New American Truth

Boots like these are what happens when operators tell designers what is needed – as compared to designers telling operators what they can have. I like these and expect to wear them out…

Just over two years ago I wrote a review on a new pair of hiking shoes I’d gotten: The BLACKHAWK Tanto Light Hikers. I was impressed with them after a couple weeks of wear, but it’s been two years now. I thought about that as I pulled them on yesterday and decided to give them a quick inspection prior to wearing them again.

All in all I’ve been very happy with these boots. While I was initially impressed with a truly beefy looking pair of boots, the design has proven, objectively and subjectively, to work well.

I remember a time, maybe two or two-and-a-half decades ago when I believed that Magnum boots were “cheap”. First and foremost, I owe them an apology. Back then, any boots that were made with nylon uppers were generally perceived as of less value than all-leather boots (except the soles of course). Still, Magnum’s boot designs [...]

If many of you are like me you wear “hiking” shoes as your everyday footwear. As much as I like boots, I also like to wear short pants in the summer and very few people can pull off boots with shorts without looking goofy. Since I, like many a married man, work on a controlled [...]

You know, the longer I write these equipment reviews the more I have to challenge my own restrictions. I’ve never been a fan of side-zip boots – but a previous pair I was sent to test changed my mind. I’ve never been a fan of 6″ boots… but now I’ve gotten a pair from Altama [...]

Let’s face it: we don’t wear boots ALL the time. Sure, they are comfortable for a lot of us, provide good support and protection and we’ve gotten used to whatever level of maintenance they require. But you can’t wear boots (allegedly) with dress uniforms and they don’t look quite right with casual business attire. So, [...]

More than two years ago I received a couple pair of boots from Warrior Wear part of the BLACKHAWK! Products Group for test and evaluation. Initial reports are easy but the true value of boots is found out over the course of time. So here I sit, that two years later, composing the report on [...]

Courtesy of Ralph Mroz & POSA As a member of the species Homo Sapiens, our genes and genetic programming is over 200,000 years old. If you count out erect ancestors, the genetic programming goes back millions of years. For all of this time, until maybe a couple hundred years ago, we’ve been creatures that lived [...]

18 August 2008 I remember with fondness the good old days when 511 Tactical made pants and shirts; Magnum made boots; Timex made watches, and manufacturers had a specialty that everyone knew. Times change (thankfully) and I find myself sitting today typing about the pair of 511 Tactical ATAC boots I was sent to T&E. [...]