Five Ten has been producing tactical versions of their footwear for several years. At OR they debuted the Valor, a new duty boot with an 8″ upper designed specifically for uniform wear. The Valor incorporates the same sticky Stealth Rubber sole as the Pursuit. It is coming in early 2012 in Tan, Black, and Mossy Oak. Look for a few surprises as we approach the release date.
Lowa took their tried and true Zephyr technology and built a high top boot for LE and those who require a black boot. They have incorporated a Gore-Tex lining and used their proprietary MONOWRAP you will remember from the Zephyr.
Coming Spring 2011 from Vibram Fivefingers is the Spyridon LS. Designed as a trail runner features a slightly beaffier sole, it comes in Olive Drab.
Since the Army has banned the wear of athletic footwear that feature, “five separate, individual compartments for the toes,†a lot of folks have been looking for alternatives. Even Vibram, makers of the Five Fingers brand, knew that their shoes weren’t for everyone and developed a more more traditional alternative sole for New Balance and Merrel. While I haven’t had a chance to try out the Merrel models yet, I have had a pair of the New Balance Minimus Trail 10 running shoe since January. They run true to size and are comfortable. I generally run them without socks and they are well ventilated so guys running in areas with lots of sand or loose dirt keep that in mind. They are super lightweight and weigh about half as much as a traditional running shoe.
Tactical Distributors has the New Balance line in stock including both Men and Women’s style of the Trail running, Cross training (crossfit shoe), Wellness/Walking shoe and the Running shoe. They offer offering free overnight shipping on all NB Minimus shoes. Use promo code “FREEOVNSHIP” to receive the offer. As an added bonus, there is a 10% discount for military members.
www.tacticaldistributors.com/New-Balance
The NS564 is once again available in the US. Look for a more detailed report soon.
Coming in under the radar is this new model from New Balance’s OTB Boots. The Tactical Athletic Boot (TAB) is built to AR 670-1 standards but designed for use as a trainer for events such as ruck marches, combatives training, obstacle courses, etc.
The TAB is available in Tan, with or without side zip and steel toe. They can be pre-ordered from AFMO or www.uscav.com.
For every pair of Magnum boots purchased through select retailers between now and August 15th, Magnum USA will donate a portion of the proceeds to Operation Gratitude. You may well already know about Operation Gratitude which has shipped more than 660,000 personalized care packages to American troops deployed overseas since 1993.
“It’s nearly impossible to be able to truly express our gratitude to our troops for the enormous sacrifices they make on behalf of our country,†said Bob Kaiser, Magnum USA CEO. “We wanted to be able to let our Forces know that we’re thinking about them, and partnering with Operation Gratitude to send out care packages is the perfect way to do so.â€
The promotion, which is available only through Quartermaster, MilitaryBoots.com, U.S. Cavalry and DutyBootShop.com, offers Magnum’s Sidewinder HPi, Spider 8.1 HPi, Elite Spider 8.0, Stealth Force 8.0, Cobra 8.0, Cobra 6.0 and Response II 8†Desert Tan boots at a special price of 20% off retail. For every pair of boots sold during the first two weeks of August, $1 will be donated to Operation Gratitude.
Thanks to the internet you can buy products from virtually anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, converting shoe sizes from one country to another can be difficult. Below is a good guide but please remember that how a boot actually fits can vary based on the last.
Thank to our friends at multicam-inside.fr for the image.
