UPDATE: 05/11/22The left boot has failed completely (see third image). The leather has completely separated from the sole of the boot and is now useless. Guess I'll be going back to Bates.I have good news and bad news...I'll start with the good.The toe box has enough room and it quite comfortable. The lugs on the sole are quite deep and offer decent tread. The finish itself is pretty nice and will certainly complete a Class A uniform.Now the bad news.I switched over from my Bates Ultralite 8-Inch Side-Zip Boots. I loved those, held on to them for 2 years. They put me through thick and thin, but unfortunately the soles had become worn down and the leather had finally split. I found these at a decent price and decided to try them out.Now, I will preface this by saying I'm currently in the middle of my first day wearing them, so they may need broken in; however, the ankle area of the boots is a two-part assembly, instead of a traditional one-part assembly. This becomes horribly painful for the user. As pictured above, the ankle assembly folds in and pinches the very stiff leather against and into the ankle bones, creating a rather unpleasing experience.On another note, my particular boots came with a blemish in the finish of my right boot (seen pictured above). There are two stress marks in the leather on the toe of the right boot.And finally, the fit of the boot. I order an 11.5W in every set of boots I wear, and I must say that these are the narrowest wide boots I've ever worn. I genuinely thought I had received normal width boots. There's also an issue with the soles of the boots. They are so thick, that I cannot wear my orthotic inserts with the soles inside. With my Bates, and even a set of 5.11s I previously owned, I was able to keep both the orthotic and the standard boot sole inside for optimal comfort. Now, since my orthotic only goes about 2/3 the length of the foot (by design), I have to choose between pain in my hips, knees, and ankles, or pain in my ankles and toes (from the stiff leather and lack of sole underneath 1/3 of the foot).My verdict?If you're looking for a budget boot with good comfort, go for someone like Bates, or seek out shorter boots. My uniform compensation allows for 8 Inch Side-Zip specifically. The biggest flaw is the two-piece assembly for the boot lace panels. Unfortunately, I had to pitch my last pair of boots because of how worn and torn they were, so I don't have the ability to return these.
Rating: [4 of 5 Stars!]