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.

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:

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.