Schnee’s Granite Mountain Boot
This is a review of a remarkable pair of mountain boots. But indulge me for a moment because this story starts back in 2006 with a phone call to the then fledgling hunting apparel company Sitka Gear. I had just finished putting a pair of Sitkas’ first generation mountain pants through a tough season. I loved the product but was wondering about the lack of waterproof apparel in Sitka’s lineup. One of Sitka’s founders, Jason Hairston (now of KUIU) took my call and listened patiently while I questioned their lack of a waterproof, insulated jacket. “It’s because it’s all about breathability”, Jason explained. “And there is no such thing as a truly breathable fabric that is also waterproof”.
An awkward moment of silence followed while my brain tried to cope with what Jason had just said. I just had to ask the inevitable question. “What about Gore-Tex?” I blurted out while cringing at the anticipated response that must follow such an obvious observation.
But Jason was great and took the time to explain that Gore-Tex, while a significant improvement over the plastic coated waterproof fabrics of the past, was not really all that breathable when it came to venting off the humidity you generate when under a lot of exertion. ‘Go with the most breathable fabrics possible and carry light rain gear in your pack for when you need it. Don’t try and make one outer layer do it all.” That was Jason’s parting advice and by the time I had finished the next hunting season decked out in Sitka gear, I was a believer. I stayed drier and warmer than I had ever been when hunting the mountains of southwest Montana.
This story jumps ahead to 2011 when I was in the planning stages for a trip to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro. In the five days en route to the summit you experience multiple micro-climates. Monkeys dart in the jungle treetops in hot, humid +80 degree weather when you begin your climb. A few days later you are experiencing sub-zero temps on the summit. While not a technical mountain, it is one of the world’s toughest treks. On the final push you gain 4400 feet in elevation in only 4 miles while climbing from 15,000 to 19,400 feet. After reaching the summit you descend 9000 feet over 14.5 miles to reach the next camp. It’s a long day. To handle it, the gear gurus at Pro-Lite Gear in Bozeman recommended a jacket shell made out of eVent fabric. I had never heard of eVent but a demonstration of eVent’s breathability at the shop made me curious. (See the Pro-Lite guys demonstrate this same test at the following link: http://wn.com/event_vs_gore-tex ). Doing some more research on the web I found that eVent was developed by GE and had been tested by the military. The US Army reported that eVent fabric proved to be the most breathable of all materials tested, averaging twice the breathability of its closest competitor. What differentiates eVent fabric technology from EPTFE-based waterproof-breathable laminates used in other waterproof garments?
Open-pored Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene membranes (EPTFE) have been used in waterproof apparel applications for over 30 years. But they have been used in a “bi-component” fashion that covered the open pores with a layer of polyurethane (PU). This PU layer reduces inherent breathability by inhibiting the free escape of perspiration vapor. The eVent fabric approach is different and avoids the use of that polyurethane layer. Rather than take an open-pore membrane and turn it into a closed-pore laminate, eVent’s patented process retains the natural venting ability of all those microscopic pores.”
It all sounded good. So I bought a Westcomb jacket made of eVent. On summit day we left sub-zero temperatures on top and were soon descending fourteen miles in a downpour. The mercury soared and by the time we hit the next camp the temperature was over seventy degrees. I pulled off my eVent jacket to find my base layers dry. Another climber in our group was sporting an REI Shuksan Jacket in eVent. He was dry too. The climbers who were wearing other products? Not so much.
So what does this have to do with a pair of boots and why have I wasted your time reading about jackets when all you want to know is if these darn boots are any good? It’s simple. Schnee’s Granite Mountain Boot uses an eVent waterproof membrane. And that makes a huge difference.
As the summer of 2013 rolled around I was still a dyed in the wool Lowa fan and the proud owner of three pairs of Gore-Tex clad Lowa boots. These included an aging pair of Schnee’s branded Lowa Sheephunters that were my go to elk clogs and a pair of Lowa Tibet GTX that had seen me to the top of several mountains. Unfortunately, my Sheephunters would never actually get to hunt a sheep because several seasons of humping the high country had broken them in like a 25 year old pack horse. You can trust them with your life but they were getting a little tired. So I was happy when Jon Edwards and Pete Muennich picked a bull of mine to be recognized during Schnee’s annual Boone and Crockett scoring event in downtown Bozeman. It was the first time an elk won me anything but a tired back. But I left Schnee’s that evening with a new pair of Granite Mountain Boots.
I outfitted my new boots with a pair of green Superfeet premium insoles and took them for a spin up the M Trail the next day. They were super comfortable right out of the box. Great arch and ankle support and amazingly solid feeling for such a light weight high top boot. I decided to sell the old Sheephunters on Craigslist and soon anointed the Granites as my new go to late fall and winter boot.
I am tough on my footwear. In 2012 I logged 348 GPS tracked foot miles while hunting in Montana, Idaho and Colorado. Your boots are one of the single best investments you will make in your gear package and not a place to cut corners. In 2013, now Lowa-less, I wore the new Granites while hunting in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming including nine days chasing mountain goats. The boots carried in a lot of weight and carried out a few critters as well.
The Granites proved to be every bit as comfortable and durable as my old boots. But what I really noticed was how much drier, and warmer, my feet stayed. At the end of the day, my normally damp socks and wilted feet were noticeably drier. Drier socks made for drier boots. And drier boots equate to warmer and more comfortable feet. So let’s go back to where I started with my Sitka Gear and Kilimanjaro stories. It really IS all about breathability when you are pushing the limits and want to stay dry, comfortable and warm. Let’s face it, there are a lot of good boot manufacturers out there today that you can choose from. What is it that sets one boot apart from all of the others? In my opinion, three things; 1) Comfort out of the box and ease of break in 2) Breathability 3) Customer Support. Schnee’s and their Granite boots excel in all three.
Schnee’s Sheephunters paved the way for the current family of extreme mountain hunting boots we have today. It was not that long ago when they were the only choice in a serious mountain/backcountry hunting boot. Fortunately, Schnee’s has re-invented the Sheephunter in the Granite Mountain boot and the new reincarnation lost nothing in the transition. If you interested in owning the finest pair of high country mountain boots available, call the folks at Schnee’s at 1-800-922-1562 or visit their website at www.schnees.com. The people that work at Schnees are avid hunters and outdoors enthusiasts and they stand by their 100% satisfaction guarantee.