Part 2 Review!
So i just got back from BMT for the Territorial Army last week! And it was definitely tougher than I imagined weekend warriors to be. I had to wear the Danners boots as they didn't have my size in the Army. I was quite sad as the required boots need to be black smooth leather, and this is quite the opposite.But, irregardless, they still let me wear this, as their lack of a sizeable boot is hardly my fault. So, this is kinda my first time doing a part 2. I've done updates, but this seems bigger than an update, so i'll warrant it a whole post of its own.
These are cleaned up. Couldn't get a picture of them in swamp thing mode.
Comfort, Fit and Flex
I still give comfort and fit a 100%, 5 out of 5, and everything. I actually wore them to sleep several times while in the barracks, and of course the entire time while in jungle training.
We'd stand for hours on the hot parade ground surfaces. While the other recruits had heat penetration on the issue stuff, the Acadia's kept the heat out really well. I never had a hot spot, even when tabbing through the midday sun on dry baked dirt. The fit has loosened up since when I first got it, so my feet fit just nice. It's still something to be worried about when buying online, so try em out if you can. It'll definitely save you the 2 weeks worry while waiting for the shipment to arrive.
We'd stand for hours on the hot parade ground surfaces. While the other recruits had heat penetration on the issue stuff, the Acadia's kept the heat out really well. I never had a hot spot, even when tabbing through the midday sun on dry baked dirt. The fit has loosened up since when I first got it, so my feet fit just nice. It's still something to be worried about when buying online, so try em out if you can. It'll definitely save you the 2 weeks worry while waiting for the shipment to arrive.
The ankle support on these things are still A lot less than some of the previous boots I had. Usually, I'd say just man up and strengthen them weak ankles, but in this case, you still need to be careful. The soles are quite heavy and a misstep is all you need to roll them. I almost did while trekking through the uneven terrain of our rain forest, but I have strong ankles and also, I managed to recover before my full weight rolled on it.
Flex is great on the Acadias. The toe box takes sometime to loosen up, but once done, it will flex just as your toes need to while taking a knee.
Flex is great on the Acadias. The toe box takes sometime to loosen up, but once done, it will flex just as your toes need to while taking a knee.
Durability
These are dessie boots, there's no ignoring that. The suede makes it less ideal for our climate, and while I do regret not choosing the black smooth leather options that LL talked me out of getting, these made it through everything I threw at them.
We were constantly soaked, either from immersion by river, soaking through mud, flooding by mangrove swamp, or just your everyday tropical rain storm, we were miserably soaked, and so were these boots.
People opt for smooth leather because you can apply boot wax to add to it's waterproofing, which means that water beads up and rolls off of it. Suede is different, it absorbs the water it comes into contact with, so the most you can do is spray it with some waterproofing agent which keeps light drops away, but nothing more.
So, wet leather then will start to rot if it's not dried at the next soonest chance. I did my best to keep it dry and to maintain it any chance I got, and it survived!
Actually, it's doing pretty well. There are some stains from dirt, and some elbow grease from the 3 ton trucks that I cleaned away, but some stains are just too damned stubborn.
We were constantly soaked, either from immersion by river, soaking through mud, flooding by mangrove swamp, or just your everyday tropical rain storm, we were miserably soaked, and so were these boots.
People opt for smooth leather because you can apply boot wax to add to it's waterproofing, which means that water beads up and rolls off of it. Suede is different, it absorbs the water it comes into contact with, so the most you can do is spray it with some waterproofing agent which keeps light drops away, but nothing more.
So, wet leather then will start to rot if it's not dried at the next soonest chance. I did my best to keep it dry and to maintain it any chance I got, and it survived!
Actually, it's doing pretty well. There are some stains from dirt, and some elbow grease from the 3 ton trucks that I cleaned away, but some stains are just too damned stubborn.
Thread and Grip
This has to do with durability as well, but it's solely about soles (seewhatididthar?). I had to march, PT, tab, swim, live and sleep in these boots, so basically they rested only when I did, and that wasn't very often.The soles look quite untouched, compared to the standard issue (not a fair comparison). Although it did show some sight signs of wear. at the heel and at the ball.
The slightly whiter spots at the lugs are actually wear signs
Grip wise, it held up in all situations except one. Clay like mud. Stepped in it once, and it was like I had no lugs or patterns on the soles, and I was going up A hill. I heard that Vulcanized Panama Soles are perfect at these kinds of terrain.
Bells and Whistles
These things right here. These 2 holes. You will thank whoever first decided to punch holes in A perfectly good boot. They drain the majority of the water from your boot, withour needing to take off the boot. The placement of these holes are right where the insole meets your foot, so every step you take, water will be squeezed out of them.
I have had the misfortune of stepping in ankle deep waters before, but nothing more than a few drops made it in. Thank goodness for that.
The second thing I noticed was this sponge like layer in between the bottom most out sole and the thinner upper layer connecting it to the upper leather of the boot. There was some signs of compression due to impact. I will say, it probably did absorb a great deal of impact whilst marching and tabbing, but I have a feeling that it might give way faster than the sole will. I know this is recraftable, but I'd have to deal with the shipping to and from Danners and that'd be a major pain.
Water Handling
Water handling. Pretty good right here. Apart from the fact that this is suede, and not smooth leather, these dry up rather fast. With plenty of activity under the harsh equator sun, these will dry up to a comfortable level within 4 to 5 hours. Now, anyone who knows anything about leather will tell you this. Keep leather away from intense heat. So DO NOT sun dry them. That's what everyone else did, and they ended up cracking real fast.
I'll confess, however. I did dry my boots out in the sun. Once. And only for a couple hours.
If the weather is overcast cold and humid, you will need newspaper and let it dry in a place where there's plenty of air movement. Usually overnight and it should be ok to wear. Still damp, but at least no water is going to be seeping into your socks.
The suede will lose it's water repellent characteristic, especially after a good soaking. So be sure to reapply after having it dry up. Use something good, as it does make a huge difference.
I'll confess, however. I did dry my boots out in the sun. Once. And only for a couple hours.
If the weather is overcast cold and humid, you will need newspaper and let it dry in a place where there's plenty of air movement. Usually overnight and it should be ok to wear. Still damp, but at least no water is going to be seeping into your socks.
The suede will lose it's water repellent characteristic, especially after a good soaking. So be sure to reapply after having it dry up. Use something good, as it does make a huge difference.
Peeves
Of all my previous peeves, I only have 1 left. When wet, it is impossible to put these boots on, wet sock, dry sock or no sock at all. The increased friction just means you can't slide your feet into them. Even after loosening the whole boot up, it's still got some of this problem. This is quite frustrating, especially when you're running late for the morning roll call.
Conclusion
These are a great pair of hot weather boots. If they were smooth leather, they'd make the perfect jungle boot. It's a shame though, that Danners doesn't make jungle boots. I'd love to see the level of quality they invest in their product, in a pair of boots my countries army could use.
Danners makes an outstanding pair of boots, and I fear that any boot that I put on my feet now will never meet the standards that Danners has set so high. Even if the price is considered exorbitant when converted to my currency, it's something that is worth investing in. Quality like this is a dying art.
