One area of Skirmish Field protection that is overlooked in our opinion is good foot wear, not only will a good pair of boots protect your feet and keep them dry they will also offer the wearer vital ankle support.

Finding the right pair of boots can be overwhelming at the best of times. With the hundreds of pairs out there made by a variety of manufacturers at different price points and levels of comfort and performance.  It can be very easy to fall into the trap of “Vanity purchasing” which believe us isn’t the right frame of mind to be in.

What makes a good pair of boots

Fit is everything – we cannot stress this enough, we could get all technical here and talk about gusseted tongues, the rocker shape and the shank size, but that’s all pretty irrelevant at this point as it doesn’t matter if the boot looks all tact-i-cool and is made of all the right things and is great value, because if it’s a bad fit for you, then it’s a bad boot for you.

Today’s combat boots are designed to provide a combination of grip, ankle stability, and foot protection suitable for a rugged environment or in our case a skirmish field.
Many combat boots incorporate technologies taken from the civilian hiking boot market and incorporate Gore-Tex nylon side panels, which improve ventilation and comfort. They are also specialized boots and you have a choice from jungle boots, desert boots, and cold weather boots that all have their own unique properties and performance levels.

Viper Covert Boot

These lightweight tactical boots have been designed for speed of movement & comfort.  Made with a durable slip/oil resistant outsole and a suede/cordura upper with non metallic seven stage eyelet lacing fit. The Covert is a light and comfortable 8 inch boot that’s an ideal choice for the serious skirmisher or the new recruit, which also features a leather finish on the high wear areas of the boot.  Inside the boot you will find a padded tongue and internal liner for added comfort.

Our initial trail consisted of a fresh out of the box pair that we threw on before a visit to our local skirmish field, we had our doubts, expecting our feet to be suffering at the end of the day, but we were pleasantly surprised with the overall fit, their comfort and performance. Their sizing at a UK 10 was almost perfect, with no rubbing on our heels or ankles, which to us is always a sign of good kit; they also kept our feet dry, which is a great benefit and also a sign of a good pair of boots. If anything here we aired on the side of caution and wore a thicker than normal pair of socks thinking the worse, but it was completely unfounded. We’re not going to say our feet were as fresh as they started in the morning because that’s not the case; your feet naturally take a pounding on any skirmish field. We can however report that our feet were undamaged by a new pair of boots that hadn’t been broken in, with no blisters or pressure points.

Its hit and miss buying a pair of boots on line because different manufactures sizing do differ. However the one constant with the entire Viper Tactical range is that their sizing  charts are amongst the most accurate we have experienced, but having said that its always better to “try” before you buy especially with boots as there is no such thing as a standard foot size.

A great pair of boots at a great price that anyone can afford.

Colour Options
Black,

Brown

Titanium

Sizes: UK 7 – 12

 

Price from £44.95
Available from all Good Airsoft and tactical gear retailers