom boots and had to put on another crew. Reportedly they have sold 450,000 this year and need another 100,000 to meet demand. Amazed me. John
 
So how do I get 30 years out of a boot? That's as old as I am, and everything only seems to last a few years these days.

My Zamberlans are going longer than that, although they are special use and well cared for.
 
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