Crispi Wild Rock Review (400g)
I’m a Danner man. At least, that’s what I used to say when someone asked me what my boot of choice was. 12 years ago, I bought a pair of Danner Pronghorn 400g out of the Cabela’s Bargain Cave. For the next 10 years I wore those things everywhere. I’ve always been in the “one boot to do it all” camp so I wore them in the warmer weather of early season archery hunts to cold, snowy late season elk hunts.
Compared to all of the boots I’d worn before, these Pronghorns seemed to be the absolute best boots on the face of the earth. Two years ago, before what would have been the Pronghorn’s 11th season, I somewhat reluctantly came to the conclusion that it was time for a new pair of boots. I replaced the Pronghorns with what I perceived to be their tougher big brother, the Danner Powderhorn 400g. As much as I loved the Pronghorns, these Powderhorns took it to the next level. In my mind, these were now the most superior boots on the mountain. I put the Powderhorns through a fairly hard season of use last fall and winter was looking forward to getting another 10 years out of them. At least, that is until I was introduced to this Italian brand called Crispi.
My first pair of Crispi boots, the Wild Rock 400g, came as the result of a combination of generosity, good fortune, and hard work. I’d never personally considered buying a pair of Crispi’s before this because they were out of the price range that I logically concluded I was willing to spend on a hunting boot. So, when the opportunity came along for me to own a pair this last Summer, I gratefully jumped at the chance. I’ve put just over 100 miles on them this hunting season in a variety of temperatures, terrain, and weather conditions.
I still own all three pairs of the boots mentioned in this article up to this point. My trusty Danner Pronghorns are stowed away in a cabinet where I stow my hunting gear, their only real purpose now to invoke nostalgia. The Danner Powderhorns are collecting some dust in a location I couldn’t recall even after a solid 90 seconds of attempted recollection. The Crispi Wild Rocks are locked and loaded, ready to cover more miles and country before our late season archery elk hunt here in Utah closes down. If I were to write out a simple equation that sums up my experience, it would look like this:
(Danner Pronghorn < Danner Powderhorn) < Crispi Wild Rock
To put it simply in words, the Wild Rock is superior in every way. They are the best piece of footwear the soles of my feet have ever seen, and now that I’ve laid out the backstory, let me tell you why I’ve come to this conclusion.
The Leather
The leather they use to make these Crispi Boots is amazing. All of the parallels and comparisons you hear about the leather in Italian sports cars compared to American sports cars can probably be used when comparing boots too. I’ve heard from an unreliable source that Italian leather is so much nicer because they raise their bovines on a strict diet of grass topped with a five-cheese blend and give them pistachio gelato for dessert. Whatever it is, the difference in the leather in these Crispi boots compared to anything else I’ve ever worn or tried on is tangible. The leather is extremely soft and supple, but at the same time very strong and supportive. It’s the kind of leather that provides satisfying sensory feedback when you feel it with your hands, similar to the way my favorite baseball glove does. It’s beautiful leather that holds great potential and promises to only get better with age and use.
Crispi knows this is great leather on the Wild Rock, so they help you protect it with a full wraparound of some rubberized material that keeps rock and other protruding obstacles from taking pieces of leather out of your toes and heels. I regularly hunt some fairly rocky country, and in the past, it hasn’t taken long for the Danner boots I’ve worn to show some very obvious scrapes and gouges in the toes and heels. So far, the rubber wrap on the Wild Rock has deflected every sharp rock with ease and helped keep the leather looking great.
The Comfort
The Wild Rock is hands down the most comfortable pair of boots I’ve ever worn. My Danner boots have been comfortable as well, but the Wild Rock is next level comfortable. They broke in easily and they flex where I need them to flex and support where I need them to support. They fit my feet like they were custom made for me. Even though they were sized correctly, the soles of my feet never quite found their permanent home in either of the pairs of Danner boots I’ve owned. There was always just a little bit too much room front to back and side to side for my foot to move around in. In contrast, the soles of my feet know exactly where they live in the Wild Rocks. Regardless of the terrain, I feel more sure footed in the Wild Rock and my feet don’t get as fatigued.
The Ankle Support
I have notoriously weak ankles. It goes way back to high school when I played in 3-on-3 street basketball tournaments and messed my ankles up badly on multiple occasions. Over the past 11 years wearing the Danner boots, I’d rolled or tweaked my ankles enough times that I’d come to accept it as a normal part of hunting. Loose rocks, river crossings, and headlamp lit hikes would fairly often result in an uncomfortable ankle issue. It happens frequently enough that I always have two ace bandages in my kit.
So far, this season in the Wild Rock has resulted in exactly zero rolled or tweaked ankles, and it’s not because I’m doing anything differently. Multiple times this year I’ve felt the familiar sensation of my foot slipping off a rock at a strange angle and I’ve winced in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow, but the pain never came. The Wild Rock kept everything aligned and my foot hit the ground with no discomfort at all in my ankle. I’ve been able to cover ground more confidently wearing the Wild Rock and keep my attention on the hunt.
The Total Package
The Wild Rock is beautifully made of top-quality materials. They look great to the eye and feel amazing on the feet. All of the boots I’ve talked about in this article have kept my feet warm and dry, but I’m more comfortable and confident with the Wild Rock keeping my feet warm and dry. So far this year, they’ve kept all manner of moisture at bay ensuring my feet stay nice and dry. They also breathe extremely well so I’ve been comfortable wearing them during early season, warmer weather hunts. So far, they’ve performed great and kept my toes warm in later season, high altitude hunts in the cold, wind, and snow. They are just a fantastic all around, do it all hunting boot.
So, are they worth their price tag? Absolutely. Every penny. If I’d know 12 years ago what I know now, I’d have been wearing Crispi Boots from day one.
