Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special Boots

Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special Boots

Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special boots

Newfangled boots get schooled by a classic design   

First impression: 
Right out of the box, the Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special boots look like a good-quality pair of bird chasers. Basically a down-scale version of Irish Setter's classic upland boot the Wingshooter. All the seams were sewn well and look sturdy. 

These are old-school boots in their construction: The 9" uppers are heavy leather with a waxy oil finish that repels water well. The soles are Goodyear leather welt construction that will allow them to be resoled. 

 A nice modern touch: the tongue is gusseted with nylon - a good idea, as leather gussets can be bulky and create pinch points if they bunch up when lacing. The tongue and collar are padded and the boots lined with a cambrelle-type synthetic material. The boots feature Irish Setter's Dry-Plus technology and are promised to be 100% waterproof and breathable. 

A quick fit-check showed the boots were sized well, and fairly flexible, so with a pair of Cabela's polypropylene liner socks and mid-weight merino wool socks under them, off we went for a test "drive."  I took the dog for a couple-mile walk down the local nature trail to test them out on terrain varying from asphalted gravel to sandy clay to deep sand near Buck Creek. Add to that it has been raining almost continually for a week, so it all was coated with wet fallen leaves.

 The Mitchell Upland Special boots feature Irish Setter's classic Wingshooter DSS (Dynamic Spine System) outsoles that feature a different rubber compound and pattern in the center of the heel and forefoot. The main sole has a wave pattern of traction bars while the softer inserts have bobs. Irish Setter claims the Wingshooter DSS sole "minimizes impact shock by absorbing stride energy and redistributes it through the sole" to reduce fatigue. For being old-school Goodyear welt construction, the boots do have substantial shock absorption, and were comfortable walking even on hard concrete sidewalk.  The soles had good grip on all but the slipperiest combination of wet leaves and sand/clay mud, which is a test for any footwear.

The all-leather construction on the outside of the uppers means there will be a longer break-in period for these boots than the newfangled leather/nylon composite uppers that have the more flexible nylon in the bend zones across the instep. I had a bit of slip in the heel cup, but once the leather breaks in, I expect this to diminish.

One drawback of the traditional design - newer boots feature a midsole that can offer a lot more support for your arches than welt construction. I may need to get some arch supporting insoles to wear in these boots. But, since the insoles are removable, it should be a piece of cake to slip them in.

UPDATE:

A short scouting trip to the Cannonsburg State Game Area and the Irish Setter Mitchell Upland Special boots are breaking in nicely. Less discomfort in the arches as the boots become more flexible.

The Wingshooter DSS soles provide good traction on the leaf-covered trails, and don't pick up much mud traversing the creek bottoms.

I'm liking these boots more and more.

Irish Setter Trophy Tracker Boots

Irish SetterTrophy Trackers

Insulation: Uninsulated
Available: Discontinued

I bought my Irish Setter Trophy Trackers somewhere around 2004, and they were my mainstay hunting boots until I managed to snag a pair of Irish Setter Tamaracks on sale.  From then on, Tamaracks were about the only boots I wore.

Irish Setter Trophy Tracker uninsulated boots

However, the Tamaracks have been discontinued, so until I hear from Irish Setter which of their new styles are most like the Tamaracks, I'm back to the Trophy Trackers.

Which isn't a hardship. These are a nice little pair of boots: not too heavy, but they support my feet well.  They are waterproof, but seem to vent sweat well. And they were very reasonably priced. I think I paid less than $50 for them.

The uppers are leather with Cordura ballistic nylon panels; the toe & heel caps seem to be leather with some sort of plastic coating that resists scuffs well. I've worn these boots through some nasty stuff over the years, and they still look nearly new.

The Trophy Trackers feature Irish Setter's waterproof and venting-breathable Ultra Dry construction; I wore them on an October day that started about 30 degrees and by the time I finished the day, temps had hit the high 50s. I had a pair of Cabela's polypropylene sock liners and a pair of Cabela's mid-weight merino wool socks under them, and my feet were warm in the morning, and not overheating in the afternoon.  Even with the temperature change, and walking through acres of frost-wet undergrowth, my feet were dry when I took off the boots.

Irish Setter advertised the Trophy Trackers as having a "self-cleaning Bull's Eye BOB carbon rubber outsole (that) offers excellent traction," but from my experience, they don't self-clean when in the sandy-clay mud common along rivers in West Michigan. They do, however, offer excellent traction, and stay unclogged when hunting in more sandy, loamy soil.

I've always liked Irish Setter's use of their removable, moisture-wicking EVA comfort footbed. They definitely help keep your feet dry, and if you step in deep enough water to go over the top of the boot, being removeable dramatically reduces boot dry time.

The tongue is gussetted three-quarters of its length to keep water and debris at bay; lacing features four D-rings and four speed hooks for quick lacing. I don't remember what camo pattern is on the nylon panels, but never worry about things like that, as I don't think most deer give a crap if your camo patterns match.

All in all, these are a great pair of boots for the price, and would have been even at their suggested retail price, which I think was about $80 at the time.

I'll update this entry when I hear back from Irish Setter about their new boot styles.

Everything you wanted to know about hunting gear!

Keep an eye on this blog for down-to-earth reviews of the hunting gear we use!

We have a number of blogs devoted to particular types of hunting, and at the end of each post, we list the gear we used for that hunt. Check out:

Michigan Upland Hunting
Michigan Small Game Hunting
Michigan Turkey Hunting
Michigan Waterfowl Hunting
Michigan Deer Hunting