Gen II Oakley Boots Review

[H2H]

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