F
Field Ethos
Guest
By Keith Wood
COVID changed my life. No, I didn’t suffer a long, painful illness or watch a loved one die on a ventilator, but I did spend a lot of time in flip-flops. While this may seem like a fantastic way to waste away a year or two, the effects on my feet were far from ideal. What little arches I had fell and my feet now splay out like those of Aboriginal tribesman after a lifetime spent barefoot.
When the masks came off, I was left with a closet full of boots that either didn’t fit at all or left me feeling like I was walking with a nail in my foot. A brand-new pair of Meindl Vakuum Hunters sat worthlessly in my closet. With hunts on the horizon, I had to make a plan. The doc injected some magic potion and suggested shoes and boots that gave my feet some room up front. Anything that cramped my toes was out of the question.
Meindl is great about letting you order multiple sizes and return the ones that don’t fit but, since I was driving cross-country, I decided to visit their Sydney, Nebraska showroom. The pros there suggested the Comfort Fit series, which offers more room in the toe box for feet ravaged by COVID and, presumably, other ailments. The heel is held securely and won’t slip. They felt great as soon as I slipped them on.
Since I was supposed to be headed to Tajikistan in December, I opted for the one of the more aggressive boots in the lineup: the Comfort Fit Extreme. These sturdy boots combine nubuck leather uppers with bulletproof, full rubber rands. This boot flexes where it needs to and is rigid in all the right places.
Blisters require both moisture and friction, so sweaty feet are a recipe for disaster on a tough hunt. For that reason, the Comfort Fit Extremes are uninsulated. The cork insoles formed to my feet almost instantly.
The ibex hunt to Asia was postponed but I drew a Montana elk tag, so all was not lost. It was a public land hunt, in big country, with no guides or pack animals. Life got busy and my usual pre-hunt training and planning routines went out the window. I tossed a bunch of gear into a duffel and showed up with boots that weren’t even close to being fully broken-in.
Schoby and I slipped over a ridgeline at first light and side-hilled downward to escape the howling winds. He spotted a big-bodied 5×5 and I made a hasty offhand shot. We spent the next six hours recovering that bull from some of the steepest and nastiest terrain you can imagine, fighting for every foot of vertical as we kept an eye out for grizzlies. That effort only got us to a trail.
Somehow, a satellite text made its way through to our buddies and we made the final pack out in one heavy load. All told, we spent 11 hours on our feet, carrying packs as heavy as 90 pounds, uphill both ways. I made it through with sore knees, a thirst for a cold Montucky and zero blisters.
I cannot recommend showing up for a mountain hunt with new boots but, in this case, Meindl saved me from myself. There are several different Comfort Fit models in Meindl’s boot lineup and, after my success with the Comfort Fit Extremes, I may end up buying one of each. I’ve already snagged a pair of the Montafon Light Hikers.
Good boots aren’t cheap, but neither are big-game tags. Nothing can ruin a hunt faster than torn-up feet. Quality footwear is a must for the serious hunter—invest wisely.
Price: $470
Pros: Excellent comfort, legendary durability.
Cons: Harder to put on than flip-flops.
The post Meindl Comfort Fit Extreme appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
COVID changed my life. No, I didn’t suffer a long, painful illness or watch a loved one die on a ventilator, but I did spend a lot of time in flip-flops. While this may seem like a fantastic way to waste away a year or two, the effects on my feet were far from ideal. What little arches I had fell and my feet now splay out like those of Aboriginal tribesman after a lifetime spent barefoot.
When the masks came off, I was left with a closet full of boots that either didn’t fit at all or left me feeling like I was walking with a nail in my foot. A brand-new pair of Meindl Vakuum Hunters sat worthlessly in my closet. With hunts on the horizon, I had to make a plan. The doc injected some magic potion and suggested shoes and boots that gave my feet some room up front. Anything that cramped my toes was out of the question.
Meindl is great about letting you order multiple sizes and return the ones that don’t fit but, since I was driving cross-country, I decided to visit their Sydney, Nebraska showroom. The pros there suggested the Comfort Fit series, which offers more room in the toe box for feet ravaged by COVID and, presumably, other ailments. The heel is held securely and won’t slip. They felt great as soon as I slipped them on.
Extreme Comfort
Since I was supposed to be headed to Tajikistan in December, I opted for the one of the more aggressive boots in the lineup: the Comfort Fit Extreme. These sturdy boots combine nubuck leather uppers with bulletproof, full rubber rands. This boot flexes where it needs to and is rigid in all the right places.
Blisters require both moisture and friction, so sweaty feet are a recipe for disaster on a tough hunt. For that reason, the Comfort Fit Extremes are uninsulated. The cork insoles formed to my feet almost instantly.
The ibex hunt to Asia was postponed but I drew a Montana elk tag, so all was not lost. It was a public land hunt, in big country, with no guides or pack animals. Life got busy and my usual pre-hunt training and planning routines went out the window. I tossed a bunch of gear into a duffel and showed up with boots that weren’t even close to being fully broken-in.
Tested in Extremes
Schoby and I slipped over a ridgeline at first light and side-hilled downward to escape the howling winds. He spotted a big-bodied 5×5 and I made a hasty offhand shot. We spent the next six hours recovering that bull from some of the steepest and nastiest terrain you can imagine, fighting for every foot of vertical as we kept an eye out for grizzlies. That effort only got us to a trail.
Somehow, a satellite text made its way through to our buddies and we made the final pack out in one heavy load. All told, we spent 11 hours on our feet, carrying packs as heavy as 90 pounds, uphill both ways. I made it through with sore knees, a thirst for a cold Montucky and zero blisters.
I cannot recommend showing up for a mountain hunt with new boots but, in this case, Meindl saved me from myself. There are several different Comfort Fit models in Meindl’s boot lineup and, after my success with the Comfort Fit Extremes, I may end up buying one of each. I’ve already snagged a pair of the Montafon Light Hikers.
Good boots aren’t cheap, but neither are big-game tags. Nothing can ruin a hunt faster than torn-up feet. Quality footwear is a must for the serious hunter—invest wisely.
Price: $470
Pros: Excellent comfort, legendary durability.
Cons: Harder to put on than flip-flops.
The post Meindl Comfort Fit Extreme appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
