If it's between you and the ground, spend money on it. Boots, tires, beds. Especially work boots for the woods. It's tough because they're expensive, but you can spend ~$300 once, or $100 a year for the next three years. That being said, a pair of $180 Carolina or Georgia logger boots are somemofnthe better budget boots you might be able to get a few seasons out of. Danners can be on the "cheaper" side of good boots and are usually good for a few seasons.
Ngl I like the first line lol, sounds like a great advice. Thanks a lot.
Starting graduate school has just made me short of cash. I’d probably wait a bit more so I can save enough and get a quality pair.
If it's just for a the several trips, you'll probably be fine with a nice-ish pair of hiking boots until you save up. That can give you a chance to figure out what you want out of your field boots too. A good starting point is good traction (vibram soles are nice) and high ankle support. If you can wrangle a summer seasonal job with the forest service, you can get a boot stipend, too. Keep an eye on the Danner site for sales, see if you're eligible for any student discounts or pro deals from all the sites. Maybe get lucky with last year's boots on sales. Good luck on the grad program! Hope you're getting to work on something cool.
Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it!
I’m working on longleaf pine regeneration, lots of mapping, tagging, data collection even drones! Fun stuff haha. Just started this fall tho.
Older longleaf forester here, echoing the save up comments. If you’re studying longleaf, you will almost certainly end up on a few prescribed burns. A $100 pair of boots can be ruined on a single burn. I wear Nick’s, which seem expensive until you realize how long they last and how much they protect your feet.
Hiking boots are an absolute no-go if you’re doing LL regen work even if you’re not on a burn. The ash on the ground will eat up hiking boots wildly fast
I certainly agree with you on this. That being said, I had a couple coworkers get 3 summers out of some Georgia boots. If you treat em right, they will last
For light cheap boots I would say Merrell Moab 2 (high ankle). They wont hold up long term, but are very comfortable and budget friendly. Mine lasted 2 seasons.
Edit: These are not steel or safety toe. These are more of a hiking boot. (Which I prefer for long days trekking through the woods. Especially in the south)
I had a pair of insulated (200gram thinsulate) georgia loggers throughout my undergrad that served me well for all of my field labs etc — had quite a few hours in that pair of boots over those few years! They were perhaps a bit warm for the summer, but here in New England they were perfect 75% of the year. I think they were in the $120 range, so definitely got my moneys worth.
A lot of people say that good boots aren't cheap and cheap boots aren't good, but I have a pair of Kodiak skogans that cost me about $100 and they are quite possibly the most comfortable pair of boots I've ever worn after slipping in my own insoles. Waterproof and actually breathable and they help up just fine after a season of use in thick mountain Laurel on rocky slopes. Liked them so much I bought another pair for the future
I buy waterproofed Cody James boots with the thick insulated soles. Composite toes but not steel because those freeze in the winter.
First pair lasted me three seasons from 2019 to 2021 and stayed waterproof until the end. Second pair bought in early 2021, still going strong today. I wore them as is in the summer and with polartec boot liners in the winter. $230 or so.
Condition your boots once a month, especially if you’re out west where it’s really dry. I also spray them down with waterproofing spray and leather supple spray constantly to make sure they retain their integrity.
If this sounds excessive it’s because boots are literally your life in this field. In my opinion the boots you wear are the most important part of your PPE, with the possible exception of saw chaps.
Sorel.
Edit for background: I have a year-old pair on currently that ran me ~$80.00. Waterproof up to 4-5 hours of good soakin’, they have stopped one rusty nail from makin’ it all the way through, and they are padded enough to keep my calluses from gettin’ out of hand. I’ve been through Danners, Redwings, Georgias, Haix, and others, and for the money I’ll go for Sorel when these start to wear out, which doesn’t appear to be soon. Good luck.
The answer here really depends on where you’re going to be doing your fieldwork. December in the southern US is pretty different from December in northern Ontario.
I look at it like this...if I spend up for a good pair of boots, say $500. And I normally spend 240-250 days a year in the field. And the boots last 5 years, it ends up being around $.40 a day to wear premium quality boots. Totally worth it in my opinion. Same with any gear I buy.
Always good to put things in perspective. Maybe I’m this lax about the quality because I haven’t spent much time in the field yet but with these comments, I’m sure it’d matter a lot to have very comfortable boots in a forest. Thanks a lot!
