Muck Boots “Woody Sport”
It was all I could do to keep my composure and not run away
screaming in pure fright.
Rory did not know it,
but he had just dug up the boot of my childhood nightmares. I was once again stuck in an endless Alfalfa
field changing hand lines. I could not
move how ever hard I tried. I was held
in my nightmare by the sloppy fitting green irrigation boots. If you grew up on a farm you know exactly the
boots and nightmare I am talking about.
I was complaining about having wet feet for the last time
after setting up Elk camp. Rory of R-Dub Outdoors told me he had the perfect
boot for me to try. Rory shows me the
Muck Boots “Woody Sport”, and says “Try these and I bet you will like them”.
The only stipulation was I needed to write him up an honest
review of the boots. If you know me I am
commonly referred to as Brutally Honest, and few people have ever asked me to
clarify my opinion or beliefs. I finally
had my revenge as I smiled and grabbed the evil boots. I was going to expose these devil boots for
what my memory told me they were.
I get home and have to run out to the shop to dry the tent
and get ready for my two week Montana Elk trip.
I slip into the first boot with my jeans inside the boot top, and it
actually snaps into place like an actual lace up boot. These boots fit nicely and secure. I head out to the shop, hang tents, fold
tarps, and get out all the other hunting/camp gear taken care of. I keep thinking “Wow, these boots are
comfortable and actually feel good”. I know the faults will show themselves when I
get over to Montana and spend a couple weeks really using the boots.
On the way over to Montana I was wearing the boots, and in
the heated truck cab I had to take them off.
My feet were getting too hot after about three hours. We finally get to our camp location and it
is five degrees outside. I was wearing
normal cotton athletic socks. Our tents
are 48’x17’ with carpeting, stoves, cots, saddle racks, and more stuff then we
need. With getting the horse lines,
outhouse, and wood cut it usually takes two of us a solid eight hours of
outside type work. We had to build a
fire early to warm my buddies feet in his work boots. My feet were perfectly warm and I am loving
the boots. After the horses arrived I actually
stood in the stream with water half way up the boot on purpose while they
drank. The end result of the day was one
new pair of Muck Boots sold! Yep, to my
hunting partner who helped set up camp “I am getting a pair of those boots”.
I took a quick hike in the boots, and quickly realized I was
not going to be hunting steep terrain in these boots. There is not enough support in the ankles
and foot area for hiking steep hills and rugged terrain. On flat ground and gentle hills they were
great but as soon as toes, sides, or heels only were needed to maintain
traction the boots were done. I used the
boots every day after hunting around camp taking care of horses, chopping wood,
and general use. They flat rock and are
the perfect boot for this type of activity.
If I was on flatter terrain I would not hesitate to use these boots for
hours of walking.
After a week of not seeing any legal bulls, we pack up and
moved 150 miles away to another location.
The temperature was now 40 degrees, and we start at 7am and are not done
until 11pm with four people working. I
don’t take the boots off all day long.
My feet are super hot all day long, but there is no time to stop or
change out my boots. The end result was
some wet feet from sweat. Obviously an
all rubber boot that fits snugly is not going to breathe much. My socks were not super wet but I probably
could have squeezed a few drops of sweat out.
Three days after getting home from Elk hunting I’m on the
water after Steelhead with clients. I do
not get the luxury of sitting around the heater and warming up, so my feet have
to stay warm in comfortable boots. The
morning starts out at 20 degrees and ends at 38 degrees. I only wear my athletic cotton socks and my
feet are in heaven all day. With some
medium weight wool socks I think these boots would be good for sub-zero temps
with just minimal walking or movement.
Like all fears if we just face them we normally find we get
some weird enjoyment out of it afterwards.
In summary this boots are flat amazing for the fit and overall
versatility in cooler weather. For me
they have a couple limitations, but the positives easily surpass the negatives
three to one. This is one product you
will not be upset about buying, and you will be using them for a lot of different
activities.
- Ron Oules
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