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 Barry the hunter

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

oih....some of us still wear the taller version..ashleys and do our hunting in the south island....
I do have another pair of boots which usually get the nod on hot days..but if its even slightly damp is gummies all day long.... not the best choice for up on the tops,and wouldnt want to spend much time on rock...but you CAN do a little bit without issues.

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

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

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.

Originally Posted by Jukes

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.

Meindl Bhutans are mine, excellent bush boots

Originally Posted by Jukes

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.

Second this. I ran a pair of island pro’s for a few years until they were toast and they were great less a bit tight on my small toes. Just got a pair of the guffert the other day ready for my tahr trip and bloody happy with them! Lightweight flexible boots are good in places but on some of my recent south island tahr hunts I have been in places where flexible light boots would not have allowed me to go where I needed and would have just been dangerous. Great on the farm or low lying bush/terrain though!

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?

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.

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 gonetropo

where in nz are you visiting?

Hopefully the Nelson area but only a brief trip of 40 or so years.