The Salomon Quest 4D GTX boots are popular hiking boots, but haven’t been available in the U.S. in a ‘tactical’ colour until just recently. Mission Ready Equipment and Über Group Llc., brought over a supply of Quests in brown manufactured for the European market, and are available exclusively (for now), from Mission Ready Equipment.
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The Lowa Uplander Desert Boot is a new addition to the Task Force line, and the replacement for the Lowa Seeker Desert PT Boot reviewed previously. The Seeker Desert PT is still one of my favourite all-around boots, and I was disappointed to see them discontinued. I’m glad to say that its replacement, the Uplander Desert, is an improvement on the original.
The Zephyr GTX® Hi TF (Task Force) Desert Boot is the taller version of the Mid-cut Zephyr Desert GTX®. The Zephyr Desert is a waterproof and breathable lightweight duty boot, designed for everyday use in desert and hot climate conditions. It is not currently available at the time of this writing – expected availability in the U.S. is May or June.
OTB Boots has released their modernized version of the venerable Jungle Boot (sometimes referred to as the ‘Vietnam jungle boot), and in doing so, has created the lightest weight jungle boot to date. The new JungleLite weighs in at only 2.2 lbs per pair. Also available is a desert version called the DesertLite.
Designed originally for the British Army, the Elite Desert Boot from Lowa Boots is based on their Mountain Boot and is designed to be an all-season, all-terrain Desert boot. Most desert boots are more suited for flat terrain with their flexible soles and uppers. The Lowa Elite Desert boot combines the light weight and breathability of a desert boot upper with the support of a trekking boot, making it suitable for both flat and mountainous terrain.
The Rocky S2V Military Boot (available from AFMO.com) was designed with the Special Operations warrior in mind, and caught my eye when it was first introduced about a year and a half ago (at the time of this writing). Since its release, I’ve heard generally good things about it, so I figured it was time I gave them a try. Rocky named the S2V after a Navy SEAL motto: “Stealth + Silence = Victory”.
For the S2V, Rocky consulted with SOF soldiers to determine what they wanted from a combat boot. From their requirements and feedback, the S2V was designed. The S2V is a 9″ tall boot that’s available in Black, Sage and Tan (shown here), making it suitable for both military and law enforcement use.
Over the past three years, Bates® Footwear (a division of Wolverine World Wide Inc.) has worked with the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to develop a boot engineered for warfighters operating in advanced mountaineering and high altitude combat operations. The Bates Tora Bora Alpine Combat Boot is the result of that joint effort. Recently, Bates was awarded a contract to supply nearly 8,000 pairs of Tora Bora boots to various U.S. military warfighter communities.
The Thor TC is completely different from the Bushmaster and Ferdelance OTB Tactical Land boots. Rather than looking like a LE or military boot, the Thor TC looks more like a commercial light hiking boot at first glance. It was designed as a CQB boot for SOF units that wanted a boot that wouldn’t scream ‘military’, and wouldn’t look out of place amongst civilians. While it looks like a hiking boot, the Thor actually has it origins in a climbing boot, or more specifically, an approach boot. An approach boot has some of the characteristics of a hiking boot and rock climbing shoes – it’s comfortable for light hiking but has a more flexible and sticky rubber sole for maintaining traction on steeper grades or rock, or walls, stairs and ladders. The Thor TC is best described as an ‘assault approach boot’.
