khalampre wrote:So far my Red WIng steel toe boots have served me well in Iraq. I have been out in farmers fields, FOBs, etc and all is well
Red wings have a number of different models of boot. The state foresters I used to work with swore by them and bought a pair with their annual state perk every year. I bought a pair of Red wing #2218 (at least I think that's the number), I could not get used to the giant heel nor how little of the ground I could feel in those boots. I could probably punt a badger 50 yards in them, but eventually I gave them away to another forester after only having worn them a few times. The heels would catch on branches which was no good. Heavy suckers too.
I would say I have at least a dozen pairs of boots. 2 pairs of Danners, a pair of Chinese made Cabela's black full leather duty boots I use for motorcycling, A couple pair of EMS sewn-down vibram lug hikers, rocky snake boots, Canada made rubber insul. boots, some Montrail hikers and a few others...Usually I don't buy cheapos, but recently I came upon a 24 hour sale that was buy one pair get the next for $1. The best boots the store had were Bates enforcers with a side zip, so I bought two pairs for $80. After having pounded some decent amount of ground with each pair, I would recommend these without hesitation. They are super light and the comfort is fairly good. The only addition I would add to them would be drain holes as the zipper comes down far enough to let water in, but there is nothing to let it out. They do not let sand in and I have not had any problems with the grains getting stuck in the zippers, so I would say they would probably work well for sandy and/or dusty environs.
I've never had a pair of converse boots, but my wife has at least one pair of high tops in full black leather which are very cool looking shoes/boots. Some of these athletic foot shoe companies can make very impressive high speed boots and others fall apart in 2-3 months. Good luck.
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