Jahtijakt Extreme Condition Boots

Over the past few months I have been testing some of the clothing and footwear sold by the Artic Outdoor clothing company who sell Jahtijakt clothing a top brand of Finnish clothing that is worn world wide by the most discerning hunters, and those who demand the very best from their clothing in terms of performance and value for money.

The Jahtijakt range was developed in the late 90s in the northern part of Finland by two rangers, professional woodsman and hunters, who wanted to develop the ultimate range of clothing for the severe conditions in which they found themselves having to work.

Northern Finland is within the Artic circle; during the summer temperatures do not exceed 16 degrees C and in the winter they drop to a chilling -15 degrees C. So the first thing that you learn about the Jahtijakt range is that it is designed to perform in the very coldest of environments. I certainly had an opportunity to test this out for myself as we had an early cold snap in Scotland that sent the temperatures down into the minus scale. The Jahtijakt boots were first out of the blocks and I have to say they are one of the snuggest pairs of boots that have ever graced my feet. With just a thin pair of sports socks on I was able to wear the boots right through the cold snap without once experiencing cold feet. Normally in such conditions I would be wearing a double layer of socks even in good boots but the Jahtijakt boots were so warm that it was not necessary.

These are big strong boots made from seriously thick leather that can really take the knocks. I have worn them for 300hrs in the most appalling of conditions, bashing them into rocks covering them in mud and having them soaked ‘day-in day-out’ for several months and they have born all this abuse like it was nothing. The triple stitching and Air-Tex2 membrane keep every drop of moisture at bay, which is not surprising as wet feet in the north of Finland with its sub-zero temperatures could mean severe frostbite, so Finnish boots have to be truly waterproof.

The level of support offered by this boot is on a par with that offered by top of the range climbing boots, which means that the ankle is seriously well supported, so if you should happen to put your foot in some little pot hole or go over some rock you stand a very good chance of the ankle staying intact. A sensible features on this boot is the rubber toecap, which prevents the toe from incurring any damage, which is the fate of all boots used seriously in the field. Some of my other boots that have leather toecaps look like some one has taken a knife to them with all the scarring and scraping they have received from encounters with rocks and such like, but that will not happen to the Jahtijakt boots thanks to the thick rubber covering.

One of the most revolutionary aspects of these boots is the inclusion of scent blocking fabric, which has the ability to radically reduce the amount of human scent being released, thanks to the inclusion of tiny particles of real silver within the fabric. This means that the hunter gives off a much reduced scent signature for the quarry to detect. I could easily write twice as much about the many more amazing features, but suffice to say they truly are one of the very best boots on the market today.

If I was to compile a list of my favourite boots then these would certainly be included in the top five, which places them in some pretty illustrious company, but one thing that really does make it stand out is the price where the others in the top five would set you back £260 to £300, the Jahtijakt boots come in at a very modest £139.95.