Oboz Beartooth Boot review

Hiking boots, especially of the backpacking variety, must be burly. Well, burly is the one adjective out of all available Thesaurus words that describe the Oboz Beartooth boots. The Beartooths are massively burly… so much so that anyone who’s drinking the fast-and-light Kool-Aid will scream away in fear from these old-school style kicks.

The Oboz Beartooth Boot (Image: Oboz)

The Beartooth boots are the latest backpacking boot from Oboz, a company that makes its home in Bozeman, Montana. In fact, the word “Oboz” is a combination of “outside” and “Bozeman.” Of course, Montana is a big state, so maybe that’s why the Beartooth’s are such beefy monsters that look like they can slay any terrain or conditions. While Utah isn’t Montana, I found plenty of mountainous playgrounds to dirty up the Beartooths and put them through their paces.

Out of the box, I was impressed with the Beartooth’s bombproof materials stitched together like Nubuck leather over suede, stainless steel hardware, and a surprisingly high quality urethane foam footbed with high arches and airflow perforations. In fact, I swooned over the footbeds as I have high arches and felt no need to replace them with after-market versions, which is very rare compared to other shoe companies who tend to cheap-out on that particular aspect of shoe manufacturing.

On the trail with the Oboz Beartooth Boots (Photo: Jared Hargrave - UtahOutside.com)

Through the fall season while hiking in the Wasatch, the Oboz Beartooth Boots were my partners, in good weather and bad, Our relationship began innocently enough, with short hikes on the Salt Lake foothills where we got to know each other, and so I could break them in a bit. Right off the bat, we hit it off, even though they made me feel a bit like Frankenstein’s Monster in the house.  But that clompy feeling on flat surfaces translated to monster truck aggression on loose dirt and rocks when things got steep outside. In a word, the Beartooths are stable, and while they won’t be breaking any speed records, they will get you to the tops of mountains without any worry of rolled ankles or injured toes. While on the trail, I especially like the lacing system with webbing pull straps that hold the heel inside a 3D molded external heel counter for zero slippage (and less blisters.)

Heel-locking webbing on the Oboz Beartooth Boots. (Photo: Jared Hargrave - UtahOutside.com)

Bad weather holds no truck over the Beartooths’s either. With their BDry waterproof, breathable membrane, water and snow stay out so feet remain dry. I discovered this after a snowy hike in Neffs Canyon when rain turned to sleet and then snow. Not only did my feet stay dry, but the soles proved to have excellent traction, even on wet rocks along dry creek beds covered in mud and slush. I also stomped through powder while shooting video for work on a super-cold fall day and felt toasty and warm inside the boots. While there is no insulation to speak of, I think the Beartooth’s will work perfect as winter shoes when paired with wool socks, and I look forward to trying them out with snowshoes.

Super-lugged soles of the Oboz Beartooth Boots. (Photo: Jared Hargrave - UtahOutside.com)

While I never did get a chance to do any actual backpacking to test these Oboz boots ability to support a heavy load, I’m confident that they are up to the task, especially considering how truly supportive and old-school these boots are. So if you’re one who practically runs to the tops of mountains, look elsewhere. But if you fall into the category of someone who enjoys long backpacking trips into the mountains, or needs lots of ankle support on the trail, then you really can’t go wrong with the Oboz Beartooths.

Available in both Men’s and Women’s sizes.

Tags: Backpacking, Beartooth, boots, gear review, Hiking, Oboz, outdoor recreation