Review: XpressCool™ Muck Boots are cool and waterproof

Spend much time on a farm, hunting or working outside and you will appreciate any boots that can keep your feet dry.

Keeping them cool is another matter. Can you have both?

Knee-high waterproof boots are standard gear with Quapaw Canoe Company.

Disclaimer: Muck Boots™ supplied the product used in this review. Muck boots had no input in this review, and at the time of publication, there is no sponsorship relationship between Muck Boots and Survival Common Sense. All I ever promise in a review is a fair shake.

by Leon Pantenburg

Back on the farm, we called them chore boots. They were knee-high, made of rubber and uninsulated, and chore boots were standard footwear for cleaning out barns. They were available at the local Tractor Supply, Big Bear or Walmart stores. That style of boots were great when you were slopping around in the organic evidence of a dairy cow herd, or mucking out stalls, but they were also hot and clammy.  After wearing them for a while on a warm day, your socks would be wringing wet. Sore, soft feet were a given.

I still wear this style of boot while on the Mississippi River with Quapaw Canoe Company. The guides are in and out of canoes all day, frequently in ankle to knee deep water. During warm weather, Neoprene boots are worn barefoot. We coat our feet with Vicks VapoRub™. This is a proven combination, but the idea of a waterproof boot that was also reasonably cool was intriguing.

I wore my XpressCool™ boots on a Mississippi River canoe voyage in early November. The weather was cooling down in Mississippi, and I didn’t get a chance to try them out in hot weather.  I  wore my go-to thick Buffalo Wool Trekker™ socks in the XpressCool boots, and the combination proved to be excellent.

Here are the Muck Boots XpressCool specs, according to the company website.

• 100% Waterproof

The good stuff:

Comfort: The boots are well designed for walking. I walked my dog in the rain several times wearing the Muck Boots, going more than two miles each time. The boots kept my feet dry, without rubbing or chaffing. I didn’t notice excessive moisture buildup after 30 minutes of vigorous walking. I would not use them as hiking boots – too tall, stiff and heavy – but they would be superb for early season deer or turkey hunting in swamps.

Size: I got mine about a half size bigger than my regular boots. This is to allow room for thick socks. In a waterproof boot, you will need a thick – Not cotton! – sock to absorb moisture, insulate and help disperse the heat from the foot. Be able to wiggle your toes in the boot when wearing your socks.

If these boots will be worn in cold weather, some thick wool socks and insoles should keep your feet warm and toasty.

The Vibram soles feature a tread design that doesn’t get clogged in deep mud.

Vibram™ Outer Sole: I wore the boots in deep mud, and the soles never got gummed up to the point where they didn’t provide traction. This is a big deal for people working on a farm or hunting in swamps. A boot sole that gets slippery, or clogs up easily, is dangerous.

Easy on and off: Wrestling a tall boot on and off is a major pain, especially if you have to sit down to do it. These boots were snug in the heel, to prevent sliding, and the support over the arch is about right for me. I was able to stand by a canoe, and remove these boots, without any particular difficulty.

Temperature range: The box lists 40 degrees to 95 as the comfort zone of these boots, which is about perfect for most summer applications. The thick socks kept my feet warm when the temps got down low on the November river trip, but the boots were not sweatboxes when it got warmer. This is due, according to the company information, to the XpressCool lining material, a moisture wicking system that pulls moisture away from the foot rapidly and spreads it out for fast evaporation.

The boots also have the etc® sockliner, which is designed to reduce friction and heat buildup. I appreciated this feature. There was not any rubbing on my heels, or hot spots, even when the boots were brand new and needed breaking in.

Do you need a pair of XpressCool Muck Boots?

All this cool technology works for me. (I couldn’t resist that pun…) Temps were in the 40s through 80s when I wore these boots, and they have not been excessively hot. I’ll have to wait until hotter weather to further test the coolness.

My experience so far has been that these boots are cooler and more comfortable than other similarly-designed boots I have worn in the past. For the southeastern deer and turkey hunter, these might be the boots you have been looking for. If you handle irrigation lines in fields, or take care of farm animals during the summer heat, you will appreciate the comfort and coolness.

I like these boots, and will be using them a lot.

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