Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

I'm in the market for a new pair of duty boots and want to get something good this time. My county requires them to be black and have a safety toe and that's it. Please share your experiences and recommendations (and ones you would advise against). People have recommended these: http://www.danner.com/product/uniform/tactical/striker+side+zip+gtx+nmt+8%27%27.do and they seem to be my top choice right now. Thanks in advance!


Edit: Added boots to the tittle and I mostly do house calls (lots of bs calls too).

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

I can only speak from 21 years of service in the USAF...they used to issue boots that seemed to take weeks (if not months!) to break in. The jungle boots were a little better - but not much - Hey Larry, whaddya' think? Then they finally started issuing Danners.

I LOVE Danners (and also Matterhorn as well)! There's only 3 brands I've ever thought were worthy to get resoled: Danners, Matterhorn, and Red Wings!

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

I bought some matterhorns back in 1997 in the field artillery and I still wear them when I dont want my feet to get wet or cold. I havnt put any polish on them in 5 years and they are still as warm and comfy as ever they were. As I recall they took one field excersise to break in (that's 3 days). I heard danners are just as good.

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

I bought 8 inch Rangers as a gamble off eBay where they were being sold as wildland boots. I wear them all the time for medical and wildland stuff and that's about 99% of what we do here.
Comfortable for hours even though they are not a perfect fit for me. But the were $140.00 and had been worn around the persons's home. Pristine condition.

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

Coontai,

I wear Danner Striker side zip GTXs and I love 'em! I got mine when they first came out for somewhere around $90/pr, (I'm not joking about that price either) I've done nothing but kick myself for not buying several pairs for when I finally wear these out.

I've tried others, Bates has some that are decent, but I really love those Danners. I've had mine since 10/04 and they've got plenty of miles left on them. They're worn daily for station wear & non-fire calls.

I recently got some leather lace/zip-up bunker/station boots that I'll alternate the Danners with, but I'll gladly take a little extra time getting dressed for a call for the extra comfort the Danners provide.

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

I like my Danners too, I wear the all-leather Rainforests, no steel toe in them though..I find the all leather are more comforatble than the material/leather version (the 'Grouse' ) --though the Grouse are a several ounces lighter..

the only other brand that's as good though maybe more expensive and less obtainable are White boots.

the best boots are Limmer boots. but the waiting list is about 8 years long now.. (there are some 'ready made' Limmers available in some places, but they don't seem like real Limmers -- I don't know the story; perhaps a son of Limmer struck out on his own..?)

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

I've grown fond of Converse's line of duty boots. Very lightweight and feel like your wearing sneakers. I wore out the regular side zip boots. I now have the side zip steel toe version. I wish I could wear them instead of the 6 pound monster boots they make us wear at the plant. (Steel mill)

They cost about half of what those boots you posted cost.

I have never tried Danners before, largely due to the high cost. I have tried Rocky, Magnum, Galls brand, and Converse so far. The converse win.

I buy boots from www.galls.com. They offer 100% satisfaction, and its worth paying the few bucks extra for me. I have an oddly shaped left foot. It used to take me a few tries of sending them back and forth to get a nice fitting boot. I have also sent a pair of the magnums back after the zippers broke two weeks after wearing them. They were dirty and scratched, but galls gave me my money right back. A++ for their service.

I'm not sure what kind of work you plan to be doing. I run surburban EMS (volunteer). We do mostly house calls and some MVA's. We don't do much search and rescue, and we stay out of burning buildings.

I tried the rocky first-med's (bloodborne pathogen resistant, chemical resistant, non-slip, steel toe, waterproof, the whole 9 yards and the kitchen sink built in), and I wasnt impressed. The waterproof version have the zippers in the front, they broke as I was trying them on.

I sent them back and got the version without steel toe (side zip). I really liked them, really comfortable. But they wouldn't hold a shine for anything. And, in the year or so it took to wear them out, I think I might have gotten a little bit of saliva from a ventilator tube on the toe once. I never needed to walk through burning pools of chemicals nor was I wading through puddles of HIV infected blood. If I did have too, the boot was pretty much going to be contaminated anyways, as the blood would have to seep through the leather before reaching the biohazard liner which was placed on the inside of the boot.

I don't really even need waterproof boots. I don't wade through marshes or swamps, so a heavy rain is all I have to deal with.

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

Couldn't the title mention something about boots?

Re: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc…

greenlight said:

Couldn't the title mention something about boots?

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Good point

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

Check out the taskforce line by Lowa too...

http://www.lowaboots.com

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

Yo thanks everyone for your responses, but I think I'm gonna stick with the Danners. I bought them from la police gear http://www.lapolicegear.com/dastsizipgtx.html because shipping is free both ways, they throw in 3 pairs of socks, and danner.com was out of stock in my size. I will post a mini-review when I get if anyone cares, and I am not a boot person (don't like my tims that much). The $200 just warrants (I could defiantly use that money for flashlights) and I usually spend like only $30 on a pair of sneakers from Costco J



Coldersolderjoint: www.galls.com is a great website esp. the customer service and how they have reviews of their products. Many people I know have ordered from them. Also, you are totally right about those rocky first-med's. Those boots have a high-tech ego.



TXArsonCop: I don't know how you got that price because that is over half off of retail. As I hear it Danner is one of those brands where the price is the same everywhere and never goes on sale (at least significantly ie like surefire).



Maycooper: Sorry but for this kind of item I had to keep my money in America, but to be honest I did get the impression of quality.

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

Danner Marine

Danner Acadia

I have a pair of each (the Acadia's before the USMC phased out the black boots for the roughed out leather ones) and love them. I think they are worth every penny.

Everyone's foot is different though, what one will work for someone will not work for another. Find a BM store and try a few out.

coontai said:

TXArsonCop: I don't know how you got that price because that is over half off of retail. As I hear it Danner is one of those brands where the price is the same everywhere and never goes on sale (at least significantly ie like surefire).

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Danner had just come out with the boots and they were cheaper, but I think I got 'em from through the Sportsman's Guide as one of those advertised "special deals." You really gotta watch the prices there, old Gary tends get the better of unwary consumers most of the time. That's why I wish I'd ordered more pairs, it was actually a great deal!

I've also been fairly happy with Rocky Alpha Forces side-zip when cost was an issue.

As for Galls... they're not always the best price around either, BUT if they're willing to exchange stuff with no hassle that can be worth a lot itself.

I'd like to try the more expensive models of Danners or some Matterhorns, but wearing boots like that to brush fires just doesn't make sense to me. The soot, ash, water & class A foams even when cleaned off immediately after the fire suck the life right out of the leather and kill boots. Also, I gotta have a zipper boot so I can shuck 'em to put on the bunker gear if we get a structure fire.

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

thanks for the website. the amazing deals are amazing ie aa mini mag for 8 bucks!

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

I bought some matterhorns back in 1997 in the field artillery and I still wear them when I dont want my feet to get wet or cold. I havnt put any polish on them in 5 years and they are still as warm and comfy as ever they were. As I recall they took one field excersise to break in (that's 3 days). I heard danners are just as good.

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+1

Re: Boots for: Firefighter, emts, paramedics, rescue personnel, LEOs, SWATs, hikers, etc

I got a good buy on my Danners from here:

http://www.basspro.com/footwear/Department?hvarDept=500&CMID=MH_OS_FOOTWEAR

btw Danner is one of the very few manufacturers who make a size EEE..