Aldegar
www.gigharborbigfoot.com
I don't see a lot of in depth reviews on tree gear and have been so impressed with these Haix boots that I thought I would share my opinion on them since boot choice seems to be a popular discussion. Let me start by saying that I have tried almost every brand and height logger boot available and for all purpose the tall boys are way too much boot to prune, drive, or kick brush in and the mid heights are all about the same to me no matter how much you pay. To be honest I just started buying Carolinas since they were cheap and I believe them to be of the same quality as Danners and other high dollar boots. A few months back I started looking into hikers since it seems like a lot of guys are switching over to those with the rise of spurless climbing. I do about 30% pruning and the rest is removals so I was sceptical that these hikers would have the same kind of support. My quest to find the ultimate boot always led me to believe that there was nothing that fit the bill for universal supremacy and I would have to change my shoes throughout the day. I don't have time to mess with my wardrobe at work nor do I want to pack my stinky shoes around. After a whole lot of research I came across some guys who swear by "chainsaw" boots. They sounded like what I was looking for; comfort and support. There are a few options and like logging boots they seemed pretty similar in features. Not a huge fan of the bright red that seemed standard in chainsaw boots, I decided on the lesser known Haix boots.
I got the Haix Prime Protector boots about 3 months ago. My first impression was that these boots are extremely comfortable and lightweight for how much material there was. I got them on a Saturday and decided to be brave and test them out on a 5 mile hike. They were stiff as hell and I would have been happier in my day off shoes but not painful. I actually didn't climb in these for a few days after I got them but got to put them to the test of hillside view clearing in heavy rain. Living in the pacific northwest I sometimes have to alternate dry boots because no matter what brand, my loggers get soggy beyond an overnight boot dryer. To my amazement my feet have never been wet in these boots and they breath better than any gore-tex boots I have ever tried so my feet are not burning up either. The tongue is not a separate piece so I believe not having a crack for water to seep into is why they are so waterproof. Seriously, I crossed creeks in these and my feet remained bone dry. So needless to say I was extremely impressed with the quality and true waterproofness right off the bat but what about climbing in them?
The first time I climbed in these was a removal. Upon kicking in and taking a few steps up I developed a huge grin. I have never worn a pair of boots that was so supportive with gaffs! I could get a better purchase with less effort and feel so much more locked in with every step than I have ever felt. I have always attributed the lack of that locked in feeling to the fact that I use pole gaffs and would rather kick out every now and then then feel like I am walking on stilts. The way to describe the support these boots give is that without the flex that soft leather loggers have in the ankle I get the right kind of axis between my legs and the tree, offering much better balance so I just feel more "connected" with every step.
The next question is how comfortable are they for those long removals that you're going to be there for a while. I won't lie, any time consuming removal is going to get uncomfortable but I must say these are the most comfortable and the trees that would have had my feet on fire in loggers don't bother me as much and these days I am usually more concerned about the saw dust in undesirable places than how my feet feel.
So now that I have been blown away by the performance of these boots for both on the ground and during removals I need to go back to my original quest of the universal climbing boot. How do these do as a pruning boot? For limb walking I found the slightly gummy vibram sole and lower profile mixed with the aggressive tread gives me much better grip than loggers with their higher heel and harder rubber compound. The smoother lines and seamless design with rounded eyelets makes moving through tight crotches and working with ascenders very natural and purpose designed. Are they going to offer the same barefoot feeling as a lightweight hiker shoe? No, but I am ok with that because not only are these the best overall tree boot but they also offer chainsaw protection which is just an added bonus in my book. I hope you enjoy this review, everyone is different and trying stuff out is the only way to know what's best for you but I hope by sharing the little details of why we choose the gear we stand by we can help others find what is best for them.
I got the Haix Prime Protector boots about 3 months ago. My first impression was that these boots are extremely comfortable and lightweight for how much material there was. I got them on a Saturday and decided to be brave and test them out on a 5 mile hike. They were stiff as hell and I would have been happier in my day off shoes but not painful. I actually didn't climb in these for a few days after I got them but got to put them to the test of hillside view clearing in heavy rain. Living in the pacific northwest I sometimes have to alternate dry boots because no matter what brand, my loggers get soggy beyond an overnight boot dryer. To my amazement my feet have never been wet in these boots and they breath better than any gore-tex boots I have ever tried so my feet are not burning up either. The tongue is not a separate piece so I believe not having a crack for water to seep into is why they are so waterproof. Seriously, I crossed creeks in these and my feet remained bone dry. So needless to say I was extremely impressed with the quality and true waterproofness right off the bat but what about climbing in them?
The first time I climbed in these was a removal. Upon kicking in and taking a few steps up I developed a huge grin. I have never worn a pair of boots that was so supportive with gaffs! I could get a better purchase with less effort and feel so much more locked in with every step than I have ever felt. I have always attributed the lack of that locked in feeling to the fact that I use pole gaffs and would rather kick out every now and then then feel like I am walking on stilts. The way to describe the support these boots give is that without the flex that soft leather loggers have in the ankle I get the right kind of axis between my legs and the tree, offering much better balance so I just feel more "connected" with every step.
The next question is how comfortable are they for those long removals that you're going to be there for a while. I won't lie, any time consuming removal is going to get uncomfortable but I must say these are the most comfortable and the trees that would have had my feet on fire in loggers don't bother me as much and these days I am usually more concerned about the saw dust in undesirable places than how my feet feel.
So now that I have been blown away by the performance of these boots for both on the ground and during removals I need to go back to my original quest of the universal climbing boot. How do these do as a pruning boot? For limb walking I found the slightly gummy vibram sole and lower profile mixed with the aggressive tread gives me much better grip than loggers with their higher heel and harder rubber compound. The smoother lines and seamless design with rounded eyelets makes moving through tight crotches and working with ascenders very natural and purpose designed. Are they going to offer the same barefoot feeling as a lightweight hiker shoe? No, but I am ok with that because not only are these the best overall tree boot but they also offer chainsaw protection which is just an added bonus in my book. I hope you enjoy this review, everyone is different and trying stuff out is the only way to know what's best for you but I hope by sharing the little details of why we choose the gear we stand by we can help others find what is best for them.
Repped!
