Blauer Clash Boot

I recently had the opportunity to try out Blauer's new 6 inch Clash Boot (Style FW016) for these last two weeks.  My department issues Blauer jackets but I was unaware they are also in the boot business. I gave it quite an extended workout since we threw a bridal shower, had two separate school orientations, three barbecues and one shift outing.   During this two week time, I think I went straight home and pulled off my gear twice and the rest of the days I wore my black polyester pants and these boots for more than 12 hours a day, both on duty and off.

Break-in

The first thing that I always do to see if I have a good pair of boots or not, is too wear the heck out of them right out of the box.  A good boot will require little to no break in period, lesser boots take some time to finally be comfortable to wear.  I have had boots give me blisters within one day, found rub points on my toes and heals and signs of poor stitching that have wore holes into my socks.  I wore these boots everyday for two weeks with no foot discomfort or any sign of stitches popping through.  They broke in quickly and easily, I basically forgot I was wearing new boots as I went throughout my day.  Now I have had other boots that broke in easily but toward the end of the first week and into the second they continued to break in resulting in a loose fit that made them steadily unwearable.   I did not find this to be an issue with these boots, they kept their out of the box firm hold.

Sole

These Clash boots have a more tennis style sole that differed from my Rocky's that have more traditional flat and wide sole.  I was initially concerned because the sole that Blauer selected can sometimes be awkward to stand on for hours at a time.  I was pleased to find that this was not the case.  This sole provided a good base of support, ware-ability, and nice flex.  It had good traction on the street and in the fields.  It held firm in the rain and had good traction on greasy floors.  I was very pleased that when I had to go into the ER for an incident (dog bite if you must know) they did not squeak.  I have had a number of boots issued to me that when I would walk those halls they were incredibility loud.  The only way to stop that was to walk on my toes, not a good look for a uniformed police officer to be prancing through the halls of our local hospital.  Driving the squad was no problem at all, which is nice having had boots in the past that made pushing the gas and break peddles a chore.

Comfort/Insulation

I wore these boots in temperatures ranging from 70 degrees to one day of 98 degrees.  I was comfortable for the most part.  My feet were never cold but on the high degree day I did take off soaking socks.  These boots seem to be insulated to a moderate degree range so as to make them usable for most of the year.  I will be updating this review when I wear the boots in winter but I was basically comfortable most of the time.  I have to be fair in that I have never worn any type of footwear that at the high nineties my feet didn't sweat.

BOA Lacing System

Ok, this is my favorite thing about these boots.  There is a dial that you turn to tighten the wires to tighten the fit of the boot and you pull the dial out if you want to release the bindings and remove the boot.  I had this system on a pair of North Face boots and the boot itself wore out before this lacing system even showed any signs of wear.  I loved the fact that I could adjust the fit of these boots any time I wanted and it took about a second to do it, boot removal was just as quick.  If for no other reason it is worth getting the boots for this feature.  As an example, I came in from the street sat down at our lunch table popped the dial let my feet breathe and dry a bit and when it was over a few twists and I was back out again.  No other boot could do that in that amount of time.

Aesthetics 

Ok there is not much anyone can do here.  If it had a radical look, or color or whatever it would not work with our uniform code and thus be unwearable.  I could have done without the suede but it did not ruin anything.

Issues

As you probably guessed, I really enjoyed these boots.  But they were not perfect.  But then nothing is.  A couple of issues.  One, the sole stops just below the toe area.  I noticed that I was scuffing the leather toe almost immediately, requiring some quick shinning each day.  I have always preferred the sole to include a toe cap in order to protect my feet when I have to kick something and to protect the leather from scuffing. These boots have a heal/Achilles plate that serves this purpose for the back of the boot it just needs one for the front.  Second, the knob of the BOA system gets hooked on your pants legs.  I had to pull the cuff of my pant off the knob so that it fell to the bottom of the boot numerous times.  A minor problem but after you have to do it a bunch of times it can get a little irritating.

Recommendation

This was an easy decision to recommend these boots.  I could have written this review after the second day but waited and wore them for two weeks in case there was a material quality problem or they started to show early signs of wear, neither became an issue at all.  I have already spoken with our quartermaster to see about making these standard issue at my department.  The price point of a little over a hundred dollars makes them an excellent buy also.  I have already put my old boots out to pasture.

Their link Blauer

Product Review 5.11 XPRT Tactical Boot 8"

Police Boots, they mean business.  It's the first piece of equipment that you spend time on and it signifies the beginning of the shift or the beginning of the operation and a physical marker for the mental shift from off, to on duty.  Good boots are made to be quickly forgotten, while bad ones will spend all their time reminding you they're on your feet and your feet, well, they'll remind you about bad boots for the next week.

I have had to opportunity to try 5.11 XPRT Tactical Boot (Link) for about two months.  I have and continue to recommend them to any Law Enforcement Professional without any fear that they will come back with a negative report.

My current assignment offers a unique testing ground for swat boots, since we are a soup-to-nuts contained unit.  We set perimeters (long standing time), we make entries (dynamic impact, quick movement), we hold the scene (very long standing time), contain and process evidence (bending, flexing), searches (a lot of walking), we interview (long periods of sitting) and just about everything a boot can be put through, we put it through.  My current record is thirty six hours on a take down and we did everything without outside help (long long day).  But we also spend a lot of time in "soft clothes" and don't have our feet conditioned to our boots 24/7.

Here's the point.  Most "good" boots do one of the previously mentioned things well.  They are excellent to stand in and offer some modest protection but the second you have to run in them or quickly kneel on the ground for cover, they cut and chafe.  Other boots offer maximum protection, an angry upright bull could not make you notice him while he trampled your toes, but stand in place for thirty minutes you soon find your feet, ankle and calves cramping and trying to escape.  Finally, there are the boots that try to fill in all the gaps and end up doing most things fine but excel at none of them.

However I have found that the 5.11 XPRT excelled for my every need.  I got the protection I needed, I got the flexibility and wear-ability I needed and I did go home raw and bleeding because I only put my boots on twice a week (calluses go quickly once you get out of day-to-day wear).

A couple of things I really liked.  They're Bloodborne pathogen resistant.  I was third in the stack, our entry teammate put the ram through the glass harder than he wanted.  Glass broke, cut up his arms and I crunched through the door on glass and his blood,  Great guy, but knowing his lifestyle I really, really, didn't want any to make permanent contact, if you know what I mean.

Second, the reinforced non-metallic toe.  We made entry and were greeted with a house full of steel entry doors, each had to be popped open.  Hit the door, door hit's the wall, hits my feet, feet fine.  I stopped wearing steel toed boots because of all the reports of accidental amputation once the force of the blow was great enough to curve the steel back into the foot. It was very nice to get that protection back without that worry.

Finally they were comfortable.  They fit, they stayed in place, they did not rub and they still held everything in place and tight.

They only thing I can not speak to is their durability.  I have had great boots and other equipment that I loved for the first couple of months but as the wear and tear built up they began to fail faster than they should have and became the same as substandard new equipment.  I do not see this in these boots but I will be writing a update to these boots six months from now followed by a third and final a year later to see how they fared in the long run.

Bottom line?  Pay the money get the boots.