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Crispi Idaho GTX®
Basic Description:
Idaho GTX® is an early season, Uninsualted Crispi® technology rich Hunting, Trekking, Hiking and rugged terrain boot. Crispi® brings together their WFW (Wave Wrapping Frame) technology, with Super Grip outsoles and then adds their ABSS for legendary fit and comfort. This boot follows all of our Industry leading qualities of the Hunter, but lighter weight and uninsulated for early season hunting. Finally we add a high quality bottom from Vibram® and Legendary Gore-Tex® for Waterproofness and Breathability. Designed in Italy exclusively for the North America Market and tested in the rugged Rocky Moutnains.
Just the Facts:
-9 inches tall
-1.7lbs per boot
-Un-insulated and meant for early season hunting. For my feet I would use them down to 10-20 degrees with some activity and 30-40 degrees with no activity.
-Crispi’s Crossbow frame
-Crispi’s Wrapping framework technology
-ABSS (Ankle Bone Support System
-Full Rubber Rand
Story:
These are the 2nd pair of Crispi boots I have tried this year and this is the 2nd time that Crispi has knocked one out of the park in my book! For a DIY back country western bow hunter this is what all other boots should be shooting for. If there are any other boot manufactures out there that are reading this, take notes, because this is how a mountain boot should be. I have put 60-70 miles on these boots and they are awesome. They were comfortable right out of the box but have gotten even more so with a few miles on them. Boots are the most important piece of gear you can buy for hunting the back country, PERIOD!! If your feet are blistered and tired, you’re done and your hunt is done; and that precious vacation time you took off is lost.
These boots are made out of a rough out nubuck leather and cordura that is very resistant to abrasion and breaths extremely well. They have a full rubber rand which is a great feature to have in the mountains, helping prevent your boots from getting cut up. They have a very nice vibram sole that has great grip even on wet and slippery terrain.
I have had many long talks and emails with Miles Munger, who is Crispi’s North America sales rep. I got the Idaho’s and knew they were on to something for the early season hunter, hunting the steeps. This boot has great support in the ankle area and has great stability. This is not an uncomfortable mountaineering style shoe that you are going to pay a price for wearing all day long. But it gives you all the support you are going to need while carrying heavy loads. This is the most comfortable boot I have ever worn; it is nice to walk in and yet gives you great stability while climbing up or down or side hilling. This is crucial while hauling heavy loads and you really start to weed out the losers when you start carrying over 80lbs. So to see how these would do with a lot of weight I loaded up the pack with 120lbs and took off. The only other time I ever want to carry this amount of weight is when I have a bull on the ground! The boots held up great and not once did I feel un-stable or that I didn’t have enough boot on my feet. Most of the boots or hikers I test out began breaking down and losing support after that 80 lb mark, not the Idaho’s they gave me great support and confidence to take them anywhere with any weight I can hold!
My last big test for these boots was suppose to be a 14 mile 3 day scouting trip for Elk and Deer in my home state or Oregon. As you can see if you watch my quick video of the boots, it got cut short due to the weather. But none the less the terrain that we were on was severe to say the least and wet. We ran into snow a mile from the truck and never saw dirt again on the whole trip. I was carrying a decent load of 50 lbs and we were walking on lava rock, downed trees, and ice the entire trip. We had a 2,000 foot elevation gain with some slops being around 45 degrees or so in elevation. We ended up doing about 7 miles over a 15 hour day and my feet were bone dry when we were done, they were not sore or tired and not once did I have a fall from slipping on a tree or rock. I cannot say the same for my dad and father in-law who was wearing pronghorns. On a typical trip like this with the terrain we were in I would expect to need to bathe my feet in Epsom salt when I got home, but it was just like another day at the office for my feet in the Idaho’s.
Like I said earlier on the temp rating of these boots, I could wear them well below freezing if was moving and just above freezing if I was sitting. I have worn them in temps around 70 degrees and my feet did sweat but my feet would have sweated if I was wearing flip flops and would have no issues hunting in 70 degree weather in these.
Things I like about these the most:
-Comfortable boots to wear with plenty of support and stability
-Full rubber rand
-Vibram sole that grips to anything
-Lightweight and breathable boot
-bombproof ( I expect these boots to last a very long time)
What they could do better:
I hate saying this all the time but I cannot really find anything that I didn’t like about them. There are some hunting situations I wouldn’t want to use these in, like tree stand hunting in the dead of winter. But up in the mountains 20 degrees and on up I would pick these over any boot I have tested and used hands down!
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Crispi Idaho GTX® Hunting Boot Review
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Functionality
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Value
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Ergonomics
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Durability
Purchased the Crispi Idaho GTX boots right before I left for a hunt in Wyoming this year. I received the boots 3 days before my trip. I tried them on, that was it! I took a huge gamble by bringing them on a rugged packing trip. I just want to say, THESE ARE THE REAL DEAL!! Put these on at the trail head and hiked in about 5.5 miles up steep and rugged terrain and set up camp. I put on 2 pairs of Merino wool socks just to be safe. I am an avid hunter and hiker, I hiked about 5-6 miles a day and had zero problems. My feet were very comfortable and the support is amazing. These boots are also very light for a hunting boot. These are by far the best pair of boots i have ever purchased!! Do yourself a favor, by them. FYI, my hunting buddies had equally priced boots (not saying brand), and got blisters on there heels.
I do not have this perticular pair of boots, but I want them. I just recently bought a pair of the Crispi Nevada HTG GTX last week. I bought them because of all the positive reviews on this site about the Crispi boots not to mention Scheels had them on sale for $250 instead of $399.00. I basically bought these boots a few days before my deer hunt. I figured I might be digging my own grave not breaking them in before I left hunting.
I was pleasently surprised. These boots fit and feel great. I would get back to camp after hiking around all day and wouldn’t want to put on my camp shoes. jI walked through all kinds of nasty buck brush and through rock slides and they still look like when I bought them. They are some tough boots. After having this pair I am going to be getting the Idaho GTX for my early season hunts as the Nevada Boots are insulated.
I would like to know how these boots fare around cactus. I’m in New Mexico and really don’t use any nylon type boot because of past problems with a cactus needle going through a boot at 9500 ft with the winds whipping and it being around 20 degrees. Please let me know if you can.
Can’t speak to quality of boots since I never recieved them, ordered online, credit card promptly billed but almost impoosible to reach anyone, order 4 months ago and voice mails and e-mails are ignored!