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H2H
12-22-2006, 15:03
Recently, I ordered a pair of the new Gen II, Tan Oakley 8' SI Boots. These are the Temperate Weather, made is the USA. Here is a quick review:

First Impression: Out of the box, the construction is much different then the Gen I Oakley boots. Overall it looks to be put together better.

Sole: The material seams much more durable, and made of a slightly harder material. In front, the sole has also been stitched to the boot itself, fixing a major issue from Gen I, where the front toe would peel back as the glue wore down.

Outside: The leather looks to be much more durable, and less likely to rip as the Gen I boots. The trim, made of a nylon material, covers more area than Gen I, and is stiched all the way around the boot, rather than glued like the Gen I boots. These boots have much more padding than the Gen I boots as well.

Inside: Addition of leather around the top opening of the boot, but it looks like the same material inside the heal area, which ripped about a month into wearing the Gen I boots.

Testing: I have had the boots about 2 weeks now and decided to add them into my rucking plan. I am getting ready for SFAS in January, and have been rucking every other day, with a weight of 60 lbs, and doing distances of 4, 6, 8, 10 miles per week.

My first impression:
Good - The boots did not need much breaking in at all. The boots are very comfortable, considering it is a assualt boot that is being used for rucking.

Bad - On my 4 miler earlier this week back in Area J, I decided to get them a little wet and test to see how they would respond. Everything seemed to be going fine until I went to put them on 2 days later. As I put them on the inside heal area ripped out on them, just as the Gen I boots had done so often. Problem II, is the soles. They may have looked improved, but it seems they are already starting to wear down quite a bit. They have less than 50 miles on them, mostly in sand and dirt roads, and they are already starting to wear down, much like the Gen I boots did. In Afghanistan, the Gen I boots would last about 3-6 months, and it appears this would be the same for Gen II.

Overall: Many of the issues with the Gen 1 boots have been fixed. I am surprised, but I like the new 8' boot option, as I get much more support for the ankle area. I am disappointed the inside material is still poor, but overall a huge improvement.

In the end, I still prefer my old Wellco's, with all the modifications done by Boot Masters in Fayetteville (Shameless Plug), but do find the New Oakley's to be a huge improvement over the Gen 1 Oakley boots.

Hope this helps anyone looking at the New Oakley Boots.

Jeff

hoot72
12-23-2006, 02:16
thanks for the review jeff..im sure it will be extremely helpful to most.

I was considering buying a pair but shall stick with the ole pair I have. Had my old gen 1 soles stitched back nicely thanks to an ole filipino guy on the street and I think it should hold for a couple more months, though the toe area of the boot is worn down. Had an extra piece of leather sewn on to extend the life of the boot on both sides..
:)

avtar

Christophe
12-23-2006, 05:10
I have a pair of gen I Oakleys (black). Very warm, but in wet weather the shoes suck, soles are slippery as hell.
Wonder if thatīs still the case with the gen IIīs?

hoot72
12-23-2006, 08:15
I have a pair of gen I Oakleys (black). Very warm, but in wet weather the shoes suck, soles are slippery as hell.
Wonder if thatīs still the case with the gen IIīs?

I think most shoes are slippery when wet :o
esp. if there is an oil slick!

Christophe
12-24-2006, 05:30
Nevermind, the problemīs already been discussed in another Oakley thread here..

Smokin Joe
07-13-2007, 02:57
Oakley 8 Inch Elite Special Forces Standard Issue Assault Boot

I’m not sure how Oakley is designating the new version but for the purpose of this review I will be referring to the older style 6 inch boot as Gen-1.

Ordering:
These boots were ordered through the U.S. Standard Issue program. I made my order in the middle of March. The boots arrived on 6/29/07. So, if you want a pair prepare to wait.

Construction:
Read the attached .pdf file. They contain all sorts of whiz-bang-high-speed-low-drag composite shit. The construction works for me, I’ll let you know in 6 months if it still works for me or not. The best part about these boots is VENT HOLES. So your feet won’t sweat to death like they do in the Gen 1 boots.

Fit:
Right out of the box these fit like a glove. I normally wear a 10 inch boot these were ordered in size 10 and fit true to form. I like the 8 inch boot compared to the 6 inch boot as it provides me with better ankle support.

Traction:
The traction has been sufficient on a wide variety of terrain. I wore them on a couple mile walk today in full gear across wooded country, in a light rain. The traction was fine the entire time; I didn’t slip at all even on wet rocks. However, the support was lacking a little when crossing open rocky fields.

I’m sure a few of you are thinking, “Cut the shit, do these things squeak like the old ones?” NO, they do not. I have worn mine wet and dry on tile, linoleum, concrete, asphalt, redwood decks, composite decks, and some sort of siding that a tweaker had as a floor (don’t ask). I have not been able to make them squeak yet and their traction is as tactile as the Gen-1 boots.

Overall:
Right now these are my #1 boot, they are light, quiet, and have good support and traction over an array of terrain. I will let you know if they are still my #1 boot after I kick in a door with them.

Photo 1: From left to right is a pair of the Gen-1 boots, Gen-2 boots, and Wellco jungle boots. It should be noted that those are a size 10 Wellco

Photo 2: Overhead shot of boots for comparision from left to right Wellco Jungle Boots, Gen-2 Boots, Gen-1 Boots.

Photo 3 and 4 are profiles of boot.

Questions?

The Reaper
07-13-2007, 08:07
Good review, thanks!

Nice boot knife as well.

It rains where you are?

TR

Smokin Joe
07-13-2007, 12:55
Good review, thanks!

Nice boot knife as well.

It rains where you are?

TR

Thank you sir,

I don't know if you could really call it "rain". The thunderheads roll in, piss on us for about 15 or 20 minutes then roll on out. This may happens anywhere from 1 to 3 times in a day. It is really more of a tease then any real precipitation.

jevo1976
07-13-2007, 21:09
Good review Smokin Joe. I am also a believer of the Oakley Assault boots. At first I was a little bit skeptical, thinking that we got them just because they looked cool, which they do. :D But, they were absolutely the most comfortable boots I have worn, and pretty durable considering what we put them through overseas. I have done a few long roadmarches with them as well, and I was impressed by how they performed. It's like roadmarching in tennis shoes, but with more support. I never had any rain overseas, so squeaking wasn't really an issue with them where we were at.

The only ding I had was that when we did a land nav exercise out in the woods I didn't feel like I had the greatest traction. But that's not really their intended use anyway, after all. So in that environment I would definitely prefer the standard jungle boots, but it was kind of a trial and error equipment experiment for me. Bottom line is that for an urban environment these are excellent boots.

We were also issued the 5.11 Tactical Assault boots, and I liked those as well, but after wearing the Oakleys and comparing the two, I would give the edge to the Oakleys for overall comfort. That's just personal preference.

Government pricing for the Oakleys can be found here: https://www.usstandardissue.com. It's given on another Oakley thread here, but it's a pretty good discount, and contrary to popular belief you don't have to know anyone at Oakley or have a friend with "the form" to receive the discount. You will just need to provide them with verification of government employment. So hopefully those getting ready to deploy can take advantage.