Xtratuf makes a number of variations on the Deck Boot theme (mens and womens); here are our thoughts on them:
- Vintage (men, women): These are the same as our pick but come pre-distressed, feature color schemes distinct from our top pick, and have pull tabs that are “inspired by nautical rope.”
- Legacy (men, women) and Steel Toe Legacy (men sizes only): These are shorter versions of a former pick, the 15-inch Xtratuf Legacy Boot. They are more expensive than our pick and also don’t have kick tabs for easy removal, so we think the Ankle Deck Boots are a better choice.
- Leather (men, women): While we haven’t officially tested these, a Wirecutter staffer has owned a pair and said that, while they lasted, the leather was not high quality and ultimately he doesn’t recommend them. If you want leather, consider weatherizing a pair of Blundstones.
- Wheelhouse (men, women): Kyle tested these commercial-grade versions of our top pick. They’re tougher-feeling and quite a bit heavier as well. Unless you want a rain boot that doubles as a workboot, we think the regular Ankle Deck Boot will be more comfortable for everyday use.
- Sport (men, women): We haven’t tested these because they were designed with sportfishing in mind, and we don’t think they offer advantages over the regular Ankle Deck Boot.
- Ice: As the name implies, these boots were designed to be better on wet ice than the regular deck boot. While we haven’t tested them yet, we’ll consider doing so in the future.
- Legacy Lace-Up and Leather Lace-Up: If you want a lace-up boot, you’re better off going with L.L.Bean Bean Boots, which has a great track record.
- The 15-inch Xtratuf Legacy Boot for men and women is high quality, it’s flexible at the ankle, it offers super-sticky soles, and it has stood the test of time. But we found that tiny rocks and debris get wedged in the tread and require picking out by hand.
Women’s boots
Many of the women’s boots we tried fit and performed well but couldn’t unseat our top picks for small reasons, such as styling, inferior materials, or small upticks in price. Those include the Kamik Jennifer and the Kamik Heidi (the latter appears to have been discontinued and replaced with the Heidi 2, which we haven’t tested).
We have vetted the quality of the Hunter Women’s Original Tall and think this is worth buying if you like the look of a tall boot. But this shape overall is simply less wearable than an ankle- or calf-height boot.
As one commenter mentioned, Original Muck Boot Company Chore boots are a favorite among winery and brewery staff and horseback riders. If you love them, get them. But we still think the handled shaft on the women’s-model Bogs boots is an inspired design touch.
Both Hunter Women’s Original Chelsea and Sam Edelman Tinsley boots had the same problem as many other rain boots styled like dress shoes. In our tests, we found the shape of the toe and ankle to be slightly restrictive and uncomfortable when walking for extended periods of time.
The Asgard Chelsea boot on Amazon is so popular it’s head-spinning, garnering an average of 4.5 stars with more than 15,000 reviews. Regardless, this is a PVC boot with a narrow toe box and a wide, unprotected elastic panel that can let in water. We can confidently say that we don’t recommend this boot in any way as a functional rain boot.
Men’s boots
As one commenter mentioned, Muck Boots are a favorite among winery and brewery workers and horseback riders. If you love the Chore Mid boots, get them, but we really like the rounded sole of the Bogs for heavy mud.
The Kamik Icebreaker is more like a winter boot, as it is heavy and hot. It performed similar to the Bogs pair in the mud and proved a decent alternative for half the price.
Kamik’s Michael rain boot started as a promising budget option for a calf-height boot, but once we took them into the woods, with variable terrain, they quickly became uncomfortable. The sole has very little cushioning, and the wide calf opening clapped relentlessly on the back of our legs as we walked.
The Grundens Deck-Boss Ankle Boot were quite comfortable but harder to slip into than our top pick, and after several days of pulling them on, stitches on both of the rear pull-tabs began to audibly rip away from the boot (though they hadn’t fully detached). We’ve pulled just as hard on the tabs on our Xtratuf top pick for years, with no issues.
Our male testers found the style of the Hunter Men’s Original Tall boot too feminine (despite the boots’ history as a men’s military and hunting shoe), but it performed among the best in the mud and landed in the midrange on traction tests. If you are into it, get it.
The Hunter Men’s Original Chelsea has the same issues as the women’s Chelsea from Hunter. The shape of the toe and ankle on this model was restrictive, and walking became uncomfortable for our testers. And unlike on the short and tall Hunter boots, the top of the shaft on the Chelsea is unfinished.
We also tested boots from Bogs, Crocs, Everlane, L.L.Bean, Madewell, Joules, Kamik, and UGG that have since been discontinued.
