ll bean hunting shoe/boot

[OH Osthaus]

I remember a thread a while back about the great service some of you got while getting the bottoms replaced, so I know some of them have been worn a long time. I have never owned a pair - thought about it - just never bought them.

but, I need something for wet woodcock covers. I generally go for leather moc toed styles, have gotten tired of getting two seasons out of gore-tex lined leather boots, before I end up with wet feet.

the last rubber bottom boots (generic) I had were prone to getting thorns through them ( and that is fun because you need to pull the thorn out slowly through the boot before you can get it off)

so - here are the questions -

is the rubber bottom tough enough for thorny covers?

and how is the wet ground mud traction with the chain pattern sole, and how soon does it wear smooth?

[Steve Hodges]

Well Rick, I have been wearing LL Bean Hunting Boots for longer than I care to report, since high school actually, and when they wear out, you just send them back to Beans for a "retread" and you are good to go for another ten years. They are great boots that have stood the test of time. Buy a pair and you will not regret it one bit

[Mike McKinney]

I wore out several (maybe 8) sets of bottoms with three pair of uppers over many years of tromping. I always enjoyed Bean boots though the lower rubber is only waterproof as high as the rubber, but that never did bother me too much. I always wore the cold proof insole with the steel arches. I loved those boots, but from my perspective I always found them to be sock eaters and they required good elastic in the upper part of the sock and in looking/feeling back, I'm not positive but I believe the lack of support in the boot was hard on my feet long term---but it was all I would wear for years.

[Dean Romig]

Hi Rick,

I have two pairs of them and like them very much for what I require of them. The uppers can be made relatively waterproof (not for continuous submersion) by treating them quite heavily with a product like Sno-Proof which is a bees wax product softened with a natural oil product. Just heat it up and heat the leather too and brush it on with a basting brush or a cheap 1" paint brush. They don't offer a lot of support by themselves but are as comfortable as moccasins after a few wearings. The chain tread offers good enough traction but when the tread smooths out after a few seasons they are not good on the snow at all for traction. When (if) mine wear out to the point I need to replace them I'll definitely buy another pair. One of my pair have had a set of new bottoms and the other pair will need new bottoms in a couple of years. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Double Lab]

Rick;
I've had several retreads of my Bean boots and found them to be adequate but were terrible on slippery rocks and mud. Like Mike, I found the support was less than what I needed. Bottom line is, my feet hurt after a long day. Do yourself a favor and look into the Russell line of boots. I've owned a pair of their double moc upland boots for about 10 yrs. and without a doubt the most comfortable, completely waterproof all leather boot I've ever owned. Call the owner Ralph, and he will guide you in the selection of the perfect boot for what you plan to do with them. I promise you, you will thank me after your first day wearing them afield.

[J. A. EARLY]

I am wearing them right now bow hunting and dove hunting. With bad knees the thing I like about them is they are light as a feather. They do not wear your legs out. I think they have more than enough support, but you can feel sticks and things through them. I also put the insulated pads in when it gets a little colder but not too cold. The bottoms wear very well.

Mine are twenty-plus years old and have been resoled many times. They even put a patch where the leather was thin when they put on the last new bottoms. If you keep the leather covered in mink oil they do not leak. But it wears off quickly. I got the taller ones and got the dark brown, which they will turn anyway with mink oil. Since I was a kid I wore these quail hunting every time it was wet. Will eat your socks unless you wear socks taller than the boot.

The only thing I'll buy from L L Bean since everything in their catalog except the boots says IMPORTED. I throw the catalog in the trash now.

[Walt Kowalski]

I've never tried them nut my brother swears by a boot company called "Schnee"

My brother is a deer hunter extraordinaire, and he actually goes through water into swamp islands to reach the bucks inner sanctums...these boots serve him well and are quite similar to the LL Beans. Here's a link for you.

http://www.schnees.com/

[Steve Hodges]

I have a pair of Schnees, and they are great boots also.

[Wild Skies]

I've got 8 pair in various heights and configurations--both the original Bean Boots and the Maine Hunting Shoe. I wear all but the mocs with shearling insoles. For bird hunting, I grab the 10" high Bean Boots while my Russell South Forty Birdshooters sit in the closet.

[Big D]

For anyone with an unusual shoe size or foot configuration (I wear a 13A shoe) Russells are the way to go. Not cheap, but the good stuff rarely is