Lems Boulder
I got the Lems boulder leather boots over a year ago after going down the barefoot boot rabbit hole. I have worn them almost daily for work and wear them for everything else and they're still holding up great. They are extremely light and comfortable. The waterproof ones had poor reviews of trapping in moisture so I went with just leather. For $150 they're a good price point for entry decent barefoot boots. They immediately became my most comfortable boot I've worn. For some reason I haven't hunted in them. I think they were so comfortable for everyday use, I didn't want to buy another pair for just for hunting.
Feelmax Kuuva 5
My go to hunting boot is the Feelmax Kuuva 5 from Finland. It was expensive to finally get these, but definitely worth it for me. I was searching for a minimalist barefoot boot for hunting and these came up. The were around $260 US dollars to my door. That is if you can try them on, which I couldn't before hand. They showed up and were too big. Not a little loose, but my feet were swimming and they wouldn't work. I placed another order for one size down with the intention to exchange the bigger ones. The smaller ones showed up, I replaced the insoles, and they became my favorite hunting boots. They're mostly leather and are waterproof up to the 4th eyelet.
I kept the larger ones (procrastination and thinking about ridiculous return shipping fees and VAT overseas). Some thick alpaca socks or wiggy's socks, thicker wool insoles and they now fit great for a late winter boot. So yeah, I have two of these Kuuva 5 to go all season.
Softstar Switchback
I've only had these for about a month and so far I'm a fan. I'll try them out this next year early season.
They're made in Oregon USA! Merino wool lined and come with wool inserts. The soles look a little funny, but function. All these boots look funny with the wide toe, but damn they're comfortable and I'll take that trade off any day.
The material on these is called Super Fabric (some bizzare do all, cut resistant, stain proof, water resistant futuristic yada yada material) and leather. The vibram soles seem thickest on these of all my minimalist boots. They still flex nice and really grip.
I've replaced all of my boot insoles with wool ones that I cut to size from Amazon and also throw all my foot wear on the boot dryer after wearing them. This helps keep them smelling way fresher as my feet can sweat alot.
Barefoot or minimalist style boots just make sense
for me and where I hunt. Your foot has some wiggle room because they're wider and your toes can splay or spread out naturally and they're not restricted. There is almost no break in period on any I've tried. You can feel the ground your stepping on and be a little more stealthy.
Alot of the cold weather boot threads usually end in having some wiggle room, no muck style boots that can't breath and either wool or alpaca socks. This work in the summer too as the boots are typically uninsulated paired with thin wool socks and they'll dry quickly.
This has been the longest thing I've typed on the internet. Let me know if you want links or you know how to google.
www.rockyboots.com
www.lemsshoes.com
www.columbia.com
