Boots for 2016 Season

[greenspace5700]

Women of replant.ca, what boots have you worn planting? Last season, my rookie season, I made the mistake of wearing Dakota boots from Marks and my feet suffered. I want to get new boots but I have no clue what kind I should consider or which are the best. I am also wondering about planting in Blundstones. Any suggestions are helpful!

[Scooter]

What size are your feet? That may limit your options. I find that the forestry industry is not very accommodating to female boot sizes as far as regular "professional" forestry footwear is concerned.

[greenspace5700]

I am a size 7 / 8 womens.

[Cassisonfire]

I am sold to the Zamberlan hiking boots, really comfy and easy to break in compare to the asolo's. Not as heavy duty as others but they sure treat your feet well

[ohsnap]

I have child like feet, my footwear sizing ranges between size 4 and size 6.5 depending on the manufacturer. Scooter isn't kidding with limited options. If you've got 7/8 sizing, your options are infinitely larger than mine, because you can even wear men's boots once you figure out the sizing translation.

I usually have more than one pair of boots on the go (last year I had four pairs of hikers, one was a garage sale find which didn't work out, another was on their last year and the other two I'm still holding on to). That's not including rubbers. Some might say ridiculous, but footwear is ULTRA important.

I don't like stiff boots like the mountaineering style, I go for a softer sole so I can maneuver a little more in my foot movement. The best pairs of boots I've ever had were Aku's. I got them somewhere in Quebec, at one point MEC sold them, but I haven't seen the model I like in a few years. Straight leather - not a lot of stitching, means they last more than one season. The other pair I find really comfortable are keen's, tho those don't always even last one full season, but they're good for days when you're not using your kicker.

I'm realizing I'm down to two pairs of boots now, neither of which will last a season, so I'll be on the search for a new set soon. I did find a pair of old school vikings (size 4!!) at the end of last year. Did some end of season work at the office and found a gold mine for old abandoned equipment.

A lot of brinkman planters wore blundstones - I never quite understood tho, there's next to no ankle support in them. To each their own.

[fluffer]

If your feet are not super picky I suggest some rubber boots. Cheap, easy to find, easy to replace, waterproof. Last year I scored a pair of great reinforced ones at Surplus Herbies for 15$ that were a godsend.

Otherwise old combat boots (mark 3 canadian combat boots on google) can be somewhat easy to find although they are becoming somewhat rare (Surplus Herbies were selling them for 75$ last year, Ha!).

Or pickup some hikers at a Thrift store.

Or go spend 300$ for hikers or expensive boots or two. I guess it can be worth it if you don't ever use your feet and they last a couple seasons. For myself it was never worthwhile and it was easier to use the more available, cheaper options since they never bothered me. Worth a try.

[Aeryk]

+1 for MK 3 combat boots. Been using them fore various reasons my whole life including planting. I recommend getting a toe cap for them though (this goes for any leather boot). Seriously considering getting my latest pair calked because the upper are sooo good. Plus they look HaF