Oakley Assault Boots

Oakley Assault Boots
(US Elite Special Forces Standard Issue)
by Arnie

	Stock Specifications
RRP	225USD

Please note that boots are a difficult item to recommend to someone you don't know, as individual tastes vary as much as the shape of feet. What I may find comfortable, may not be the case for you the reader - but I'll do my best to give you as much information as possible to help aid your decision. ;o) These boots were kindly supplied by ExtremeProcurement in conjunction with OakleyUK.

"...Remember camouflage gear after the first Gulf War? Now a small army of companies hopes to start selling consumer versions of the goggles, boots and other products they've been supplying to the troops in the Middle East..." CNN/Money

Hardcore "booty": The Oakley boots struck somewhat of a stir when they were announced (for varying reasons ^_^) and it's certain that they are rather unique in terms of looks and design. Oakley are well known for their world renown line in optical eyewear, and relatively recently branched out into other areas of the market. Every Oakley product is very carefully thought out, designed with a specific target audience in mind, and continually tested and benchmarked throughout the product's development cycle to produce a unique, functional and very marketable item. These boots prove to be no exception to the Oakley lineup. Designed for the Elite Special Forces, and now available to us Airsofter's:

"...It's the latest benefit of a fifteen-year alliance between the United States military and a technology company called Oakley. Engineered specifically for the U.S. Elite Special Forces, it's part of Oakley's ongoing research and development with the United States Military.

This military hardware exceeds the combat performance profile for durability, comfort and protection. Engineered with a lightweight athletic design, the Elite Special Forces Standard-Issue Assault Boot is braced by an over-the-ankle boot shaft and shielded by abrasion resistant panels on soft top-grain leather. Comprehensive moisture control maximizes comfort. Advanced polymer EVA and premium urethane offer resilient shock absorption. High-NBS vulcanized rubber maintains traction over a full range of terrain..." Oakley

First looks: Well the first thing that strike you when you open the box is the sheer modern look of the boot. You simply can't confuse this with your standard hard soled leather boot. I think the best way to describe these things is "trainers on steroids".

You have a one piece flexible sole with a high back padded ankle support, a light build and a very tactile feel to the shoe. Let's not forget that it's an Oakley product too!

How to choose the boot for you: Before getting any pair of boots consider what you are buying them for and where you intend to use them.

For indoor use, anything comfortable that is fairly light and flexible will do
For average use outdoor use consider getting a boot with a fairly stiff sole, particularly if you are going to be ladened up.
For extreme woodland use, you really shouldn't settle for less than a GoreTex or similarly lined "waterproof" boot.
If the terrain is slippery, look for a shoe with a stiff sole and a deep tread.

Be sure of a good fit: It's very important that your boots are right for your feet in terms of size and fit, consider boots to be almost as (but not quite) important as good eye protection and you'll get along fine. ^_^ These points apply to any footwear really:

Go shopping late in the day or after walking a fair distance, this ensures that your feet are swollen, and will be more similar in size to when you are out and about skirmishing.
Put the boot on without lacing it up, and kick your foot to the end of the shoe. There should be just enough room to get your finger down the back of the boot behind your heel
Walk down an slope and see if your toes touch the end of boot. If they do they're too small for you.
Make sure you try the boots on with anything that you normally wear/use such as proper walking socks or insoles.
Make sure you break your boots in before use, there's nothing worse than getting blisters when you are meant to be enjoying yourself.

With the Oakley boots I found that size 11 (US12 EU 46) fitted me just right which is the same size that I normally buy trainers in. So if you buy online my advice is to do as I did and get some of the same size as your trainers. I shall refrain from cracking any jokes about big feet and men here.. If any smutty innuendos come to your mind here it's really not my fault! ^_^

Lacing them up: There's several schools of thought on how to lace boots, some methods work better with different boots. I found the cross lacing method to be the most functional here, and then half hitching the laces wrapping them around the back of the upper ankle to the front and tie them securely. There's a handy gully in the rear of the boot to guide the laces round too.

I leave the choice of how to lace the boots down to you though (for reference these are 16 eyelet boots). Take care when lacing the upper holes, as the boots lack steel eyelets (they wouldn't work that well in this design) so it's easy to misalign the end of the lace and get it snagged inside the hole on the inner lining.

Features: The boots sports the Oakley logo on the side, and although made primarily of a soft leather, the toe and heal area have been reinforced with some heavy rubber panels (stitched nicely to the boot) to help protect the boot from wear rubs and nocks.

