Chippewa kindly provided these boots for review.
This is the second pair of boots we’ve reviewed at The Hunting Gear Guy and this time around, we decided to get a lady’s perspective. If you’re looking for something in a men’s, check out our review on a set of Arctic boots. For this one, I asked Mrs. Hunting Gear Guy, or the Hunting Gear Gal, to give these boots a review.
Ladies Loggers
Different boots are made for different purposes. You wouldn’t want to head out onto a mountain hike in UGGs because even though they’re really comfortable and somewhat warm, they don’t have any ankle support, their grip is poor, and they’d soak in dirt and stains. Most winter boots, in fact, have a flexible rubber sole and ankle and calf coverage but no support. These Chippewa Ladies Loggers are built for a different purpose: long hikes through poor conditions.
Grip
OK, I’ll lay off UGG’s for a minute. My winter boots have grip that is passable, but not excellent. That’s OK, most of the time I’m just wearing them to make it out to my van through 2 feet of snow. They’ll do that job just fine. What they don’t help with is the treacherous hike down this one hill that I have to pass to get to my hunting spot. I also get tired after hiking for an hour in my winter boots, due to lack of a stiff sole. The answer is a stiff sole with lots of grip, and these Chippewa boots deliver it in spades. The sharp, chunky grip profile is great in snow. It’d probably pick up rocks like crazy if you walked on a gravel road, but in the snow and ice, I feel unstoppable.
Ankle Support
I’m going to make a sweeping generalization, but I’ve found it true with most footwear: the easier it is to put on, the less support you get. If you can easily slip your boots on and go, they’re not doing much to help you on a long hike. Compare that with boots that lace up and are made of stiff leather, you’re going to get a lot of support for tough hikes. It is a compromise, but if you’re heading out for a 4 hour hunt and need to walk a bit to your spot, you might as well spend 30 seconds lacing up a stiff boot like these. These boots have regular eyelets for the bottom half of laces and open lace hooks near the top. Thankfully, they also have another closed eyelet at the top, giving you the option of leaving the boots with laces that go all the way to the top, or stopping halfway down. You could use the hooks to lace somewhere in between, but it’d be kind of annoying to do every time.
Quality
From the heavy duty stitching, black oil finish, and thinsulate insulation to the thoughtfully designed eyelets, these boots are made for chewing up those long distance hikes. While I wouldn’t wear these boots for dropping off the kids at school, I appreciated the extra grips and support for a day out sledding with the kids. Even just hiking up a small hill that we sled on, it was apparent how much more grip and support these boots gave. These boots won’t win any style points with college girls, but I’ll still be walking while they’re slipping and sliding around.
