Hoffman Explorer Review

[Deleted member 20812]

These are the Explorer Light model, uninsulated.

Going into year 3. I have no idea how many miles. A lot. Through a lot of rocks. I wore these every outing last year. This year I alternated them with another pair in the early fall.

Love them. Far better quality than my Zamberlans or last pair of Lowas. Every stitch is still intact. The leather is outstanding quality and has held up to the rocks. The soles still have a year left in them. The rand is 99% intact other than a very slight separation on the top of one toe.

10 out of 10 and I’ll buy them again without hesitation.

 

[44hunter45]

I have 4 years on my 8" Explorers and 3 years on my 10" Hunters. The 10" Hunters passed the Prince of Wales leak test with flying colors. I have literally worn the 8" boots every day. They may go back to Hoffman in Kellogg, ID for new soles this year. The heels are starting to run over a bit on the outside edges. I haven't hunted the razor rocks for Huns as much as @JLS.

I treat them with Obenauf's when they need it. I melt it in the microwave and then hit it with the blow drier until they won't absorb any more. This is how the folks in Kellogg told me to take care of them. When I told them that the brand made in Bozeman doesn't recommend this as it may make the rubber rand come unglued, their response was, " We're not them. "
Hoffman's Boot dressing is Obenauf's. It is not a secret.

The only mod I use is that I use Mad Dog Laces made from from 550 Paracord. They are the Darn-Tuff of boot laces and are guaranteed for life.
I was worried about the creases near the bend of the toes, but they have looked like that since about 6 months in and have never gotten worse.

The only complaint I have about these boots is that they are slippery as hell on ice.

 

[Wild Bill]

My pal in ID picked up a pair of Hoffman's and loves them. Might have to give them some serious thought as my feet have started getting wet in my Schnee's basically every time I wear them...

Glad they're holding up well for you both and thanks for the review.

 

[BackofBeyond]

The only complaint I have about these boots is that they are slippery as hell on ice.
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When you re-sole, have them put caulks on. Late season life changer.

 

[Southern Elk]

Can they be found at any retail locations in SW MT? I would love to try on a pair.

 

[MThuntr]

Can they be found at any retail locations in SW MT? I would love to try on a pair.

No as far as I know they are sold only through their website. The Explorer and ArmorPro are made in Italy by Armond

I own 2 pairs of 6" explorer lite and 1 Armored 8" (coated with a heavy duty coating for increased wear and water protection). I find them all to fit true to size. The ArmorPro version seems to run wider than normal for me.

There is a coupon code: Rokslide15 for 10% (used to be 15%)

 

[44hunter45]

When you re-sole, have them put caulks on. Late season life changer.

Also have air bob Hoffman Pacs and caulked Hoffman Pacs. I actually had the pacs for years before I discovered their hunting boot series. I tried a lot of brands before I came back to Hoffman. I kicked myself that I didn't try their hunting boots from the start, considering the good luck I've had with their pacs.

Even early season, caulks in the North Idaho Jungle make you feel invincible. You do have to stop every once in a while to remove the wood debris, mice, and voles that get stuck on your spikes.

I think I have posted before - Use Never Seize on your spike threads. I remove my spikes at the end of the season and store them inside the pacs. If you let the spike threads rust in, you will spin the threaded inserts the next time you try to replace them. The only fix for this is a re-sole. Ask me how I know.

I guess that means an addendum to my earlier review. It's not just laces that I mod, I use SuperFeet insoles in all my boots, the grey merino wool ones. I think these were discontinued though. A couple years ago I bought out the stock from an Ebay seller on them.

 

[44hunter45]

Can they be found at any retail locations in SW MT? I would love to try on a pair.

They are sold in some Sportsman's Warehouse locations. Black Sheep in CDA has them, but from SW MT, you'd be driving by the home store in Kellogg to get there. I would not be surprised to learn that Scheel's has them, too. I have had the boot people at North 40 ask me to take mine off so they could compare them to Kenetreks. They were very interested in selling them, but I have never seem them in their stores.

