jungle boots or gore-tex backpackers

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saylorbrand

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Jun 8, 2008
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well im sure this is more of a preference question, but ill ask anyway, which do you prefer? I myself, outside the jungle environment, prefer a good pair of backpacking boots (water proof), along with a pair of sandles. jungle boots dry faster, but your feet get wet, with the gore-tex boot feet are dry until submerged in water. then of course it takes forever to dry. thus the sandles to cross streams. in a jungle environment you are for sure going to get your feet wet no matter what you wear. but what about every were else, what is your preference?
 
Currently, I'm using a pair of Danner boots. They are very comfortable. I've put a lot of miles on these boots and they're great for hiking. The Gore-tex in them failed pretty early on, unfortunately. Oiling them makes them reasonably waterproof, but the cordura panels still leak some water. Quite frankly, I prefer a good, light pair of fully leather boots oiled up well. The Danners are very comfortable, and soon I'm going to look for something like the Danners but in full leather instead.

I should note that most of my hiking occurs on the prairies and small wooded areas of Nebraska or in the Rocky Mountains, especially in Wyoming.
 
From personal experience, I can tell you traditional Jungle boots will let fine sand and silt in through the vents near the bottom. This can jack up your feet in a hurry. I wore a pair for an extended period slogging through the swamps and sand and marshes of Georgia and North Carolina, and was literally wringing blood from my socks my feet were so messed up. As soon as I could, I bought a pair of full leather boots and have never had the same problem since.
 
Right now I wear Asolo Fugitive GTX hikers for backpacking and hiking. They are beefier than light hikers but they aren't as stiff as pure backpacking boots. I've never worn jungle boots.
 
I use a pair of all leather Asolo's that are 10 years old. I keep them waterproofed and they don't leak much as long as it's not over your ankle.
Like Ray said, they are for hiking but are not pure backpacker boots.

I prefer all leather boots for durability and longevity.
 
i never ran across the sand in the vent problems, nor do i know of it being a problem. when i was in the army that never was the issue with the boots. they are not as comfortable as say asolo's, but get both wet and see which one dries faster. i think they each have there spot, but i do know some old ranger buddies wouldn't trade there altama jungles for anything.
 
Old leather boots, stitched soles, and Lincoln paste wax, kiwi will crack.

There's a saying, old boots new socks, it's the truth.
 
how about crossing steams or the instances that you have to submerse the boot? Does anyone out there have a faster drying boot? It sucks walking in heavy wet waterproof boots, that take a long time to dry.
 
Sure, depends on the stream, North America chances are there are slippery or jagged rocks, neither are great to walk on, depending on the hike it may be advantageous to get a pair of swimming shoes, they are light weight, may stow better than sandals and definitely wear better than sandals. Pretty cheap too.
 
i like jungle boots ,a friend just got the otb jungle boots from U.S cav ,an there awsome...saving the coin to get me one,aloha
 
If your all leather boots are decent you dont need gortex. Waterproof them with proper stuff and you are good to go.

Where is the jungle in texas?

Skam
 
skammer said:
If your all leather boots are decent you dont need gortex. Waterproof them with proper stuff and you are good to go.

Where is the jungle in texas?

Skam
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Well, a jungle is nothing more than an area with generally impenetrable vegetation, so I can point out areas of "jungle" across broad areas of Texas. Just about everywhere east of San Antonio has at least a few square miles of "jungle."

RE:OP...for that general east Texas area I would just buy a decent pair of Danners with Gore-Tex.
 
around here no jungle but maybe some swamp. but i, like many other people, like to travel to different places. either way if the boot work in the jungle they should work in swamps, or a bad huricane storm, etc. we do get those too, remmber huricane ike.
 
Earlier in my career I spend a fair amount of time in the bush with full leather boots and once wet inside out they took ages to dry and were absolutely uncomfortable and freezing in cold and rainy conditions. Waterproofing gets you only so far. Never found the perfect solution for waterproofing but maybe that has changed.


I have found highly breathable non-waterproof boots (jungle or similar) for temperatures above 50f/10c be optimal due to my feet heating up and sweating. getting wet is no problem if they get a chance to dry at some point.

If constant rainy/wet/very cold conditions are expected rubber boots work wonderfully and I've found no substitute for them. They go with felt liners for snowy winter conditions. They're not popular though so mileage seems to vary.

Temperatures below 50f/10c I go with hi-quality goretex lined leather boots with thick semirigid/rigid vibram soles.


Everyone's feet are different so footwear for different conditions is something that must be tested by the individual. Just like fitting boots, others can recommend hi quality boots but not that they'll fit your feet comfortably or you'll be a happy camper in various conditions.
 
Take some decent sandals for river crossings. I have the Reef Fanning sandals that have the can opener on the bottom (yes, seriously) and that thing is actually pretty good at adding traction on slick rocks. Take a towel to wipe your feet off when you are done crossing so you can put your boots back on dry feet. Take a dry bag for the boots and socks also. Keeping the boots out of the water by wearing sandals is all well and good until you slip and dunk yourself and the boots in the river.

If you are doing a lot of river crossings, wear a pair of water shoes like the Salomon Tech Amphibian or Keen Newport. If you wear water shoes, WEAR SOCKS. You will look like a big dork, but your feet will get fewer blisters. I wear some merino running socks with my Keens and never have blister problems, even on trails that have 30-40 river crossings.
 
I prefer Leather. Here we do not have many options in boots, we have Hi-Tech that make some great boots for the price, Merrells and Solomans. I currently have a pair of Hi-Tech Leather boots. Works great but needs replacement shortly.
 
storl said:
Take some decent sandals for river crossings. I have the Reef Fanning sandals that have the can opener on the bottom (yes, seriously) and that thing is actually pretty good at adding traction on slick rocks.
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Did you mean bottle opener? :)

I haven't tried jungle boots yet (there's no such environment here) but my La Sportiva Tibet GTX full leather, goretex boots have served me extremely well the previous 10 years.
 
dougo83 said:
Well, a jungle is nothing more than an area with generally impenetrable vegetation, so I can point out areas of "jungle" across broad areas of Texas. Just about everywhere east of San Antonio has at least a few square miles of "jungle."
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And here I thought a jungle was a humid and tropical environment near the equator. Learn something new every day.

For Texas I would think desert combat boots would do well. Blackhawk makes some nice ones.

Skam
 
skammer said:
And here I thought a jungle was a humid and tropical environment near the equator. Learn something new every day.

For Texas I would think desert combat boots would do well. Blackhawk makes some nice ones.

Skam
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I dunno...I guess it depends on where exactly saylorbrand is hiking and such. Texas has pretty much every ty7pe of climate found in the United States, so it is really difficult to pick one pair of boots to hike everywhere. For example, you might desire fully waterproofed footwear while hiking in the Piney Woods or swamplands of East Texas, but you would be miserable in that kind of footwear in the rocky Hill Country and even more miserable in the West Texas deserts and mountains or on the coastal areas of the south.
 
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