They came 9-15-10. I tried them on and while I am not overjoyed with the bootie idea (it came with two pairs), I will see how they work out. For $43 delivered, I can't complain too much.
I have been wearing them on two mile morning walks with the dog (9/16-9/23). It has been about 60-65 deg F out most of the time. The boots are rated 14-68 degrees F. By the time I got home my feet were sweating a couple of times. They are somewhat heavier than the hiking boots I have been wearing, but I expected that, as the hikers are a mid-length boot. I have fat calfs so I need to tie the laces off about 3 eyelets from the top to get it tight around the ankle and then I can loosen it around my calf. I think this is going to take some experimenting with but I think they will work out OK.
I wondered if they can be worn without the booties, but it did not seem to work without them. Just too big.
I tried them with some Dr Scholl's insoles salvaged from the Chinese jungle boots. Not much difference that I can tell from the insoles that came with them so I put the original insoles back in.
I have not had a pair of boots with speed laces before. It is not significantly faster to lace them up since I have to tie them off an extra time 3 eyelets down from the top to tighten them up on my ankles, but they are easier to work with. Lots of shoelace to deal with after tying it. I wrap it around the boot and tie it off with a square knot, and finish it with a double bow to soak up the extra string.
I also wore them all day last weekend (at least while I was wearing shoes) 9/25 and 9/26, both for the normal morning dog walk, and for a hike in a couple of local forest preserves. Saturday's hike was about 2.5 miles and Sunday's was about about 5.5 miles. The hike Saturday was on pretty level and even terrain. The hike Sunday was on much more uneven trails with a lot of big chunks of gravel, walnuts, holes, and other booby traps. I was glad for the extra ankle support. My feet were a bit sore after the hike Sunday, but my ankles came out OK.
I wore them again today on our hike in the park. I have not been wearing them for our morning walks because they take longer to lace and tie up.
I think they are going to work OK for the purpose I bought them for.
A few pics.
First the instructions that came attached to them.
A few pictures of the boots and the booties. Serious boots. Nothing fancy.
[added 10-3-10] The booties the boots came with do a pretty good job of wicking the sweat away from my feet, and they dry quickly when removed from the boot and exposed to air. It has not been cold yet so I can't report on how they do in the cold, and I have not tested their waterproofing yet.
1 comment:
I bought a pair of these for tactical field use in the summer of 2012, and they have proved to be more than serviceable. I have not had extremes of cold temps down here in Louisiana and East Texas yet that called for use of the booties. I wear them with cotton inner socks and heavy wool outer socks. In extremes I'll try them with the provided booties or my existing pair of Sealskinz booties. Designed as flight deck boots, they have proved to be excellent hikers and/or work boots.
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