That's the ball we came in here for that's a big ball I just hope we can get
around to him in time.
Hi guys, Guy Eastman here in the Eastman's Gear lab today we're going to talk about
boots, in particular is the Zamberlan boot product most of you already
probably know that the highest quality hunting and backpacking mountaineering
boots all come out of Europe and Zamberlan is no different. Zamberlan is an
italian boot company that has a very high quality product one of the things
you'll notice when you pick up a pair of Zamberlan's is the workmanship it is
impeccable. Zamberlan has dozens of boot models
available and today we're just going to talk about two that I have experience
with in particular. The Zamberlan 10-14 Lynx is based off of one of their most
popular boots the V Oz but this is the hunting version of that it's a very good
quality boot built mostly for backcountry bowhunting it's not super
lightweight but it's a mid weight/lighter weight backcountry boot so this
boot is a boot that is it has a softer rubber sole so you get a little bit
quieter in the backcountry but also it's firm enough to be able to handle a heavy
load on your back if you're backpacking or packing out an elk or what not so it's
kind of an in-between but it's a great choice for a backcountry bow hunter
whether you're hunting mule deer, elk, or even possibly sheep and not super rough terrain.
You can see the upper is two point four millimeter new buck leather
it does have the the Zamberlan flex system so that the ankle section of the
boot breaks away from lower as you can see right there it'll flex real easy
without getting a big bubble of the harder' new buck leather to give you a
rubbing or blistering on your ankle so that's a good feature it also has a
gore-tex membrane so that it's real breathable and waterproof I mean it's
it's a boot you could use here in Wyoming or Montana say up until about
the first week of October, weather wise. The sole is is a good hearty sole on it
it's a Vibram sole it's got a little bit softer rubber like I said then most
other boots the lugs on it aren't as quite as aggressive as a lot of heavier
duty backcountry boots so that's another way they save weight and make the the
rubber little softer it does have a shank inside of it so that your
get a little more wear out of out of the soul and it one thing this boot does not
have and you've noticed it already I'm sure is rubber rand around it so that
will cut down a little bit on the durability of the boot but it's gonna be
a little bit lighter and more flexible you can see the hardware on here is very
high-quality just like all the European boots are riveted all the way through.
I think at sportsmans warehouse.com you can get this boot for about 350 bucks
maybe a little less and they'll ship it free to the store for pickup so you can
save a little bit of money there so a very very high quality handmade italian
product that definitely won't do you wrong in the backcountry.
Now we're going to take a look at the RR GTX 980 outfitters this is the brand new
hot-off-the-press offering from Zamberlan. This is the most technologically
advanced boot Zamberlan has ever produced it has some pretty significant
improvements over the older version one of the things they incorporated was an
updated rand system you can see the rand when you look real close it has a
beveled edge and an improved rubber compound which helps with expansion and
contraction it's more flexible so when you get that boot wet it expands and
then when it dries out it contracts and so that will help a lot with separation
when that thing contracts and dries out it's less likely to separate from the
rand like most boots tend to do. Also it has the beveled edge so there's less
edge to catch on things so you have less chipping and the ripping on the edges
around the rand. Another thing it has is a very technologically advanced and
improved heel cup a one thing you'll always notice when you put your foot
into a Zamberlan boot is the fit on the heel is probably one of the best of any
high-quality mountaineering boot I've ever worn so that it eliminates when
you're going downhill or on flat harder ground your heel will not slip back and
forth and so you end up with much less heel abrasion or blistering with these
boots than you tend to other ones, you can see how well the back end of this
boot is designed it has a nice heel that sticks out a lot of the other boots tend
to just go straight up and so this boot eliminates the lateral movement on
your heel and the vertical up and down movement which can tend to cause
blistering. One of the other things this has a proprietary Vibram sole which is
designed specifically for Zamberlan and it has two rubber compounds in it so it
has a softer version in the center for cushioning but the outer version is a
harder rubber so you're not going to lose your lugs off here it's a little
much stronger the lugs are built on the toe for gripping going up hill on your
toes and the heel the lugs are designed to eliminate slippage. The outfitter GTX
is a little bit firmer boot in the ankle area it does not have
the flex system that the Lynx does the hardware is still high quality hardware
the leather is a two point eight millimeter new buck leather so it's a
little bit heavier duty than the Lynx which has a two point four millimeter
not much but just a little bit heavier. It also has a gore-tex membrane this is
a type of boot if you take care of it treat it well with some good waterproof
treatment each year before and after the fall you're gonna last in this boot for
probably three or four years at least if you go to Sportsman's Warehouse.com or
into the sports to warehouse store you can get this boot for about three
hundred seventy-five dollars so it's a pretty economical boot for what you get.
It's got a lot of quality a lot of technology built into it for less than
four hundred dollars it's a very good investment into your hunting arsenal and
this boot can handle a lot of rough backcountry and really heavy loads on
your back if you're going sheep hunting or you're going elk hunting this is a
must-have type boot.
High-quality hunting boots are no different than a high quality fly rod or
high quality optics there's about five or six manufacturers on the market to
look at but each one is a little bit different it's important you look at the
specifics of each one and boots are even more specific in that you're looking
also for the fit I suggest you run down to a sportsmans warehouse and try a pair on
if you're looking for a new pair of boots make sure the fit does you well
but I've guarantee the quality and the durability of this boot is going to last
you a long time.