Altama OTB Maritime Assault Fin Friendly Mid Cut Operators Boots

So I love Chuck Taylors. I wear red high tops every day. However, I work in an office and the shoes are good for sitting and periodic standing. Anything more and my feet need more support.I always wanted Converse to make tactical chucks, but the closest I was able to get were Converse combat boots.Apparently the guys at Altama had seen the pictures of Special Forces soldiers in Vietnam sporting Chucks, ranger panties, and an XM177 carbine. Or perhaps they realized that Chucks are still in use as approach shoes and lightweight sneakers when combat boots might raise suspicions.While Nike hinted at more hardcore Chucks at the end of last year, they do not hold a candle to these suckers.Most of the stuff you can see from the pictures, but here's some highlights I liked.1. The outsoles are made of the same plastic that my climbing shoes are, and are grippy even when wet.2. The design flaws seen on original chucks have been remedied. The banding around the outsole and upper have been sewn on to prevent premature separation. They have also cut the banding at the flex point to prevent the typical tearing (although it is supposedly actually to allow your foot to push water out of the shoe.So how do the shoes perform? Pretty good. They are light. They have more padding on the tongue and upper than chucks; something I'm not the biggest fan of, but helps. They do well in the water, and they do in fact work well with fins. I'm no high speed low drag UTD diver, but I do like the idea of a shoe that I can wear into the water, slap fins on, and then walk out of the water later. No need to stop and take off wet suit boots after a dive, you just walk ashore and keep going like a boss. The cut on the back of the high tops allow for full flex of the ankle with fins on. They worked well in my dive and I didn't have to change shoes at all that day.Good to finally see tactical Chuck Taylors. Would highly recommend.

I love these boots. Having said that my order was fulfilled through Action Gear. I ordered the boots for a specific event where I was going to use them for the intended purpose. The boots didn't arrived as promised so I canceled the order. They arrived two months later. I assumed I was charged for them so I just kept them, replaced the insoles and wore them for casual wear. Few weeks later Action Gear called asking for payment. If I had known I wasn't charged I'd have returned to boots. My fault for not realizing this but there was no apology on Action Gear part and when I told them they have poor customer service the lady replied "Oh yeah? How's that?" So, great boots but be mindful who fulfills the order. Don't buy them from Action Gear.

Regarding sizing... I selected Amazon's "Somewhat small" option, as I usually wear a 10.5, but ordered an 11. These are whole size only boots; most 11s are too big for me. However, this boot in 11 fits me perfectly. As others have mentioned, they are a little narrow. Luckily, I have fairly narrow feets, and the 11 fits great.These look really sharp, I've received a lot of compliments and "where did you get those?" questions. I bought the mid-height coyote option.These are my favorite shoes I've purchased in a long time. They are very comfortable. They look good at work, and not at work. The mid-height section is not super bulky. My pants bottoms, even on narrow / slim fit pants have stayed put over the tops with no issues. They've been very comfortable standing for longer periods. They're quite breathable in my experience, more so than most boots / shoes with a "tactical" style that I've worn for 10-12 hours at a time. Socks and feet are much drier coming out with these than with most others.Looking forward to Altama putting out some additional color options. This will definitely not be the only pair of these boots / shoes that I purchase. Will be looking at the low-height option next... the camo if additional colors aren't released soon, and olive drab if they are.

My first impression of these shoes is that they feel a little cheaper than I expected. I definitely think $90 was a little high for the materials involved but the craftsmanship is pretty nice. They also took a few days of all day wearing to loosen up and not feel so stiff. Even still , bending the toe as if your on your knees, the top part of the shoe digs into the top of your foot a bit but I expect that to soften over time as well. If you plan to wear this shoe as a daily item, be advised the water "drain holes" will also let water inside of the shoe. I didn't get my feet wet by wearing them on rainy days but I also didnt step in any deep puddles.4 of 5 stars simply because of the stiffness and the discomfort while bending the toes.Update on my review. These things do not last. The souls nearly wore down flat within a couple of months. Using them hiking and climbing, the drainage hole material ripped very easily. I even got a stick through one of them that ripped the shoe material trying to get it out. I would not recommend these shoes at this price point. Grunt Style and several other retailers have been he exact same shoe with different branding and half the price.If you work or hike in these, they will wear down quickly.