Rocky "Bear Claw" Boot Review Update!

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Well, we're back! The 2010 season on our lease in Illinois is over its time to make an update to my original post on my Rocky Bear Claw boots. Here's the link to the original post, "Rocky Bear Claw Boot Review"

It was a tough season. We dealt with just about every weather senario you could get, wind, no wind, heat as high as 70 deg which is hot in central illinois in November, Cold as low as 9-10 degrees, snow, ice, rain and miserable mud! We had 6" of snow on the ground and it started raining. Over night it melted all the snow and the temp shot up to 60 deg with 2 1/2" of rain! We could not even get off the pavement with our 4X4. That night the temp went back down to 20 and froze! Unbelievable!

We made three journeys to Illinois for a total of 21 days hunted. My new Rocky's preformed perfect right up until the last hunt. That was a tough set of conditions for any boot but a truely good boot would have pass on all counts. Unfortunately, the report is not good for the new Rocky's. They failed the most important test.....the waterproof test!

The exterior of the boots held up with no issues other than some torn leather where the stitching was a little close to the edge of the leather along the eyelets. Climbing up and down the hardwood trees was a little rough on the inside of the boot. The cordura shell did fine but the bark ripped the leather along the stitching. Other than this, there were no other issues. The soles performed perfectly also.

As I mentioned above, the failure came in the form of two wet feet. Not soaked but a damp sock at the ball of both feet. By the end of the third hunt both boots had developed minor leaks in the same location. This is the location of almost every leaky boot I have ever owned. 

I have not contacted Rocky yet to see what they are willing to do if anything to remedy the situation but hopefully they will stand behind it. If not, given this is the 4th Rocky boot in a row to leak it will be my last.

Good Luck,

Larry S.

Rocky Boots - "Bear Claw" Review

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I had a major boot failure this weekend while out scouting on opening day of Bow season and it got me thinking about all the hunting boots I have owned and what were the best, longest lasting and leak free. Leak free being one of my personal pet peeves. Once a boot leaks it is of no use to me for hunting except maybe an afternoon hunt on a hill somewhere. I hate wet feet!

What prompted this post was actually a pair of Sportsman Guide, GuideGear boots that I purchased on sale, maybe 2 years ago but never got around to wearing until this weekend. The bottoms literally started falling off! by the time I made it back to the 4wheeler one was only hanging on by the toe and these are brand new! There biggest flaw it that the sole is a glue on type with a little wrap up onto the sides and that just does not work! Of course you can guess where they were made......China. Obviously, I would never consider taking a boot like this on a hunt away from home and they were only intended for local hunting. Their allure was the inexpensive price but more than that the waterproof lining. I will never know if that was a failure also. Check out the post  and picture of these.... Guide Gear Boot Review. I don't know if they are even selling these anymore but if you haven't already guessed....I would not recommend them!

Other than your gun or bow, your boots are arguably one of your most important item of gear. They have to be broken in, comfortable and waterproof. This is most critical if you are hunting out West where long distance walking is a mandatory. Additionally, wet feet are a recipe for disaster in cold conditions. Even a heavy dew is enough to soak your feet in non waterproof boots.

This leads me to the point of this post, my Rocky "Bear Claw" boots. Possibly the best boot I have ever owned! I have Three pair of varying age right now and you can see them in the attached photo. 800 grams of thinsulate insulation and waterproofed with a goretex lining among other features.

The one on the left with all the wear is my original pair. These boots have seen at least 14 hunting seasons! That is remarkable. They have seen it all, including at least 6 years in Idaho and 8yrs in Illinois, rocks, mud, snow and ice. Never leaked a drop until this year but as you can see, its time for retirement. the bottoms started to crumble two seasons ago and are now unusable. They can be  resoled but as they have started to leak there is no point in that. Do I need to mention where they are made.......USA!

That leads to the back up pair of Bear Claws I bought on sale a couple of years ago, knowing that the originals were all but used up. They are made in the Dominican Republic! Just Great! These are the solid brown ones in the center of the photo. Well the leaked shortly after I started using them and are now reserved  for dry hunts only. I hope this leak issue is just bad luck but not being made in the USA is nagging at me that this is a problem that all Rocky boots may now be prone to.

Well, out of my love and respect for the first pair I have bought a third pair. That is them on the right. Also made in the Dominican Republic. I am going to start breaking them in this weekend as they are really for my up coming trips to hunt our lease in Illinois. After those hunts are over I'll let you know how this pair fared. I hope I did not make a mistake!

If you can find a pair of old stock that are made in USA, I would definitely recommend buying them but I need to put some miles on the imported version before I can say the same for them.

Buy USA! (if you can)

Good luck and Keep your feet dry!
Larry S.

Here's an info link and they are a great price but
buy at your own risk until i can put some time in
the ones I have.


Here's the end of season update on the Rocky's.......Rocky Bear Claw Update #1
Added Jan. 13,11.   L.S.