WILDLAND FIRE BOOTS

UPDATED 8/17/2022

BOOTS ARE A HOT TOPIC. MANY DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATES HAPPEN ON THE FIRELINE ABOUT WHICH BRAND MAKES THE BEST IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND LONGEVITY. I’VE TRIED MULTIPLE BRANDS OVER THE YEARS AND SOME HAVE BEEN GREAT AND SOME HAVE BEEN AWFUL. THERE’S LOTS OF GREAT OPTIONS. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO PERSONAL PREFERENCE, SO READ REVIEWS, TRY SOME ON IN STORES IF YOU CAN, AND BREAK THEM IN BEFORE YOU START WORK.

What to look for in a boot:

• According to National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) safety/PPE guidelines: Personnel assigned to wildland fires must wear a minimum of 8-inch high (measured from the bottom of the heel to the top of the boot), lace-type exterior leather work boots with Vibram-type, melt-resistant soles. A lot of boots feature a lug sole and heel. The heel lessens foot and lower-leg strain when hiking in steep terrain, but many boot brands are coming out with mountaineer-style, flat-soled boots that also meet NIFC standards. It’s personal preference which style you like better. Mountaineer-style boots tend to be lighter than traditional logger-style lug soled boots, but don’t hike as well in steep and varied terrain.

• Make sure it says it meets protective clothing and equipment for wildland firefighting in accordance with NFPA 1977. It will say this somewhere on the tags for the boots or online in the description. This means that it fits the NIFC guidelines on what is acceptable on the fireline. If you buy from an established wildland boot brand this is a given, but if you are looking at brands that also make general work boots, this is what defines it as fire-specific in terms of standing up to heat and abuse.

• NOTE: Firefighters are starting to wear boots made for long distance hunting or backpacking that aren’t NFPA 1977 certified. I include a few of these boots in my recommended brand section because they are so popular with firefighters. They are generally very comfortable and great for hiking with weight, but keep in mind they aren’t rated to hold up in intense or sustained heat. This means the soles might delaminate or warp more easily. I’ve also read reviews that the boot manufactures won’t always honor warranties because the boots are being used for firefighting, not the intended purpose they were advertised for. I own a pair and love them, but for actual firefighting I will always choose my logger-style boots.

• Prices will range from $120-$550+ depending on brand, if it’s custom-made, and if it’s rebuildable. Stitching around the bottom edge of the sole to keep the upper attached to the sole and/or screws going up from the sole into the boot are signs that it’s not just glued together.

• Note: Every three years (if you work on a federal wildland crew), you get a $500 boot stipend as of 10/1/20 (before then it used to only be $300). It’s a reimbursement on your paycheck, and there are lots of little rules about receipts, when you can buy them, and what all the stipend covers, so make sure and talk to your supervisor if you’re starting your first fire job so that you follow the rules and get reimbursed.

• As you’re trying them on in store, wear the socks you’ll be working in, go outside, jump off things, walk up and down inclines to feel where they may rub and give you blisters. All boots have a break in period but some will feel better than others out of the box. Try lacing them tighter or looser on the foot and ankle to see what feels the best and gives you the most ankle support. Everyone’s feet are different and you may to have to lace one boot differently from the other. My right boot and my left look completely different when laced, it took lots of trail and error, but they were so much more comfortable once I figured out what worked for me.

• Don’t buy steel-toe. I don’t understand why some fire blogs even talk about this as an option. Metal conducts heat very well, which is what you don’t want your boot to do on the fireline and if a tree crashed onto your boot, you will most likely lose toes from the steel-toe cap slicing them off.

How to break in your new boots:

WEAR THEM! A LOT. Around the house, out and about, and then work up to hiking in them over varied terrain. This will break them in gently and mold them to your feet. It will also let you know what areas pose problems in terms of hot spots so you know before you have to hike long distances in them. I use duct tape on areas of my feet that get hot spots and that works for me to prevent blisters. Moleskin always rolls up and falls off in my experience, but it works for other people.

How to take care of your boots:

Get a boot oil that you don’t mind getting down and dirty with. There are tons of options, but this is my favorite because it’s not tacky when it dries and soaks in really well. It’s not a fun or clean process, but it’s the best way I’ve found to keep my boot leather in good shape by conditioning and sealing it throughout fire season. I wait until they’ve dried out if they are wet or have mud on them and then use an old toothbrush to brush all the dried crud off and then I use the applicator to paint on the oil. If you’re using a more common boot conditioner use a rag to rub the boot grease in. Make sure to get every bit of leather, around the eyelets, and down the tongue. If I’m being honest, I don’t do this as much as I should, but once a month or whenever they are looking really dried out is a good standard. Some people do it after every two-week roll.

