90 Miles in – A Crispi Colorado Boot Review

I’m sure you’ve heard this asked before: “What’s the most important equipment I can get for hunting?” And you’ll usually find one of first answers to be: “Get Good Boots!” I think many of us can agree, especially those with sensitive feet. Luckily, in today’s hunting, hiking, and mountaineering gear markets, there’s more boots available than ever before. In fact, it can get a little bit overwhelming choosing the right boot for you.

Choosing the Crispi Colorado Boot

Before we jump into my experience with the Crispi Colorado, I want you to understand where I’m coming from, because I know that some of you will be light years ahead of me in boot trial and error. For me, I’ve actually been pretty happy with my boots over the years. For about the past 6 years, I’ve been wearing Salomon Quest boots in various iterations, from the 4D to the 4D2, etc. I know a lot of guys that have used these boots, they’re very comfortable, pretty flexible, and lose their waterproofing pretty consistently after a year or two of use. But they’re relatively inexpensive and hold up fairly well otherwise. I decided I wanted to try something different and Crispi has been a very popular boot among hunters, especially over the past few years.

After researching boots for a while, I decided I would try the new Colorado from Crispi. So I tried some on at the hunt expo in Salt Lake City, and finally picked some up this fall as we became a Crispi Boots dealer in the Altitude gear shop in Afton, WY. Here’s why I chose the Colorado vs. some of the other models in their lineup:

The Colorado was released as a lightweight option in the Crispi lineup as a counterpart to the popular Summit, but with polyurethane sole.  The polyurethane is much more durable and functions better after significantly more compressions while adding a little bit more weight (.2 lbs). But at only 1 lb 10 oz per boot (size 10), they were attractive to me as a hunter who likes to cover country and stay mobile.

I was also drawn to the Gore-Tex membrane. It’s a brand I’ve used a lot over the years and feel that it delivers as one of the better waterproof, breathable membranes in the world.

Sizing is another consideration. When you’re purchasing boots online, sizing is always an issue. For me, I typically wear a size 10. In my Salomon shoes and boots, that’s a EUR size 44. In the Crispi Colorado, the size 10 US is a 43.5 EUR. I had to size up to a 10.5 US and stay with my 44 EUR to find a better fit. So if you’re looking at Crispi boots, I would say to stick to your typical EUR size when purchasing Crispi Boots, or find a local retailer or dealer where you can try them on.

I was going to take my time and break them in, but several of my lacing cleats came off of my Salomon boots so I was forced to go all in. This year I had drawn a highly anticipated Wyoming Bighorn Sheep tag and had been hunting as much as possible, trying to find a great ram.

After my first trip, my feet didn’t like it. The Colorado’s were a much stiffer boot than I was used to, and I could tell my feet were going to have to get used to the boots, and the boots were going to get used to my feet. We did a hard single night hunt for sheep, packing in about 5 miles, and then putting on another 8 or so while hunting that day, and another 4-5 miles back to the truck. I was pretty sore, the country we covered was rugged, and we had a little bit of weight on our backs carrying camp and food. But by the end of the hunt, despite sore feet, I could tell that the boots were getting much more comfortable.

After the first trip, they were broke in. It took a little bit of time for me to get accustomed to the stiffness of the boot as it was stiffer than anything I’d used in the past, but after a few miles, I got much more comfortable in them.

After 90 Miles:

So now, here we are, about 90 miles into them and I thought I would publish my first review. I hope to put a lot more miles on them, and they are holding up great. Many of these last miles have been through the snow, in rugged sheep country, and they’ve stayed 100% waterproof. The stiffness is awesome when packing extra weight in my pack and in rugged, rocky and steep terrain. The lacing system works great, and they stay tied well, and after break-in, I have found them to be extremely comfortable.

Overall, I consider the Crispi to be a phenomenal boot in my limited experience and I look forward to putting more miles on them over the coming months! If you have any questions about my experience, as always, feel free to shoot me a message on my social media or an email: brad@altitudeoutdoors.com

If you're looking for a new pair of Crispi boots, give our gear shop a call. We are now carrying the Colorado, Lapponia, Altitude, Guide, Nevada, and a few other popular models. Tell us you read our review, and we're happy to get you into a new pair of boots at a great price!