THE ULTIMATE TOP END BOOT.
I recently experienced a wilderness hunt of a lifetime in the Northern Territory of Australia. On this remote top end adventure, I explored two boot options from CRISPI®. The first was the Summit GTX®, the other was the Attiva Mid GTX®. The terrain was slightly undulated with the occasional cuts from a creek or natural spring, as we got closer to the coast the gradient grew to cliff. In spots the grass was tall, in others the grass had recently been burnt in a low temperature wildfire. The edges of the freshwater swamps had sharp, turned up rooting’s from feral pigs and dry wallows from buffalo. Temperatures were in the high twenties, low thirties.
The Summit GTX® were selected for this journey because they are a lightweight, semi synthetic, ankle lace up. Being lightweight and breathable they were perfect for the daytime temperatures encountered on the Cobourg Peninsula. The ankle support was welcome when stepping through the rock hard, dry, turned up earth from pigs enjoying the wet season prior. This type of terrain makes it very easy to roll an ankle, but the Summits handled it with comfort. Fatigue was minimal because I found these boots help propel my natural step motion.
The second pair was the ultra-lightweight, almost trail shoe, Attiva Mid GTX®. These boots have a lower cut ankle and feel like a runner more than a boot. They were amazing on this hunt. On the first day we used the boat to access remote country in the hunting concession I decided to put on the Attiva’s due to the fact I could quickly and easily remove the boots when wading through water accessing the boat. Even though these boots are quiet in the field, this boot comes into its own when you need to get closer to a wild animal. To sneak those extra few metres you can slip them off without untying the laces due to the pull cord setup.
As I have come to expect from the team at CRISPI®, the quality was high on these handmade Italian boots. I couldn’t find a negative for either boot on this hunt, they both performed well and were very comfortable out of the box. My pick for a top end boot is the Attiva Mid GTX®. I wore them for the majority of the hunt. Comfort, breathability, weight and removability were the main reasons why I enjoyed this boot. They were slightly quieter than the Summits when walking through the scrub and were perfect in the heat. If we needed to go barefoot, I could remove them quietly and with very little movement.
Based in Italy, CRISPI® has been building the highest quality handmade hunting and mountain boots for more than 40 years. They are a world leader in the outdoor footwear space with a strong focus on hunting. A list of Australian stockists can be found via this link