Now let’s talk boot brands!

The brand that didn’t work for me:

My first season I bought a pair of Georgia’s. They barely lasted three months. They are one of the cheapest pairs of boots you can get (mine were $140) and if you’re going to be on an engine or not hike very much (such as on a volunteer fire department that rarely does wildland firefighting), these can be an okay choice, but my hand crew hiked all the time over lots of sharp rocks and in hot areas. By the third month the soles were peeling away from the uppers and I had to repair them with lots of tiny screws and shoe glue to keep them going through fire season. My last day, I promptly threw them away. Never again.

I’ve heard similar stories with Red Wing boots. They hold up for a season or two if you’re not hiking much. It’s up to you if you want to invest the money in good boots that will last lots of fire seasons or if you’re not sure you’ll want to do fire for more than a season you may get by with lesser quality boots.

The brands I recommend:

White’s Boots

My second season I bought a pair of White’s Hathorn Explorer women-specific boots that I randomly found on sale at a ranch supply store in Montana. They lasted me three seasons and held up pretty well. Over time, the leather dried out (despite trying my best to keep them oiled and cared for) and became really stiff and warped. The soles got really packed down inside from molding to my feet and the lug soles are pretty worn down. I use them as my back up pair that I keep in my volunteer fire locker for when I go on wildfire calls with my station. White’s Hathorn/Explorer lines are on the cheaper end of wildfire boots (I found them online for around $370 depending on the website), but overall they held up well enough for a boot that isn’t custom. They are rebuildable, but I’m not sure I want to invest in a new sole for them.

White’s Smokejumper Boots are well-liked and a classic choice for many reasons. Heaps of wildland firefighters use these if you want to go big and invest in a quality pair of boots from the beginning. They cost $370-625 depending on the website. All of White’s boots are rebuildable, so you can have new soles built and keep your boots going for years.

White’s just released a brand new Fire Hybrid boot that is supposed to be easier to break in, be more comfortable with its padded collar and handle any type of terrain. The boots were tested last fire season by some hotshot crewmembers I follow on Insta and they have nothing but good things to say about them. They are not super expensive either at $525.

Nick’s Boots

My fifth season I qualified for another government boot stipend (you get one every three years) so I splurged and got a pair of custom Nick’s Hot Shot Contenders. I remember the boots being around $450 when I bought them, but the 2022 versions are $535 up and now just called the Hot Shot on the Nick’s website. Nick’s states on their website that fire boots only cost $500 for Red Card holders, which is awesome. The custom fitting process was easy to do. You stand on a paper guide and trace your feet and then you measure different parts of your foot and record them for Nick’s to reference. This is how I found out one of my feet is bigger around in the instep than the other. I finally understood why it was so much more comfortable for me to tie my boot laces in different pattens on each foot.

The quality is great. All Nick’s Boots are also rebuildable, which is great for a custom boot to keep going and not have to go through the break-in period again. I’ve used then exclusively the last two out of three fire seasons and they’ve held up really well and I will definitely send them in to get rebuilt when they are worn out. A few things I should point out: They were ROUGH to break-in. I had some hot spots that wouldn’t go away for a few weeks, and they are bigger overall than my Explorers are. I found myself tripping and bumping my feet on things a lot in the beginning because of the size difference. Ever since they broke in and I got used to their size, they’ve been awesome.

JK BOOTS

Near the end of my 2019 season, I somehow caught an ember in my weirdly shaped left boot and it burned a decent hole in the tongue that allowed dirt to get in when I hiked. I did a short term repair job sewing it and shoe gluing it shut, but I wanted it fixed right for fire season 2020. A few of my friends recommended JK Boots. They had bought custom pairs of boots from JK and had repairs and resoles done and they all said the quality was great. I sent in my one boot, and JK did a killer job patching it for only $20 plus shipping. My only complaint is that they sent my boot back without my outer leather tongue and my leather boot lace. Some of my friends said that happened to them as well. So if you send in your boots, take your laces and tongue out first!

