Tactical Research Mini-Mil TR102 8 Inch Minimalist Tactical Boots for Men - Lightweight and Breathable Black Leather with Slip-Resistant Vibram Outsole

If you're looking at these, you may have likely come to them because you're looking for a more minimalist boot. These are definitely that. There is a lot more space for your toes to splay out, and the sole is substantially more flexible than other combat boots. My previous ones felt more like wearing bricks. These let your feet, your toes, your arches, etc., do what they want, and allow your body to do things naturally. Also, with only a 2mm heel drop, they allow a much more natural walk and are also much more comfortable to stand in because they allow the spine to be in natural alignment, not forced to correct for the fact that the heel is dramatically elevated (causing the pelvis to have to tilt more, thus also the lumbar, then the thoracic, you get the idea!). If you have other footwear that allows toe splay, zero-drop, minimalist, etc., these are the closest you will come to that for a combat boot so I highly recommend them. Those characteristics, along with high lightweight and flexible they are, make the feet, legs, and back much less fatigued at the end of the day. THE ONLY bad thing I have to say about them is the same that many other reviewers have noted: the heel cup can dig into the ankle bone a ton. After about 10 days of wear, the right heel cup was still causing me pain. It never caused any blisters, but my ankle bone was getting progressively more sore as it was bruising. I don't know if it will ever break in. The other boot doesn't have the issue so who knows. But, what I did to solve this was dig through my old sports equipment bin, get out one of my ankle pads that came with some old soccer shin guards, and put it on the affected ankle. It fits inside the boot fine and 100% solved the problem. You may be thinking, it is pretty dumb that one would have to wear a soccer shin guard ankle protector inside a boot, and you'd be right. I wish Belleville would correct this issue. That said, these boots are so dramatically more comfortable in every conceivable way (except for the ankle bone issue) that I would buy another pair without any hesitation and continue to wear the ankle pads if needed. They are truly that much better than other combat boots (for those of us required to wear them). Unfortunately, they don't have a steel/composite toe version so I'll still have to use my old steel toes for certain work, but at all other times I'll be in these. (As for the soccer shin guard ankle pads, the ones I have are some old Adidas. The key for them is that the ankle pad also has plastic inserts inside the pads that cover the ankle. I'm not sure if pads without that would be sufficient, but again, they're totally comfortable inside the boot and don't make it bulge out at all. Size-wise, I wear a 12 in all my Altra athletic shoes and these are perfect in a 12 too. I got regular width and it is definitely roomy enough for the toes. I would consider my foot to be average width.

I have owned four pair of these mini mil boots. They are the closest boots I’ve found to feel like I’m wearing moccasins. While I replace the original insole with a puncture resistant one because of where I wear them mostly, I can still feel the texture and contour of the ground beneath my feet. As a traditional bow hunter i appreciate that feel of the terrain. In dry conditions I can wear heavy wool socks over these boots to dampen the sound of my steps while stalking game.These boots with their “flat” soles help me with correcting my posture as well.Overall I’m very satisfied with my purchase of these boots.

First off, I normally wear an 11, but sized up to 11.52E for these. I probably should have gone with the 12, since they're still short enough that my toes smash into the front any time I walk downhill. They're also a bit narrower than I'd like in the toebox, which I expected (but better than my other hiking boots), and too wide in the heel, which I did not expect. My heel can slide around a bit even when they're laced tight. Thick socks help some with that.As far as general construction quality, they live up to Belleville's usual high standards. I especially like the soles, which get surprisingly good traction on ice. That may be because of the micro-treads on the bottom that will wear off eventually, but it's definitely handy while it lasts. The leather is good, and with a few coatings of Obenauf's it becomes fairly water-resistant (it leaked a bit at the toe after a couple hours hiking through mud and slush). The canvas, of course, is not water resistant. They are warm enough for winter; I haven't really tried them in hot weather yet. They are stiff enough for kicking steps and could certainly be worn with snowshoes, maybe even crampons in a pinch. The soles are sturdy enough for going through brush and rubble, and I would wear them in all but the very sharpest and rockiest terrain. As others have said, they are not quite "minimal" given their stiffness, but sometimes that's what you need. The heel-toe drop is barely noticeable and although they change my walking gait to a more pronounced heel strike, it hasn't been a problem. They seem okay for jogging too.My main complaint is that the very stiff leather in the heel caused me a great deal of pain when I started wearing them. It rubbed at the "sharp" edges, but it also squeezed and bruised and caused shooting pains. I thought they just needed to be broken in, but since I couldn't walk very far in them that wasn't really possible. I wore liner socks, and that helped with the rubbing but not the other stuff. Finally I decided to work the heel leather with my fingers repeatedly to try to soften it up. I folded it over in every direction, and after about 20 minutes it did get a bit softer. It didn't solve the problem entirely, but I was able to get through my 3-day (15 mile) backpacking trip without any major problems. This kind of heel pain is a problem I've never had in any other boots, including my two previous pairs of Bellevilles, so I don't know what to make of it but I will likely continue trying to soften up the heel.Overall, these boots are a good concept (a minimalist boot has certainly been lacking) but I'm not sure I like the execution at this point. At least the price was pretty good.