A Day in the Woods with Zac Provost — Detective by Weekday, Hunting Guide by Weekend
Some people split their time between two worlds.
Zac Provost just happens to be great at both of his.
During the week, he’s a detective with the kind of steady presence you feel the moment he steps out of his truck. But come the weekend? He trades the badge for blaze orange and heads straight into the deep woods of Maine, where he guides hunters across the land he knows like the back of his hand.
We spent a full day out there with him, boots laced, cameras ready, and temps hovering just above “cold enough to regret your life choices.” It was the perfect opportunity to put our Rangeley Boots and Trailside Chukka's to the test, not in a studio, but in the real environment they were built for.
And Zac’s private hunting land does not go easy on you.
Thick brush, wet moss, uneven ground, hidden roots, mud pockets that look innocent until you sink an inch too far... it’s the kind of terrain that tells you immediately whether your footwear is legit or just pretending.
From the moment we stepped into the woods, Zac set the pace. He showed us game trails, fresh tracks, wind patterns, and a few spots where patience pays off more than anything else. By his side was Axel Rose his Llewellin Setter sidekick, looking for anything his nose can find. Every few minutes he’d stop, kneel, and point out a detail we’d have walked right past; or tell a past story of a hunting experience.
Guiding is second nature to him.
Between long stretches of scouting and quiet walking, we caught glimpses of the man beneath the gear: humble, thoughtful, and grounded in the kind of way only someone who’s seen a lot, in city streets and deep woods, can be.
He told us how hunting resets him, its his happy place. How being in the woods balances out the intensity of the week. Hunting to Zac is less about the shot and more about knowing the land, the rhythm, the silence. It’s in his blood. Now it’s in the next generation too. We even got to meet his toddler, who proudly answered her dad’s question, ‘What do we do with deer?’ without missing a beat: ‘We shoot them and eat them!’
And as the day went on, our boots told their own story:
The Rangeleys dug in, climbed, flexed, and stayed dry.
The Trailsides handled the softer forest floor with ease. Lightweight, comfortable, and sturdy when we needed them to be.
We didn’t baby them.
We didn’t stage anything.
We just let the land do its thing... and it did.
As the day wore on we knew our time with Zac only solidified why and how we make what we make: the kind of reassurance that comes from fresh air, good company, and a day spent doing something real.
Huge thanks to Zac for inviting us into his world, showing us the land he loves, his family and putting our footwear through a proper Maine-style test.We’ll be back out there with him soon: new boots, new stories, same wild terrain.
