Luke Cuenco 08.23.21
Boots are one of those items where you want to have a lot of information going into your purchase. Not only are they hard to return if you get the wrong size, but you also may not even know if you like the boots until several weeks or months into wearing them. This has been my experience so far in testing out a lot of different styles of footwear. Irish Setter – a division of the Red Wing Shoe Compay recently sent me a pair of their Pinnacle Leather Hunting boots. I received Style 2704 which is their leather camouflage pattern and today we’ll discuss my experiences with the boots thus far and hopefully, that will give you a good idea of whether or not they are the right fit for you and your activities.
OutdoorHub Review: Irish Setter Pinnacle Leather Camo Boots
Irish Setter Pinnacle 9-Inch Waterproof and Insulated Boot
- Style: 2704
- Sizes: Men’s 8-14 (with half sizes up to 11.5)
- Widths: Regular (D) and Wide (EE)
- Waterproof? Yes (UltraDry™ Waterproofing System)
- Insulation: 400 Gram PrimaLoft
- Scent Control: Irish Setter Scentban Exclusive Scent Control
- Materials: Nubuck Waterproof Leather
- Construction: Cement
- Outsole: ATC – Black-Brown
- Footbed: Removeable Memory Foam-PU Foam with ScentBan Odor Inhibitor
- Price: $224.99
The boots feature some pretty advanced technology in terms of footwear and according to Irish Setter, they offer the wearer unparalleled stability and comfort when it comes to outdoor activities. Billed as hunting boots, they are both insulated and waterproof and I had full opportunity to test that. The boots come available in a 7-inch, 9-inch, and 11-inch length and all come in both regular and wide (EE) fittings. I don’t have the largest feet but I do have wide feet so I requested a pair of their size 10 Wide boots in the 9-inch variant (Style 2704). Upon the first inspection of the boots I noticed that they were very well put together, there was no loose stitching, molding defects and they had a very nice “new leather smell” as well.
Features and First Impressions
As seen above the Pinnacle boots come with a load of features that can sound intimidating at first but I’ll break down a few of them here. Right off the bat one of the things I wanted to know is if the boots were truly waterproof. I had a chance to wear the boots on one of my first outings when we had some pretty heavy rain and although I wasn’t completely ready to submerge them in the water I did have a chance to get them wet and I had no issues with moisture seeping in through any of the joints or seams.
I can’t really attest to the insulating portion of the boots as I received them in June but on the flip side, I didn’t encounter any overheating which is more of an important feature for me for the environment I live in (the mid-south). I found that the boots didn’t get too hot and also didn’t seem to make my feet sweat as much which coincidentally lead to a much better overall experience when wearing them all day. I took a summer trip out to the Abandoned PA turnpike and wore the boots more or less for two days straight and didn’t notice any lingering odors or smells.
As a final thought on my first impressions of the boots, they are quite good-looking. The boots don’t look out of place when worn with standard blue jeans but they look really great when paired with nearly any type of camouflage. Irish Setter calls the camouflage pattern for the 2704 model “Earth Field” which is very fitting as it blends in pretty well on the prairies of Wyoming just as well as it does in the Appalachians. I didn’t find that the camo faded at all even after several months of use and after a good wash and rinse off of the prairie dust I found that the boots were in nearly brand-new condition.
Comfort
In short, the boots were quite comfortable to wear throughout my testing and I plan on continuing to wear these boots as long as they’ll last. The insole did have a minor issue of sticking to the bottom of my socks for the first few wearings but after that, they stayed put and stayed fresh over the last several months and I still don’t have to worry about bringing them inside and worrying about boot smell. When I took my trip to the Abandoned PA turnpike I had to crouch walk for several miles and this might have been a bit more uncomfortable in any other pair of boots. The Pinnacle boots, however, did quite well and gave me enough range of motion in my ankles to support crouched walking without pinching or straining my ankles. In addition, they were still stiff enough to provide sufficient ankle support against uneven terrain and unexpected obstacles.
I also found the insoles to be quite comfortable and I honestly wish I could get them for my other footwear even if that meant having to deal with them sticking to my socks for the first few wearings – a small price to pay for comfort. Contributing to the comfort of walking with them would also be the use of EnerG material which helped dissipate any discomfort that might have been felt from walking on uneven terrain. If the area you hunt in is rife with uneven terrain then you shouldn’t have to worry with these boots.
Final Thoughts
Overall I found the Irish Setter Pinnacle boots to be one of the best pairs of boots I’ve ever tried. Thus far, the boots have held up to water, rain, dust, and dirt as well as rocks and scrapes. If I could change anything about these boots It might be to add perhaps one additional string notch near the top of the boots to really close the opening of the boots around your ankles to help on those colder days or on days when you’re not wearing jeans or pants that cover around where the boot meets your ankle. Aside from that, I felt that the Pinnacle’s offered me a superb balance of comfort, durability, and traction across a wide variety of terrain across the United States and I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a nice pair of boots that they can use just as easily on the trail as they can at their favorite hunting spot.
