Reviews > Footwear > Winter Boots > Baffin Extreme Series Boots > Dennis Shubitowski > Long Term Report

Long-Term Report - Baffin Vanguard Boots

Report Outline

Tester Information <back to top>

I was born, raised, and currently live in Michigan. I have been camping with family since I was a young tot. I have been backpacking for the last 11 years along with other outdoor activities like hunting, geocaching, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding and canoeing. I backpack in every season - rain, snow, or shine. My hiking philosophy has moved toward lightweight backpacking (or lighter) from my heavyweight days, but I have an eclectic mix of equipment that I carry that mainly depends on what I am testing for BackpackGearTest! Shelters range from hammocks to tarps to four-season tents and stoves are homemade alcohol, Esbit, white gas or canister with a titanium pot. Gear that I carry tends to be the lightest I can go without sacrificing comfort or convenience. My average three-season load for a multi-day trip, including food and water, is usually less than 25 lb (11.3 kg).

Product Information <back to top>

Measured Weights (US Postal Scale)

Testing Conditions <back to top>

Michigan had the most snow we have seen this winter in a number of years. The Baffin Vanguards so most of their use as an everyday winter boot along with snowmobiling, backpacking, and snowshoeing along with one dogsledding trip. I wore them to work throughout the winter, drove with them in my manual transmission vehicle, used them to walk the new dog, and to shovel my driveway among other activities. Temperatures bottomed out well below freezing at the start of the year with a good stretch around -3 F (-20 C). But come late February, the warm weather came and winter disappeared for good. I wore the boots up to temperatures in the mid 30s F (~2 C) and did not wear them after that because, for instance, on a hike in March where I might expect some cold temperatures, it was in the 80s F (~30 C) with uncomfortable humidity. It has been the longest spring/summer in Michigan that I can ever recall, and certainly not conducible to wearing winter boots.

Long-Term Report <back to top>

These are some of the finest cold weather winter boots I have ever worn as far as warmth management goes. These boots kept my feet more than warm in the coldest of temperatures this winter and move moisture like an assembly line. The materials have held up very well and show the amount of wear that would normally acceptable after a winter's use. The Cordura looks great and still feels quite new. There is no fraying of the stitches, and the tread provided great traction with just a chunk here and there missing after the test period. They are easy to put on and take off, and the liners can be easily removed for use inside a sleeping bag with no fear of damaging any delicate sleeping bag materials.

There were some things that did not work so well. Foremost for me was the lack of foot structure support in general. I have high arches and these boots offered not much at all in the line of support. I could not get a third party insole to work satisfactorily with them to try to correct this. The lack of support was generally only a problem when hiking with a lot of weight or spending a long time in the boots like when snowshoeing. For everyday activities, the lack of support was not something I really noticed much. The insulated liner also has lost some of the loft where they were almost too tight to put on at the start of the test. This is likely completely normal, and these liners are still many fold loftier than other liners I own from similar style boots. Due to the general lack of flexibility inherent in this type of winter boots, my socks tend to end up toward the toe with every step. This is alleviated somewhat with a high-calf sock, but I do not own any that I would normally wear hiking (ie. cotton). The cord at the top of the boot could also stand some elasticity to help keep it tight around my calf. The only other suggestion is to add some leather to the inside calf to help prevent the swish-swish that comes from the Cordura.

Final Comments <back to top>

These boots fill a definite niche in the winter boot market. This boot is what I have always called a "snowmobile" boot while growing up as a kid. As far as that application goes, I have never worn a finer boot. They are really warm, provide great traction, shed moisture like crazy and my feet never seem to get wet in them. They are a perfect winter boot for snowmobiling and other like activities where you need a warm, warm boot in cold, cold weather.

These boots fall a little short in the backpacking and snowshoeing department for winter use. They are a heavy-ish boot (but not more than the average boot of this type) that makes snowshoeing much more of a workout. That is if the boots fit in your snowshoes - they are pretty sizeable. The Tubbs Pinnacles I also am testing can barely swallow these boots and a pair of Crescent Moons cannot even open up that much. The lack of general support also does not lend itself to be a winter hiking boot under my heavier winter camping pack weights. If this problem were addressed, I would seriously consider the weight just to have the assured warmth and convenience of the cushy, removable liners.

The Baffin Vanguards are surely staying in my closet for the foreseeable future winters. The craftsmanship and materials on these boots are absolute top-notch. They are the warmest winter boot I have used and surely have come in handy when I was shoveling the driveway in 0 F (-18 C) weather this winter or flying around on a snowmobile on northern Michigan's extensive snowmobile trail system. I am thankful I have been introduced to the Baffin product line because I will continue to look to this manufacturer for my future winter boot purchases. Thank you to Baffin and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this product and offer my opinion.

Reviews > Footwear > Winter Boots > Baffin Extreme Series Boots > Dennis Shubitowski > Long Term Report