JK’s custom, rebuildable wildland boots go for $489-580, and they came so highly recommended by my hotshot/rappeller/smoke jumper friends that when I was up for another boot stipend at the end of 2020, I got a custom pair. I started wearing them in early 2021 and they are super comfortable and have held up really well after one season. The only thing I didn’t like is the tongue section was overly large for the size of the boot and I had to fold it just so to keep it in place when I start my day. After about a month the leather molded to my leg and now I don’t even notice it. With other boots I had a problem where the outside seam would rub my heels raw, but with these custom built I don’t have that problem anymore and that’s been amazing. No more duct taped heels on every roll! Overall I really like them.

I like them so much that JK Boots is offering $20 off any pair of boots with this Link

CRISPI

I was up for another boot stipend last season. My other boots were all in good enough shape so I searched for a mountaineer-style boot I could wear around the station and for off-season prescribed burning where I was hiking around in the mud and snow. I chose Crispi’s women's Skarven II hunting boot because there were heaps of great reviews of them preforming well hiking over long distances with weight and I found them for $320 on sale ($370 regular price). They are definitely not NFPA rated, but they are acceptable because they are leather (with a little Gore-Tex), exactly 8 inches, and have a Vibram sole. They are also a little insulated which is perfect for my cold feet in the fall/winter months. Crispi has a few other well-reviewed men’s and women’s boots that meet NFPA specs from $320-500.

It was REALLY hard to find a women’s boot that were tall enough. There’s tons of rad mountaineer style leather boots for guys in the 8-10 inch tall range, but very few for women. I’m really happy with them and they’ve held up well after a year scouting/burning in sloppy, unpredictable conditions. I don’t think the glued-on rubber toe cap will survive heavy use and heat so I won’t be using them during peak fire season, but they have their place in my boot rotation.

Other brands to know about:

SCARPA

The Fuegos were one of the first mountaineering-style wildland fire boots to come out that I know of. People loved them when they came on the scene because they are lightweight and less clunky than logger-style boots. They cost $389 and they aren’t rebuildable so you may be buying more pairs of boots overall if you stay in fire.

One issue I’ve seen in the past is that the soles are glued so they can easily detach from the upper if you’re working in a really hot area. Scarpa has since improved the boots and they are supposed to hold up longer than the original version by being rated to temperatures around 500 degrees F and be better quality overall.

LA SPORTIVA

The Glacier is also a moutaineering-style boot. It meets NFPA 1977 standards, but has issues with the glued soles delaminating so it’s billed as a project work, fire clean up, and hiking boot, but not a fireline boot since it preforms poorly in high heat situations. Reviews also say they don’t last more than a season. They cost $320-350 depending on the website.

HAIX

One of my coworkers loves his HAIX Missoula boots. They are similar to the Scarpa Fuegos in look and that they are lighter than traditional logger-style boots. He says they are great for hiking and he’s less tired because of the weight and comfort. They are one of the least expensive boots at $345 (and are frequently on sale for $290 or so). A popular complaint about this style boot is that the eyelets break easily and they are really hot and don’t breathe well, but HAIX claims on their website that these are more breathable than comparable wildland mountaineering-style boots.

DANNER

This brand has made work boots for decades and have branched out into wildland fire boots recently, notably their Tactical Firefighter. It looks like a mash-up between a classic logger and mountaineering-style boot and costs $400, which is also on the less expensive side. They also make a traditional logger style, the Flashpoint II which costs $460.

DREW’S BOOTS

Drew’s has been making work boots since 1918. They make a variety of classic logger-style wildland boots for men and women that are customizable and rebuildable. Boots are priced from $350 to $565 so there are lots of options.

ZAMBERLAN

The wildland specific Extinguisher II have mixed reviews and are a mash-up style of logger/mountaineer, but are well priced at $420. Reviewers say it’s comfortable out of the box, but not well suited to side hilling or bouldery terrain. One of my coworkers wears Zamberlan Outfitter hunting boots which cost $490, and likes them a lot for comfort and general firefighting, but they started to delaminate around the toe cap while working in hot fireline conditions.

KENNETREK

The Wildland Fire is a tall leather mountaineering/ hunting style boot similar to the Zamberlan boots. They are advertized as super comfortable and durable in brutal conditions and generally have great reviews. These meet NFPA 1977 standards and they have Kelvar stitching and laces and are a reasonable $440.

THIS LIST IS BY NO MEANS EXHAUSTIVE. NEW BRANDS AND PRODUCTS ARE ALWAYS COMING ON THE MARKET, BUT THESE BRANDS ARE TRIED AND TRUE.