Home > Gear Reports

The Ultimate Portage Boot

Equipment Review By Tracy Wilson-Burns

When I began thinking of doing the Bowron Lake Circuit in my sea kayak, the first concern that popped into mind was the portages. 10.8 kilometers of them! The second concern was how to get into and out of the sea kayak in the mid-May waters, waters which had only just recently melted from a glacial snow pack. I knew this would be a challenge because my exits and entries would be perpendicular to the shoreline, in knee deep water, traveling with three other boats (two tandem canoes and one other sea kayak) and having only a small area to land in. The third concern was how to pack below the maximum portage weight allowed by the B.C. Provincial Parks and still be able to carry enough wine for Brian and myself. I have problematic feet that require a good portage shoe, I detest ice-cold water, and the thought of a glass of wine at the end of the day would help me make it up the steepest, muddiest, most rut-ridden and mosquito-infested trail. (Our trip ended up delightfully mosquito-free!).

Chota offered a solution with their Chota Nunavut Mukluk boot. This boot has a rugged sole and raised heel that worked really well for me on slick rocks and the portage trail (the heel may not work well with quick wet-exits from white water canoes or white water kayaks). It has fleece lined 3mm neoprene for warmth, extending up to just below the knee (good for deep wading!), a reinforced boot-like rubber heel and toe support for extra stability, and a skin-out gasket with cinch to help with water proofness. They cost about $95 from Piragis (www.boundarywaterscatalog.com) and are wonderful! They are available elsewhere, but I shopped through Piragis and don't have the names of other vendors.

I wore them with layers of a polypro liner sock and a wool sock, both of which stayed dry despite frequent wadings. My feet never felt any temperature change while walking around in the frigid water and the boots provided great support and traction for me on the portage trail. (Considering that my loaded boat weighed almost the same as I, the traction was really crucial on the steep sections of trail!). There was some initial discomfort in the left boot at my ankle bone that required moleskin, but after a couple of days that boot "broke in" and was perfectly fine.

The only drawback to the boot is that it is only available in solid black, which quickly earned me a nickname of "Dominatrix", probably contributed to by pairing them up with shorts, a sleeveless T, a black holster with bear spray and a grim look on my face when I started up the first portage hill. Hardly a nickname I deserve. "Cinderella" would have been more appropriate considering how sensitive are my size 6 feet.

Piragis recommends that women buy one size smaller in the Nunavut than they usually wear, however this didn't work for me, I ended up with my usual size after sending back the smaller size. (Piragis was very customer-friendly with all aspects of the return, including refunding my credit card promptly and refunding me the initial shipping fee). If you are in a crunch for delivery time, order two sizes. My boots are a wee bit on the large side for me, which is nice because I can easily layer thick socks with them.

If you're looking for mostly-waterproof foot warmth with great support, this is the boot for you!