Hey guys,
I need some help from the hunters on NES with a project I have at work. I am an R&D engineer for Wolverine World Wide (Lexington, MA office) and my group has been tasked with developing a general evaluation protocol for the different boot lines that fall under the Wolverine umbrella. We have broken the boots into categories and I am responsible for the hunting/hiking boots. I have done quite a bit of hiking and backpacking, so I am comfortable with the different potential terrains and activities that one might do in a hiking boot. However, I have never been hunting. To help me develop a protocol to evaluate the boots I need to figure out is what sorts of attributes/features people look for in a hunting boot and what kinds of activities are generally performed.
I’ll list some assumptions I’m making and why I make them. For this exercise I’ll only be talking about hunting in North America, and I will even further limit that to the US and Canada:
I can group hunting into two broad types:
1) “Spot and stalk” type hunting where the hunter is pretty much always on the move (walking) looking for game. I guess I normally associate this type of hunting with more mountainous regions, but I can think of places in the US where this could also happen on open ground. To me, the requirements for boots that you would wear doing this type of hunting wouldn’t vary much from boots I would wear backpacking: rugged outsoles, good ankle support, good cushioning, potentially waterproof, more stiffness if I’m going to be carrying heavy loads, etc. Likewise, the activities wouldn’t be too different from backpacking – ascending/descending slopes, moving over varying terrain, potentially crossing streams, etc.
2) Hunting from a tree stand, blind, stationary on the ground etc. where the hunter is either trying to call the game to him (turkey, duck, etc.) or waiting for game to cross his path (deer, etc.). My guess would be that boots wouldn’t need to be quite as rugged, but that would probably depend on the terrain. I figure these boots might also need more insulation if you’re hunting in colder climates/during winter since you will be sitting still for potentially long periods of time. These boots may also need better slip resistance if you’re going to be climbing a ladder to get up into a stand.
For those of you that do use deer stands, how long of a hike to your stand do you usually have? It is completely dictated by the proximity of a road? I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to drive a vehicle too close so as not to scare off any game.
I appreciate any feedback you can give.
I need some help from the hunters on NES with a project I have at work. I am an R&D engineer for Wolverine World Wide (Lexington, MA office) and my group has been tasked with developing a general evaluation protocol for the different boot lines that fall under the Wolverine umbrella. We have broken the boots into categories and I am responsible for the hunting/hiking boots. I have done quite a bit of hiking and backpacking, so I am comfortable with the different potential terrains and activities that one might do in a hiking boot. However, I have never been hunting. To help me develop a protocol to evaluate the boots I need to figure out is what sorts of attributes/features people look for in a hunting boot and what kinds of activities are generally performed.
I’ll list some assumptions I’m making and why I make them. For this exercise I’ll only be talking about hunting in North America, and I will even further limit that to the US and Canada:
I can group hunting into two broad types:
1) “Spot and stalk” type hunting where the hunter is pretty much always on the move (walking) looking for game. I guess I normally associate this type of hunting with more mountainous regions, but I can think of places in the US where this could also happen on open ground. To me, the requirements for boots that you would wear doing this type of hunting wouldn’t vary much from boots I would wear backpacking: rugged outsoles, good ankle support, good cushioning, potentially waterproof, more stiffness if I’m going to be carrying heavy loads, etc. Likewise, the activities wouldn’t be too different from backpacking – ascending/descending slopes, moving over varying terrain, potentially crossing streams, etc.
2) Hunting from a tree stand, blind, stationary on the ground etc. where the hunter is either trying to call the game to him (turkey, duck, etc.) or waiting for game to cross his path (deer, etc.). My guess would be that boots wouldn’t need to be quite as rugged, but that would probably depend on the terrain. I figure these boots might also need more insulation if you’re hunting in colder climates/during winter since you will be sitting still for potentially long periods of time. These boots may also need better slip resistance if you’re going to be climbing a ladder to get up into a stand.
For those of you that do use deer stands, how long of a hike to your stand do you usually have? It is completely dictated by the proximity of a road? I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to drive a vehicle too close so as not to scare off any game.
I appreciate any feedback you can give.