The sole is one piece moulded and nicely wraps all around the toe and heal area giving extra protection and grip on all contours. The sole leather may well be soft, but it's certainly hard wearing. I've given mine a fair amount of punishment and there's no sign of cracks or tears in them yet.

The inside material of the boot is rather like what I know as air-tex, and is some form of breathable material. The tongue is only stitched to the boot up to ankle height, so that sets the maximum wading depth for the boots before water will start getting in. All the material is nicely double stitched, the sole and toe/ankle protectors are glued on to ensure a lasting build.

You'll find the sizing of your shoe stitched to the inside of the tongue, and a somewhat comedy "keep cover securely fastened while machinery is in use" label on the inside floor of the shoe. The insole is removable which is useful if it wears out, needs replacing or if you simply need to dry the boots out after some rather enthusiastic wading.

The sole is well interesting, if a little difficult to describe without pictures (thank goodness for my handy digicam). The sole looks somewhat organic, but has a nice deed tread made of a nice strong rubber, and one that looks like it will not pickup stones easily - I've tried it on gravel and not managed to pick any up yet. The only minor niggle I have with the tread is that is does somewhat squeak on tiled floors.

In use: You remember that I mentioned that boot was rather like a trainer on steroids? Well I mean that in a really good way. You see I have a nice pair of Hillmaster Classics, and although they are arguably the best hiking boots on the market, they really suck for use in CQB and FIBUA simply because they do not bend at the ankle, well they do, but they tend to 'crimp' up and compress the lower front of the ankle joint which can get very painful after a time. This means that crouching down in them (such as under a windowsill) is not necessarily impossible, rather very uncomfortable.

The Oakley boots were a nice surprise, as due to the nicely cut away material and the design of front of the boot they fold very nicely providing support, whilst also allowing reasonable flex. The sole bends nicely in all directions allowing for a lighter feel than your average tac boot.

Water? Well there's no such thing as a truly waterproof boot but this one gets close! Using advanced water seepage measurement gear (read: me holding the boot down in household sink) I wanted to see how much water the boot could walk in until it started leaking, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Note: it's difficult to test for water seepage with your feet in the boot as you can't feel small amounts of water that easily, whereas you can with your hand inside the boot. ^_^ (yup there is reason to my madness)

Looking at the material and the stitching I thought that it would seep water like a sieve, but I was completely wrong. Sinking the boot up to the 4th set of lace holes not a drop of water was to be seen inside the boot despite prolonged submergence. You can actually take the boot right in up the the point where the tongue splits and then water finally gets in.

Conclusion The looks of the boot will be either be something you love or hate really, and may not be what some people are after if they want a more classic style boot.

As with any item under review there are good and bad points to bear in mind. The advantages are:

modern design - they certainly look new
lightweight - you'd never know they were on your feet
comfortable - they don't pinch and hold your feet nicely even when crouching
require almost no wearing in - yes that's right you can 'almost' take these boots new out the box and go skirmishing in them, just be sure to lace them beforehand.
highly water resistant (but not water proof)

Bad points, sorry but they have to be included to be 100% honest

no metal eyelets - the upper material is a bit of a pain to lace the first time around
not 100% waterproof - the boot will seriously let water in above the 4th eye hole pair, it's a pity the tongue isn't one piece all the way up, but then again if it was the boot wouldn't flex as well as it does.
squeaky - don't try to cross tiled floors, no really - it's like having live hamsters strapped to the bottom of your feet ^_^

These are certainly some of the best boots in terms of being comfortable and easy to wear. The pre-worn in feel was certainly amazing when they were first taken out of the box. I've driven to skirmishes in my hobnail hillmasters, and it's like driving with concrete blocks on your feet. The Oakley boots afford a lot of tactile feel, and are amazingly flexible without being too soft so as to allow your feet to get hurt.

Just the right balance of lightweight features and protection I'd say...Possibly the comfiest boots I've ever worn. Another winner from Oakley!

Build Quality	9/10 Well they have survived all I've thrown at them.
Value for Money	9/10 Price is something that is difficult to quantify for shoes. I think they are worth the money, but they are not that cheap
Overall Potential	9/10 Suitible for all but the wettest of terrains

External Links:
Oakley
ExtremeProcurement
CNN War fads

Site links: TBA

More "booty" shots: I took rather a lot of shots for this review - here's the ones that didn't quite fit in, but should still be of interest.

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