Any of you have experience with tactical boots with side zippers on them? I was thinking about getting some for camping/hunting/work, but have never owned any before. On the one hand they look like they'd be easy to slip on quickly if need be. On the other, they look like they might be a pain in the ass to put on quickly if you had them laced tight.
I have two pair of the Bates 8" side zips and my old faithful side zip Corcorans. It takes me about two years to wear out a pair of the Bates.
I decided on regular lace-ups without the zipper. Upon further inspection, the boots I was looking at had jungle boot-type vents on the side, which wouldn't work for me for work boots because I need them to be at least water resistant (if not water proof) and those vents let water right in (like they were designed to do).
For work boots, only people I know with side zippers are 19Ks which says all that need to be said. HOWEVER, for dress boots I recently picked up a pair of Frye side zippers that are pretty fucking rad.
I didn't mean to buy them actually. Just went to Nordy's to see if they could repair my regular boots (first shoe place couldn't help, but since I bought them at Nordstroms and they take pride in their customer service I decided to try) and saw those puppies. Had to try them on. Fit perfectly. Decided that since Nordy's said they would figure out one way or another how to fix my boots I needed something to walk back to my office. When I got home Anne REALLY liked them, until she asked the price. 'You paid $320 for a pair of boots?!?!?" but my response "The last pair of nice boots or shoes I bought (don't include running shoes) was a pair of Frye's Marine Cordoba 8" Engineers boots from the Tacoma Mall Nordstroms. It was the morning of Sep. 12, 2007, b/c I needed to impress a chick I met on the internet. Setting aside the fact that we can agree THAT turned out to be a giant mistake, the boots have been resoled twice, and are in the shop for their third resole and some other work. How much have you spent on shoes since then?" Yeah, I might spent crazy money buying the last boots handmade in America, and those a-holes might have supplied the wrong army in the War of Northern Aggression, but I'll be damned if they aren't worth every fucking penny.
I don't think I would buy zippering boots that also laced. I would expect the lacing to loosen up too frequently if I wasn't going through the lacing process each time I put them on. I do like zippers on dress boots, and of course chick boots. My wife looks real good in her various zippered boots, especially when the rest of her is naked.
I've never cared for (or seen the point of) ankle boots unless they're of the hiking variety. It may as well be a shoe AFAIC.
Down here, with our mostly flat terrain, ankle boots the the most you'd ever need. Even then they can be over kill at times.
I wear hiking boots for work just about all the time (the only exceptions being when I'm at the beach or river, where I wear sandals so I can shoot in the water if I need to). Given the loads I carry and where I have to go, I need the ankle and arch support. I go through about two pairs a year and should probably replace them more often than that. The boots I bought are for hunting and camping and need to have a more substantial upper to protect against thorns and at least somewhat protect against snakes.
I've had a pair of bates side-zip boots for 2 years now and I like them, not waterproof but they are decently water-resistant, for something with a side zipper anyway, and i've only had to re-tie once a month, but I use flat laces, not the round ones the boots came with.
I just today got a pair of side-zip . . . Neoprene dive boots. Along with new snorkeling gear. Cuz the odds look good that I'm going on vacation to the Caribbean sometime this fall/winter.
I have some side-sips. The biggest problem I have with them is that they have a snap-down flap for the top of the zipper and it never seems to stay snapped for very long.
It's actually quite easy: zippered boots = you're female or gay non-zippered boots = you're male and straight This has been a public service announcement.
Side zip boots have been redundant since before I entered the military. With old eyelets they make some sense. With modern "speed laces" and nylon laces you just tie the ends of the laces together in an overhand knot. Loosen the boot enough to get it off. The knot keeps the laces from coming out of the eyelets but gives room to loosen. Putting on, you just grab the knot and pull up hard. Boot cinches up nicely. Then you just do an overhand knot/bow hybrid to tie off the boot. Pictures if necessary. (This is one of the smart things I learned from my brother(!))
Zippered sides make it quicker to take boots off. This comes in handy when you visit places that require you to take off your footwear, or when going through the TSA lines at the airport.
