Blacktusks going the way of the mammoth?

[skibum_]

I tried a play on words. Didn't really work out.

So I bought a pair of blacktusks my first year planting and they held up amazingly. I am really hard on boots and these things held up. Also very waterproof and comfy with bama socks.

Last year (3rd year) I bought another pair as I had multiple holes in the rubber. The new pair have been really shitty in comparison. Combined first two years I planted 145000 trees in Ontario ground in a total of 70 planting days. My third year I planted 120000 in 38 planting days. The boots are already starting to have holes and the heal of one boot sometimes leaks water. The boots also feel like they are built flimsier too. Has Viking decreased their quality or did I just get a bum pair. Hopefully the staple boot of treeplanting gets back in shape.

[Scooter]

I've used Black Tusks on the coast for seven or eight years now. I find that each pair usually lasts about 60-70 planting days. This may not seem like much, but I'm not working in easy ground down south. I'm usually on fairly tough blocks up on the north end of the Island, like this one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgTgeNclXWJ ... replant.ca

Usually, when a pair needs to be retired, it's because a piece of slash pieces the orange part on the bottom outside, immediately above the sole. I sent a pair home (to New Brunswick) several years ago when I thought that pair was about to be destroyed, and I figured I might be able to use those boots for a few more weeks in more forgiving ground, doing chain saw work on fairly flat ground. That "almost dead" pair has lasted me another 150+ work days.

So my assessment is that for tougher ground, these are a great boot. The life expectancy on the north island planting work means that the cost for these boots works out to about $4 or $5 per day over the long term. I've seen people wear blue vikings in the same ground, but they often go through two or three pairs in the same number of planting days.

Price: Usually between $240 and $260 depending on where you buy them.
Pros: Probably the best "medium cost" boot that I've ever worn. Caulked. Available in a lot of locations.
Drawbacks: Fairly heavy. Caulks aren't useful in all types of ground.

Here's a photo showing what they look like: http://www.replant.ca/photos/2015/www-r ... al_064.jpg
This pair had hooks on three of the top four spots for the laces, which I didn't like. They now have eyelets all the way up to the top.