First Look at the New Sitka VentLite GTX Boots, an all GORE-TEX Knee-High Boot

Admittedly, I’ve never been one for knee-high rubber boots. During my youth, like many whitetail hunters, I reluctantly wore them to the treestand because it was the thing to do. If I was lucky, I’d make it an hour or two before the cold set in and my toes went numb.

At the time, I didn’t realize that those old knee-high rubber boots offered little to no breathability, causing my feet to sweat on even short walks to the stand. Once that moisture was introduced, the cold was never far behind. Before I began wearing different boot styles and finding out that my feet didn’t have to be cold every time I went hunting, I struggled to enjoy the time I spent afield.

If you’ve endured your own struggle with rubber boots, the new Sitka Ventile boots are the solution to your breathability issues. I’ve been testing them while hunting deer and sheds in below-freezing temps, and I’ve had no issues with sweaty, cold feet.

• Full-coverage PSC GORE-TEX construction
• Primaloft Gold insulation
• Vibram Litebase Megagrip outsole with proprietary tread design
• Heel kick pad for easy exit
• Proprietary plush PU insoles
• Weight: 2.1 pounds per boot
• Height: 18.5 inches
• Price: $399.00
• Color Options: Olive Green, Earth, Optifade Cover

PSC GORE-TEX Construction

The new VentLite GTX boots are the first knee-highs to ever be constructed with full-coverage PSC GORE-TEX. With that, you get all of the waterproof, breathable, lightweight, and durable benefits of GORE-TEX without sacrificing any features you love with your current rubber boots — like insulation. 

Insulation 

The VentLite GTX boots also offer Primaloft Gold insulation, which offers a higher value of insulation than Thinsulate. They’re also the first boot to use Primaloft Gold insulation in a full GORE-TEX construction. Unlike Primaloft Gold, Thinsulate tends to get matted down over time, decreasing your insulation value over the boot’s life. With insulation that won’t get matted down and decrease its value, these boots will keep your feet warm in almost any weather from early season to late, but thanks to the breathability of the GORE-TEX, it is not too warm where you’ll begin to sweat.

Weight

I weighed my size 10 pair on my Garmin Index S2 scale, and they weighed a combined total of 4.2 pounds. At 2.1 pounds per boot, the VentLite GTX is one of the lightest knee-high options available. For comparison, my pair of LaCross Alpha Evolutions in size 9 weighed 5.2 pounds. While a half-pound on each foot might seem trivial at first glance, over the course of hiking miles in the snow, I noticed the difference.

Vibram Litebase MEGAGRIP Outsole 

The Vibram Litebase MEGAGRIP outsole with Sitka’s proprietary tread design offers traction that I had never experienced with my old rubber boots. Hunting in the northeast typically means trudging through snow, ice, or slush on the way to my late-season haunts. With my old rubber boots, that meant mentally preparing to slip and slide my way to and from the stand, with a few falls thrown in for good measure. But as I spent the late season trying to fill my remaining tags wearing the VentLite GTXs, I’m happy to report that I didn’t fall once. Heck, I barely even slid or lost traction momentarily, which is saying something given the side hilling that occurred in the central Pennsylvania mountain laurel.

More Features 

The VentLite GTX’s don’t stop there. They also offer additional features like a polyurethane exoskeleton for enhanced durability and puncture protection alongside a TPU heel kick pad for easy removal. They also have a proprietary PU insole for a comfortable feel as you put on the miles. A final feature that meant a lot to me was the design of the top collar of the boot. The collar on the VentLite GTX provides a snug but comfortable fit to my calf instead of a sloppy fit that promotes rubbing, which is something I’ve had issues with when wearing knee-high boots. 

Read Next: Best Rubber Hunting Boots

Testing the VentLite GTX Boots in the Field 

While all of the features and specs might sound great, there can be a stark contrast between assumed and actual performance. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve still hunted during Pennsylvania’s late season in these boots, but I’ve also spent over 30 hours in a treestand and logged another 25 miles looking for early dropped sheds so far.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I can say that these are the best knee-high hunting boots I’ve ever worn. While walking, the breathability of the GORE-TEX paired with some Merino wool socks kept my feet from sweating, which has always been a downfall of other knee-high boots I’ve worn. But what I was most concerned about was the time spent walking to a tree stand and then logging a four-hour morning sit in sub-freezing temperatures. My feet never got cold while logging some long, cold hours in a tree after a mile or so hike back in.

After confirming that these boots would keep me warm without making my feet sweat, my final test was to see just how waterproof they were from the outside. I do most of my shed hunting in a lowland marshy area, and depending on the year, it can be brutally wet with the wrong footwear. But as I trudged and sludgged through the muck while looking for some tines, the VentLite GTX boots never let a drop of water in.

What the VentLite Do Best 

I was thoroughly impressed with the VentLite GTX’s performance in the field. Another thing I loved about these boots was that there wasn’t a break-in period for comfort. Right out of the box, they fit my feet, let me walk several miles around some public land, and never caused blistering or any pain whatsoever.

They delivered everything they promised to do; they were lightweight, comfortable, breathable, and warm. For someone with a rough past with knee-high rubber hunting boots, they re-opened my eyes to the benefits of wearing them.

Read Next: Best Hunting Boots

Where the VentLite Can Improve

As with anything, I think there can always be room for improvement. The biggest thing I noticed with these boots was the toe box. It’s very wide, which will probably appease the wide-foot crowd, but for me, there was almost too much play at times. It wasn’t enough to cause blisters for me, but perhaps with cotton socks, that could end up being an issue. To solve this, I think offering a wide-foot and a regular-foot version of this boot could be a potential solution.

Final Thoughts

I really can’t stress enough how impressed I am by these boots. For years now, I’ve sworn off knee-high rubber boots, and I was a true skeptic when I got my hands on the VentLite GTX’s. But after a few months of testing and some eye opening observations, I’m officially a knee-high boot converter, as long as it’s a pair of these. Whether you love or hate knee-high rubber boots, you won’t be disappointed with a pair of Sitka’s new VentLite GTX boots.