5.11 Boots

I got some Red Back (aussie company available in america) slip on duty boots with the steel toe...with the exception of a ladder truck rolling over it (while it was in the bay without my foot in it) it held up great, was comfortable and had virtually no break in period. I'll buy another pair, I just love my current one even though it has a slight bend on the steel toe part to the right boot.
 
I wear Redbacks, too. I love the ease and comfort, but the ankle stability leaves something to be desired. I've almost rolled my ankle in them a few times. I wear mine on night shifts.
 
I wear HAIX boots in the day and redbacks at night (with my jumpsuit:ph34r:)
 
I purchased a pair of 5.11 ATAC Shield 8" boots about 2 years ago. I would say they are approaching their expiration date in the next year or so. The biggest thing for me was the leather on top of the top box just absolutely shredded within the first 6-8 months. The rest of the boot held up pretty well.

Also, they are insanely comfortable. For me, anyway, there was no break-in period and I often forget to take them off when I'm lounging around watching TV or whatever because I don't even notice I have them on.
 
I work both with our Provincial Ambulance service (British Columbia, Canada) and also work Industrial. I have the non Safety Toe version for work with BCAS and the safety toe version for up in the camps. I have had zero issues with either pair and they were comfortable from Day 2. The non safety toe ones have seen a little more use as I got them for school as well and then they just became my regular duty boots as well. Issued ones didn't have the side zip and I hate lacing boots at 2am after snoozing. Zipper is much easier!!

As for durability, I do virtually no maintainance to either pair outside of the occasional brush shine on the boots with regular polish and they have both lasted quite well to this point.

I will be buying another pair! (or 2)
 
I don't like 5.11 stuff. It doesn't hold up like they promise and is way over priced.

When I worked security for Boeing, we had 5.11 Uniforms. The polos faded terribly and the 5 in 1 jacket is NOT waterproof when your forced to spend hours in driving rain.

I wore the ATAC boots for 2 years. I will say they were a decent boot, especially for the $89 I paid at the time.

They are completely waterproof, despite the side zipper. There is material behind the zipper that forms a seal when you zip up the boot. They are blood borne pathogen resistant and slip resistant.

They suck if you have to stand for long periods of time.

I prefer my $30 boots I got from sportsmans guide. Would I recommend 5.11? Probably not. They don't hold up as well as they claim (the glue on mine was delaminating, only reason I kept them so long was security wasn't as active as my police days so I didn't need boots in perfect condition). They are way too overpriced. There are much better alternatives out there.

I have always been a fan of Rocky
 
Funny, my 5.11 boots have been holding up like a champ since 2008. I had a zipper failure in 2010 and 5.11 replaced the boots for free. Most of the medics in my department wear 5.11 atac composite toe boots with minimal complaints.

My entire department wears 5.11 hi-viz rain/parkas and we all love them compared to the Blauer jackets we had previously. Our casual uniform polos are 5.11. Still unfaded. My job shirt is 5.11. Still looks great. No fades and no shrinkage.

I don't like the 5.11 pants, simply because they are way to "tacti-cool" for me. Not a fan of the slash pockets.

But the boots, polo, jobshirt and coats hold up great. Of course, just like everything else, my experience may not be yours and YMMV.
 
n7lxi said:
Funny, my 5.11 boots have been holding up like a champ since 2008. I had a zipper failure in 2010 and 5.11 replaced the boots for free. Most of the medics in my department wear 5.11 atac composite toe boots with minimal complaints.

My entire department wears 5.11 hi-viz rain/parkas and we all love them compared to the Blauer jackets we had previously. Our casual uniform polos are 5.11. Still unfaded. My job shirt is 5.11. Still looks great. No fades and no shrinkage.

I don't like the 5.11 pants, simply because they are way to "tacti-cool" for me. Not a fan of the slash pockets.

But the boots, polo, jobshirt and coats hold up great. Of course, just like everything else, my experience may not be yours and YMMV.
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To be honest, I don't think 5.11 was designed for the environment I was working in. I was working at the Everett facility so we had severe weather when most places had nice weather (thanks conversion zone). When you stand in rain blowing sideways at 35mph for 12 hours your bound to get failures. I had the first generation of 5 in 1 jackets...the newer ones look a lot better.

I think the chemicals probably contributed to the delaminating of the boots. A industrial factory is different than say pounding the beat as a cop. When I was a cop I used to wear $30 boots from K-mart. Best boots I have ever worn.

I never had an issue with their performance polo, but their professional polo sucks. Did not hold up well. Went through about 4 a year at about $55 a pop (The company bought from Blumenthals).

They are decent uniforms but I would recommend Elbeco before if I recommended 5.11. If 5.11 dropped their prices I might recommend them more.
 
I'm on my 2nd pair of ATACs. The first was flawless until I wore the tread smooth. My 2nd pair has worn the tread down about 1/2 way and the leather is shot. It looks like they moved to a cheaper leather supplier or grade at some point. I plan to buy a pair of Haix boots in the near future.
 
If you have issues with 5.11 boots, I would call them directly and tell them what's going on. I found them to be very, very receptive to my issues. As I mentioned, I had a zipper failure on a pair of boots. I spoke directly to the boot designer, expressed my concerns and they sent me a new pair of boots. I don't know if that's their usual course of action when people have complaints, but I've been very satisfied with my 5.11 boots and I find their customer service to be top notch.

If you worked in an environment that was incredibly wet, hazardous, dangerous or in a place that would would serve to make the boots fail quicker… I'm sure they'd love to hear about that.
 
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