About a year ago I took a carbine class and wore my $30 Wall-Mart Brahma work boots. I've worn these frequently to both work in the yard and to several 3 day shooting classes and while not the most comfortable boot in the world they "seemed fine". I also liked the steel toe. I couldn't bring myself to spend big bucks on flippin shoes and silently judged all the guys at class wearing their super Ninja high-speed operator footwear.
Once again I had to learn the lesson that "just as good as" usually never is.
That class it rained one day and the grass had a heavy dew every day. My boots would be soaking wet just by walking from the car to the firing line to haul gear. It was miserable. In addition to being uncomfortable, my feat got horrible blisters from them moving around so much inside the boot. By the end of the first day I could barely walk.
When I got home from the class I immediately ordered the Merrell MOAB shown here:
I liked them so much I immediately bought another pair (gray).
After wearing them 80% of the time for nearly a year here are my thoughts....
1) They are awesome. Have worn them to work in the yard, through two shooting classes (one 3 days, on 1 day) and in some torrential downpours. My feet have stayed bone dry, comfortable and never once gotten tired. They feel like they are in a warm cocoon. I know that sounds gay, but it's an accurate description.
2) Much easier to maneuver than the old clunky work boots. I've noticed things like climbing stairs or negotiating tight spots is much easier. In the work boots I'd trip, catch my feet, and sometimes really get hung up. Embarrassing in the yard, very dangerous with a firearm in your hand. The MOAB's are almost tennis shoe like.
3) They stay dry.
4) They look good enough for day to day use. Any more I find myself reaching for these over my tennis shoes.
There are negatives. The laces in the brown pair frayed and had to be replaced. Thought that was odd. No signs of this happening in the gray pair. Also, the tread is so aggressive, I'm constantly picking small pebbles out of them, but that's more of an annoyance than anything.
So overall, I'd recommend the Merrel MOAB boot. More importantly, whether its this boot or another, the important take-away is to take good care of your feet. When they get jacked up it really sucks.
Here's are pictures of the actual boot after regular use:
Note the black laces. Overall for such heavy usage they don't look too bad. The grey pair look even better.
Aside from the red dirt embedded in the sole, check out how good the tread looks after a year.
Not sure where that scuff came from. The matching portion of the other boot doesn't have it so I must have caught it on something.
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