Who makes the best Combat Boot?

[pardus]

I was about to purchase a pair of these today but my heel was slipping in them when I tried them on, I have narrow heels which is a pain in the ass.
The guy (said he was an ex Lt Col in SF) there told me to cut an insole and glue it to the inside of the heel to stop that.

Any suggestions for a boot that would be good for me with narrow heels that I can use in my unit?

Are LOWAs any good for narrow heels? I keep reading about how good they are, I had some Merrell sawtooths that were bloody horrible on my feet due to my heels.

Thanks guys.

 

[AWP]

Are LOWAs any good for narrow heels? I keep reading about how good they are, I had some Merrell sawtooths that were bloody horrible on my feet due to my heels.

I have a pair of Danner's, the 453 model I think. I wish Danner made a lighter, Gore-tex free model (they are bloody hot in the summer), but otherwise I love them. I have a pair of Merrill's and my experience is like yours, they are chewing up my heels. Danners have been good to me, so have Wellco boots. Wellco is supposed to have a new lightweight/ hot weather model out in the first quarter of 2010.

 

[x SF med]

I have the narrow heel issue too - actually my old issue black combat boots, the issue goretex and my Chips all fit pretty well well - only minor modificatins:
The best thing I found in the issue boots is to use a little moleskin in the heel cup to make them fit properly and reduce the sliding if there were any issues.

 

[HeloMedic1171]

Pardus - my advice to you as a newb is to first ask your unit, AKA your 1st line supervisor/squad leader/PSG, in that order, and make sure that whatever you buy is authorized. and by authorized, I mean someone will tote the ass-chewing by a SGM or CSM cuz you're wearing what he feels are "unauthorized" boots. if your Unit is ok with 'em, by all means - spend the ducats. but I'd hate to see you spend $170 (roughly 2 weekends of drill pay at your pay grade....) on boots you can only wear with civilian clothes or off duty. make sense? otherwise, get something known to be "ok"... Danner TFXs, Altama Exospeeds, 5.11 HRTs, or something of that nature. stay away from the Converse boots; they're comfortable but usually not authorized.

 

[Crusader74]

Hiax are issued to the Irish Defence Forces. I've climbed in them, waded, ran etc.. IMO a great boot.


http://www.tacboots.com/c-haix-tactical-boots.html

 

[Devil Dork]

Is there no love for Matterhorn? I still have the pair I bought in '02! I wear them every day under a variety conditions and environments. They're starting to wear and tear by now (particularly the soles), but they have served me well over the years.

 

[pardus]

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/Warrior-Wear-Light-Assault-Boots,1060,20.htm
Are LOWAs any good for narrow heels? I keep reading about how good they are, I had some Merrell sawtooths that were bloody horrible on my feet due to my heels.

I did try on a pair of LOWAs, they were a really bad fit on my feet.

Currently, wearing Rocky s2v seem pretty good thus far. They are on offer through AFFES for about $160

 

[mike_cos]

boots should be comfortable and breathable and easy to wear, we use these (italian boots):

desert OA http://www.operazionispeciali.com/ranger-desert-gtx_2544693.html?iwNow=1300292555979
MOUT OA http://www.operazionispeciali.com/s-w-a-t-pro-htg_2544531.html?iwNow=1300292563463
Rocky OA http://www.operazionispeciali.com/black-hunter-htg_2544692.html?iwNow=1300292586248

there is a problem: price!

 

[ÉIREGOBRÁCH1922]

Is there no love for Matterhorn? I still have the pair I bought in '02! I wear them every day under a variety conditions and environments. They're starting to wear and tear by now (particularly the soles), but they have served me well over the years.

I have a pair of Matterhorn Goretex that I got back in 1996. Still going strong!

 

[Casimir]

I did try on a pair of LOWAs, they were a really bad fit on my feet.

Currently, wearing Rocky s2v seem pretty good thus far. They are on offer through AFFES for about $160

I picked up a pair of these just prior to deployment. I LOVE my blackhawk boots and like 5.11 boots for urban stuff (my 5.11's fell apart relatively quickly here in Iraq) but once my S2V's were broken in...I'm in love, they're freakin awesome. Will probably continue to buy rocky boots from now on, though I still buy Blackhawks or 5.11 if there is a good deal goin on. Usually LA PoliceGear has killer sales, just get on their mailing list ( I got a pair of blackhawks for 75 bux and just recently bought 5.11's 170 dollar boot for under a hundred)

 

[Crusader74]

I too have a pair of matterhorns for the past 11 years and still going strong.. Gonna pick up a pair of LOWA's ..They're all the rage here now..lol

http://www.aarondistribution.co.uk/combat.php

 

[TLDR20]

Nike

 

[Teufel]

The answer is....not bates!!

 

[pardus]

The answer is....not bates!!

Agreed 100% One of the worst boots Ive ever had the displeasure to wear.

They are also made in China.

 

[policemedic]

I've been going with Blackhawk and Oakley lately. The Oakleys don't seem as hardy as the Blackhawks, but it's nice to pull on a boot that doesn't need to be broken in. The Blackhawks are that way too, plus mine are waterproof (and that gives them the edge).

Fortunately, I have broad leeway in what I choose to wear. As long as it's black and takes a shine, it's good to go.

 

[Poccington]

I rock Lowa Combat GTX's or Meindl Eagles, depending on what I'm doing.

 

[fox1371]

I'm another Merrills user, however for the times that I'm required to wear a desert boot, I do wear Oakleys. I found that the newer designed boots do seem to fall apart towards the heel end of the boot, however I always buy the older designed ones. They're extremely comfortable and so far they've held up for about a year and a half. The most that I've had to do with them is replace the laces. They're really hard to find though.

http://www.steeltoebootsusa.com/oakley-tactical-six-desert-tan-boots.html

 

[policemedic]

I didn't realize Oakley changed their design. I've had mine for 4 years + with no issues.

 

[fox1371]

I didn't realize Oakley changed their design. I've had mine for 4 years + with no issues.

So you have the same boots that I use then?

This is the design of the boots that caused me some trouble. The inside of the boot wore out right at the top edge of my heel. It wasn't too bad at first, but after awhile it wore away to the point where there was a slight edge that rubbed against the top of my heel.

 

[Echo]

Men's Danner COMBAT 6" WP Lace To Toe Military Boots

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003PP87CU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1AXG923JIWAQI

These got issued to the unit that replaced us in Kandahar. Heard nothing but good things about them but they're not within AR 670-1. I got some for hiking on my free time though.