Best Boots for Hiking and Hunting
Category: article
Aug 29th, 2022 by Keith Worrall
Modified Aug 29th, 2022 at 10:33 PM
Best Boots for Hiking and Hunting
Reliable footwear is a must-have for every outdoor enthusiast who cares about their health and comfort. But while choosing regular footwear for dry, warm weather is relatively easy, feature-rich quality performance boots are often hard to find. Consider the days of the grinding-down search for ideal boots over. Presenting the Muck boots.
In this article, we explain why having a pair of waterproof Muck boots is good for you, why they stand out, and what styles of Muck boots are best for hunting and hiking. By the way, all the mentioned boots are offered for sale on GritrOutdoors.com, a trusted outdoor sports store.
About Muck Boots
Muck Boot Company has been building footwear since 1999. One year before the foundation, Jim Donohue tried creating his first design using a combination of neoprene and rubber to achieve the highest level of protection and comfort. He wasn’t quite happy with his all-rubber farm boots because they were heavy, stiff, and impermeable, causing muscle strain, excessive sweating, and blisters. Using neoprene as a core material was smart. And here’s why.
First of all, neoprene breathes. Yes, its breathing capability is not like that of polyester, but you’ll hardly find a material that provides the same level of breathability and 100% waterproofing. Another benefit is that neoprene is pliable. With rubber boots, your feet are always struggling stiffness, while when snug-wrapped with neoprene, feet bend naturally and don’t slip back and forth. Weight is another factor in favor of neoprene.
So, the classic Muck boot build is a scuba-grade neoprene bootie, running all the way down from the recessed collar to the toes, covered with rubber overlays for protection. The seams are cemented and rubber-sealed to avoid leaks.
Now, let’s move on to the review of the best women’s and men’s Muck boots for hunting and hiking.
Top 5 Hiking and Hunting Muck Boots
Arctic Pro
We all agree that stand hunters need the most effective protection from cold. When you’re up on a treestand waiting for that buck in the late season, you can’t move to get your blood going, which means cold creeps in faster, arresting your toes and making you unfocused. Constant fixation on cold feet and overall body discomfort are definitely not what you want to experience while hunting.
The Muck Boot Arctic Pro should be a choice of every avid late-season stand hunter because these boots deliver comfort within the temperature range from -60°F to 30°F thanks to an 8mm thick neoprene layer with a fleece liner for additional warmth and a couple of millimeters of thermal foam under the foot.
A pair of good winter boots should provide sufficient traction on all terrains, be it ice, snow, or a treestand ladder. So, you’ll be happy to know that the Arctic Pro features the Vibram Arctic Grip advanced full-rubber cold-weather gripping system with the XS Trek Evo compound that increases durability and enhances grip on both dry and wet surfaces.
Once you combine these insulated Muck boots with wool socks known for effective moisture wicking, you’ll become a more productive and successful hunter.
Chore Cool
The Chore series is the bread and butter of Muck Boot. It was the first design Jim Donohue created in the basement of his house and concurrently the company’s best-selling product. Simple and functional, they were and remain right for many people – farmers, ranchers, equestrians, hunters, anglers, gardeners, and so on.
The Muck Boot Chore series includes many styles for different temperatures, but the Chore Cool was designed to keep your feet cool in hot weather thanks to the 4mm thick neoprene bootie and a specialty liner made with a material possessing excellent moisture-wicking qualities, absorbing sweat from your feet and pulling it to the neoprene, from where it evaporates. The comfort range for this footwear is from subfreezing to 65°F.
So, these boots are perfect for early- and mid-season hunters who want lightweight, pliable, waterproof boots.
Outscape Chelsea
Slip-on and lace-up boots are conventional, and that’s totally fine. But what if you want something closer to our casual footwear? Well, in 2020, Muck presented its new collection of footwear that combines the look and comfort of a sneaker with the level of waterproofing Muck Boot is known for – the Outscape waterproof sneakers.
The Outscape Chelsea is ideal for hiking and hunting when you want to keep it light in warm, wet weather. It’s an ankle-high slip-on design with rubber reinforcements in the toe and heel areas. The memory-foam footbed controls odor and manages moisture to keep your feet cool and dry.
The Outscape Chelsea is great for those who don’t want to put on heavier boots every time they go outside during warm wet weather.
Apex Mid Zip
While the Outscape Chelsea are sneakers designed for hunting and hiking in flat country, the Apex Mid Zip waterproof boot provides the support you expect from boots for traveling in rugged terrain with lightweight, agile comfort. The EVA midsole absorbs shock, while the outsole is heavily lugged for better traction. The antimicrobial footbed is cushioned with memory foam.
This Muck Boot is a zippered ankle design with a velcro-stretch scree collar for better fit and protection from debris coming into the boot from above. The zipper itself is also completely waterproof.
Wetland Pro Snake
Some lands are densely populated by venomous snakes. And while snakes tend not to attack until the danger is vivid, you may easily frighten them when simply passing by too close. That’s why some outdoor enthusiasts living in such lands prefer tall boots in strike-resistant design, like the Muck Boot Wetland Pro Snake.
Unlike the Chore, these Wetlands have full-rubber coverage to the top and a height of 17.3 inches, providing ultimate snake protection. Designed to provide comfort within the temperature range from subfreezing to 65°F, the 5mm thick neoprene bootie has an air mesh lining for breathability.
As you see, Muck Boot has an array of waterproof boots and sneakers to protect you whatever the weather and conditions. The company’s footwear is technological, multilayered, functional, and comfortable. No wonder so many hikers and hunters trust their feet to Muck Boot.