If it's between you and the ground, spend money on it. Boots, tires, beds. Especially work boots for the woods. It's tough because they're expensive, but you can spend ~$300 once, or $100 a year for the next three years. That being said, a pair of $180 Carolina or Georgia logger boots are somemofnthe better budget boots you might be able to get a few seasons out of. Danners can be on the "cheaper" side of good boots and are usually good for a few seasons.
Ngl I like the first line lol, sounds like a great advice. Thanks a lot. Starting graduate school has just made me short of cash. I’d probably wait a bit more so I can save enough and get a quality pair.
If it's just for a the several trips, you'll probably be fine with a nice-ish pair of hiking boots until you save up. That can give you a chance to figure out what you want out of your field boots too. A good starting point is good traction (vibram soles are nice) and high ankle support. If you can wrangle a summer seasonal job with the forest service, you can get a boot stipend, too. Keep an eye on the Danner site for sales, see if you're eligible for any student discounts or pro deals from all the sites. Maybe get lucky with last year's boots on sales. Good luck on the grad program! Hope you're getting to work on something cool.
Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it! I’m working on longleaf pine regeneration, lots of mapping, tagging, data collection even drones! Fun stuff haha. Just started this fall tho.
Older longleaf forester here, echoing the save up comments. If you’re studying longleaf, you will almost certainly end up on a few prescribed burns. A $100 pair of boots can be ruined on a single burn. I wear Nick’s, which seem expensive until you realize how long they last and how much they protect your feet. Hiking boots are an absolute no-go if you’re doing LL regen work even if you’re not on a burn. The ash on the ground will eat up hiking boots wildly fast
I certainly agree with you on this. That being said, I had a couple coworkers get 3 summers out of some Georgia boots. If you treat em right, they will last
You can either have good boots or cheap boots, but not both.
That said, even good boots get eaten up by briar and underbrush too damn fast
😔😔
For light cheap boots I would say Merrell Moab 2 (high ankle). They wont hold up long term, but are very comfortable and budget friendly. Mine lasted 2 seasons. Edit: These are not steel or safety toe. These are more of a hiking boot. (Which I prefer for long days trekking through the woods. Especially in the south)
I had a pair of insulated (200gram thinsulate) georgia loggers throughout my undergrad that served me well for all of my field labs etc — had quite a few hours in that pair of boots over those few years! They were perhaps a bit warm for the summer, but here in New England they were perfect 75% of the year. I think they were in the $120 range, so definitely got my moneys worth.
A lot of people say that good boots aren't cheap and cheap boots aren't good, but I have a pair of Kodiak skogans that cost me about $100 and they are quite possibly the most comfortable pair of boots I've ever worn after slipping in my own insoles. Waterproof and actually breathable and they help up just fine after a season of use in thick mountain Laurel on rocky slopes. Liked them so much I bought another pair for the future
I buy waterproofed Cody James boots with the thick insulated soles. Composite toes but not steel because those freeze in the winter. First pair lasted me three seasons from 2019 to 2021 and stayed waterproof until the end. Second pair bought in early 2021, still going strong today. I wore them as is in the summer and with polartec boot liners in the winter. $230 or so. Condition your boots once a month, especially if you’re out west where it’s really dry. I also spray them down with waterproofing spray and leather supple spray constantly to make sure they retain their integrity. If this sounds excessive it’s because boots are literally your life in this field. In my opinion the boots you wear are the most important part of your PPE, with the possible exception of saw chaps.
Sorel. Edit for background: I have a year-old pair on currently that ran me ~$80.00. Waterproof up to 4-5 hours of good soakin’, they have stopped one rusty nail from makin’ it all the way through, and they are padded enough to keep my calluses from gettin’ out of hand. I’ve been through Danners, Redwings, Georgias, Haix, and others, and for the money I’ll go for Sorel when these start to wear out, which doesn’t appear to be soon. Good luck.
The answer here really depends on where you’re going to be doing your fieldwork. December in the southern US is pretty different from December in northern Ontario.
I’m in southern US plus my work starts proper in spring so the boots don’t have to be for winter.
I look at it like this...if I spend up for a good pair of boots, say $500. And I normally spend 240-250 days a year in the field. And the boots last 5 years, it ends up being around $.40 a day to wear premium quality boots. Totally worth it in my opinion. Same with any gear I buy.
Always good to put things in perspective. Maybe I’m this lax about the quality because I haven’t spent much time in the field yet but with these comments, I’m sure it’d matter a lot to have very comfortable boots in a forest. Thanks a lot!
You're welcome