The biggest change you’ll note is the nylon webbing lacing bartels. The LT variant of this 8″ boot is offered in Coyote Leather and Nylon making it AR 670-1 compliant while the standard Gen 2, made from nylon and synthetic leather is available in British Khaki, Black and Sage Green. As it is a unisex design, sizing is 4-15 with half sizing to 13.
nike.com/us/en_us/pw/special-field-boot-collection/ch2
Tags: Nike
Fugly!
Too bad Gen 1’s not AR 670-1 compliant. They’re more comfortable than my Gen 2’s.
Never liked the strap vs. eyelet so much as over a short amount of time just the act of tightening the laces and tieing them up eventually cuts the strap. On the lower laces, sure, but the uppers, not so much.
The straps are nylon, no way are the laces cutting the nylon eyelet straps.
Maybe not the paracord laces it ships with, but they’re not very durable themselves compared to the nylon ones the issue boots come with. The nylon eyelets will wear out faster than traditional metal ones, but by then the tread is probably toast and modern boots are made to be thrown away rather than re-soled. Probably a wash.
My issue is that all those straps sewn on to make the eyelets make the boot look like a roman gladiator sandal or a part of some bondage costume.
Although the metal eyelets are typically more durable, they are not desirable for fast roping. I think nike is on the money with this design for a lightweight tactical boot.
Now we just need a 6″ version…
I couldn’t get the current link to work, but this one should direct you to all of their SFB products, including the Gen 2s.
https://store.nike.com/us/en_us/pw/special-field-boot-collection/ch2
Now that they are actually made of leather I’ll be giving these a try. I’ve seen too many of the others dissolve under actual field use to drop the coin. This I’ll try though.
They’ve been offering leather boots since the whole AR 670-1 thing.
Hopefully these will hold up better than the gen 1. Mines was separating so I had to fix it with shoe goo, and the outsole was too soft that I almost cut my foot from stepping on an edge of a bent sheet of metal, also fixed with shoe goo