My buddy and I each bought a paid of Aerohead 3.5mm boots last year to wear on our backcountry hunting trip in Ontario. They fit great, are light and wore well on that trip, which we put a lot of miles on them. I never was in water over my ankles with them on that trip. This spring I have been wearing them to cross the creek behind my house to check cams and I started to notice that they leaked a little on the back ventricle seam in the neoprene. A couple days ago I decided to see how much they leaked so I stood in the water for about 45 seconds. I was very surprised with how much water was getting in them. I sent my buddy a text about it and he said he has the same problem. Anyone else having this problem? Here's a pic of the back of the boot. The vertical seam is where it's leaking. The neoprene is sewn together here and the rubber sealer they put over it is pretty thin and I can see it's wearing through in a couple spots.
My boots are destroyed. No way are they going to make more then a year. I will take pics of my boots and share my thoughts with you all later today.
I have not noticed any leaks, but I'm not sure If I have used them in that deep of water. When I get home I will try them out and let you know. It will be unfortanate if that becomes a problem because I love these boots and I think they are 10 times better than my muck boots.
I emailed them and it said they would get back to me within 10 business days because of an abnormal amount of email traffic they are getting. If they wait 10 days to get back to me my 180 day warranty period will be up.
Save the emails. I would be making a call at this point. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Dan - The camp I hunt out of in the Adirondacks has about 14 guys that are all putting in anywhere from 50-100 miles on foot per guy in a season. We haven't been able to find a knee high style neoprene or rubber boot that will last more than two seasons. It's an ongoing debate in camp. We have tried them all and all of them end up doing what you see with yours. The Irish Setter Rutmaster's seem to do better than the rest but they are still a 2-3 year boot at most the way we hunt up there and they are also heavy as hell. I have a pair of Muck Woody Max's that are on their last leg and I'll wear them until they die. Once this happens, for hunting where I cover ground similar to what you are doing up north I'll revert back to a real hunting style boot like the Cabela's Perfekt Hunters. I'll also order a pair of Neos River Trekkers. A couple of the guys back home are using the Neos now and it's like the best of both worlds. We hunt in a ton of beaver swamps and get wet even with knee highs, but the Neos are rugged, super light, roll up tight and small to strap on your pack, and they keep you dry in most every type of swamp situation. Your wearing real hunting boots everywhere that's not wet, and the Neos take 2 minutes to slip on when you get to a really wet spot. The other thing I hate about knee highs for that style of hunting is they just don't give you the support that a good leather hunting boot does. Walking up to a mile in/out of a bow stand and then sitting all day is a very different level of use than a 50-100 mile season on foot. Neoprene and rubber of any type just don't seem to handle the latter very well.
Well I take it back. I am not going to take pics. They are to muddy at this point. I will clean them up and do it later perhaps. I have two issues with mine. The vertical seem leaking and separation of the foot bed from the upper at the toe. I can clearly see where these two pieces where glued together and are now separating. Both boots leak. Pretty expensive pair a boots if I have to buy a new pair every year. Its a shame as these where the most comfortable I have found to date. If it takes them up to 10 days to return an e-mail then that is a huge problem in itself!
Matt, I usually wear a leather boot on these hunts, but this year we were hiking in and camping in an area I had never hunted before. I was afraid to wear a leather boot and not be able to hunt some areas because of water, so we went with the Aerohead. I found out it wasn't necessary and this year I will definitely be going back to a quality leather boot. I have a pair of Meindels, but they're uninsulated. I'll be looking for a pair of quality leathers for this fall that have around 800 grams of thinsulate. The Neos would be an option too, but I don't want to carry them around, I already have too much with me. As for the Aerohead Vs other boots, none compare to them. The leaking seam is my only complaint. If it was moulded around the seam like the rest of the boot, it would solve the problem.
YOu probably have thought of this, but get a quality gaiter if you want leather but aren't sure what you will get into. That will keep 90% of the water out and they weigh next to nothing.
Actually, I haven't thought about it for awhile. Great idea. If I do get into any water, it's usually just when crossing a beaver dam or a dry marsh with a little water in the middle. My debate now is, what kind of leather boots to get. I'm looking at some on Cabelas and I will probably bite the bullet and get another pair of Meindels. Temps could be anywhere from mid 40s to upper single digits. But, I don't sit much, so I probably don't need much insulation. Being able to put many miles on comfortably is key.
There are two guys that are total boot snobs at the camp I hunt in NY and both are wearing the Perfekt Hunter 10". A bunch of the Kifaru guys that come to our camp every year are wearing them too. They all claim they are gods gift to your feet. They are Cabela's brand but made by Meindl. I keep eyeballing them every time I go to the Cabela's by my house but can't justify spending the coin while I'm in IL for bowhunting. They are only 400gr of insulation, but just make sure you have the appropriate sock and they are going to be plenty warm for any type of mobile hunting. I wouldn't want to sit for hours in single digit temps but for mobile hunting they should be fine with a good quality wool sock. I got a pair of the Cabela's Outdoorsman gaiters this year. They are cheap, really quiet, waterproof, etc. The knap on the material is low too so they don't pick up too much crap while hiking. I put several miles on them snowshoeing and shed hunting this year and so far I'd recommend them over a lot of the more expensive options out there, it seems most of the others are really loud when you handle them. These fit well and didn't move around or bunch up on me in any way.
I have the Meindl Denali, which is the cabelas brand too. I was looking at the Meindl Perfekt Extreme more than the 10", most because of the rubber band molded around the outside of it. It's on the Denalis I have and it seems to have protected the boot from the rocks I walk across and rub against. None of the guys you know have had a problem with the toe? The price is hard to swallow at first, but I've never had a pair of boots last as long as my Denalis have.
I'm in the market for boots for my upcoming elk hunt and the perfekt line has been recommended to me by a bunch of people....I've yet to try a pair on...need to get on it soon though Hope lacrosse takes care of you dan....In the past I've had issues with some of their work boots....one pair was well over the warranty and they honored it anyway so hopefully you have the same luck I did
