>>2348965I haven't tried Lems boots, so can't really comment on them. Their lacing seems like trash, they use cotton liners, although I hear the rubber sole is comfortable. I may try the Outlander.
The brands I have tried are Xero, Belleville, Freet, and Vivobarefoot.
*Xero: Good outsole. Design's usually are over complicated for chinese hands and fall apart. Some models are better than others. Outsole is great. I wish they made a boot with the outdoor outsole and leather. Their recent outdoor outsole goretex model made the weird outer straps better connected, but still uses mesh that will not survive the outdoors.
*Freet: Great leather. They recently came out with a heartier outsole last year. Their earlier outsoles were really good designs, but the outsole did not last long. Newer stuff seems to be better. Great foot shape, easy to lace, and I have used elastic laces with mine. It is glued, so have that shoe goo or bond ready to touch up. For some reason, I have found theirs the least comfortable to stand in for long periods. Not sure why that is.
*Belleville mini-mil: the original. It's basically a minimalist jungle boot, so it trades off water repellency for drying fast. The black leather has a PU coating that will rub off and look gray like shit later. Also doesn't have side vents. It's slightly more water repellant if you don't move it like 3" above water, but will dry out slower. I hate pu coated leather as it makes it difficult to condition the leather and make it more water resistant and prevent cracking. Has liners inside too so can't condition the interior.
My second gripe with these is the lacing on them sucks. I use a surgeons knot after the 4th eyelet at your instep and skip the top two laces. You feel like a smaller size would work better to help tighten it but you will run into two issues if you do that.
1) Your toes will ram into the front
2) The plastic heel cup will fuck your ankle up.
cont