It's worth the drive to Kellogg to visit the Hoffman factory. (2 hours from Missoula) Like @Mthuntr said, the Hunter and Explorer series are made by Armond in Italy. I did my first fitting in Kellogg and they had every possible size and width on hand. Their showroom is relatively small, but there is a whole warehouse in back supporting it. They also had a rack of clean loaner Darn-Tuff socks of various cushion patterns in case you did not bring your own. I do not know if they still do that.

Sportsmans and Black Sheep will not have the full size selection, especially for wides.

Both Sportman's warehouse and factory direct in Kellogg allow you to return them if you have not worn them outside. I'm sure that Black Sheep would too.

I called Hoffman today and asked, they do not have a Pro/LE/Military discount.

 

[44hunter45]

Well, I've hijacked @JLS' thread - but you knew that was a risk if I saw someone mention Hoffmans.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Well, I've hijacked @JLS' thread - but you knew that was a risk if I saw someone mention Hoffmans.

No worries. You were the one who got me pointed in their direction. I’ll be getting a pair of insulated in the near future.

 

[TheTone]

I’ve got a different Hoffman that’s been one of my favorite boots ever. I’ve been swapping laces with the obenhauf laces on my boots for a while. Hoffman had my boots to my door within 12 hours of me ordering, it was pretty impressive.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I’ve got a different Hoffman that’s been one of my favorite boots ever.

The Discoverer?

 

[BRI]

I have a pair of the Hoffman pacs and really happy with them. A co-worker had a pair of the insulated explorer loved them. They've been high on my list to try but I've have such a good fit with Meindl that it's difficult to try something else.

For those that have tried Meindl as well, how is the toe box comparison. Due to a neuroma, I need a wider toe box.

 

[TheTone]

The Discoverer?

summit

 

[fishing4sanity]

Thanks to all of you, I think my credit card is about to take a hit.
Side-note question, how comfortable are they, like while driving, not road hunting... umm, driving around at work? Asking for a friend.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

summit

Brain fart. That was what I meant. I have a pair of these too. I’m a little lukewarm on these

 

[44hunter45]

Thanks to all of you, I think my credit card is about to take a hit.
Side-note question, how comfortable are they, like while driving, not road hunting... umm, driving around at work? Asking for a friend.

I loosen my laces when I'm driving any distance. Even then, my 8" seem to have a little wider toe box than my 10". YMMV.

You can lace the foot really loose and the ankles tight because of the cinch hooks at the top of your foot. They clamp the string and hold it so you can have different lacing tension above and below. This is one of the reasons I use the paracord laces. They are as fat as you can get through the eyelets and they cinch in the hooks really well.

I tried the Obenauf laces, but they were so slick, I couldn't keep them tied.

 

[Irrelevant]

@JLS
How stiff? My preferred chukar boots are 1/2 shank and crampon compatible (scarpa Charmoz). But my daily hikers are more flexible, just a stiff Vibram sole (scarpa Zodiac).

Also, how do you stay on your feet with soles like that!?! I feel like I'm walking on ice with mine and they appear to have twice that tread (though they're also twice as old).

 

[Deleted member 20812]

@JLS
How stiff? My preferred chukar boots are 1/2 shank and crampon compatible (scarpa Charmoz). But my daily hikers are more flexible, just a stiff Vibram sole (scarpa Zodiac).

Also, how do you stay on your feet with soles like that!?! I feel like I'm walking on ice with mine and they appear to have twice that tread (though they're also twice as old).

They are fairly stiff. I would compare them to Lowa Tibet or Crispi Nevada for a comp. The Summit is a little stiffer than a Salomon Quest.

Honestly I don’t have much issue with the tread. Catlike reflexes maybe?

 

[Irrelevant]

They are fairly stiff. I would compare them to Lowa Tibet or Crispi Nevada for a comp. The Summit is a little stiffer than a Salomon Quest.

I think those are fairly similar to my climbers. So you wouldn't worry about throwing some crampons on them and tackling Rainier?

Honestly I don’t have much issue with the tread. Catlike reflexes maybe?

Maybe it the age of mine, but I noticed it with my Danner in college, once those vibram soles wear a bit, they get "shiny" and slick as snot. I tried to wear mine in WY this year and ended up going back to something softer and soaking wet because the soles were fresh and still very grippy.