Reebok Boots

I’m absolutely certain that many of you out there will know the name Reebok thanks to their extensive range of sports and athletic footwear models. I know that when I was a ‘yoof’ I spent most of my days in a pair of their black leather high tops, so excuse me if I go a little misty eyed over my own association with the brand!

I was talking a little while back to the guys at Top of the Range who are the UK distributor for many excellent tactical and outdoor brands, and my ears pricked up when they let drop in conversation that they would soon be carrying a number of models from the Reebok tactical line, so I pestered them for a trial pair as soon as they became available, and boy, am I glad I did!

I have to say that upon receiving a pair of their Rapid Response RB 6-inch tactical boots in Desert Tan to trial I was reminded of the old adage that ‘good things come to he who waits’ as straight out of the box they looked and felt superb. You can certainly see the US heritage to them as generally boots produced for the North American market do seem to be a little bit chunkier than their Euro equivalents, and although I border on the UK9/9.5 boundary size, 9s were just a bit long even for me, so I’d thoroughly recommend you try them to get the correct size for you.

That’s slight (and I mean VERY slight!) niggle aside, everything else I’m going to tell you about these boots is extremely positive. Other than length the sizing for me is absolutely perfect; I have a very broad forefoot with a narrow heel and these are spot on in that respect. The heel is held snugly in a supportive cup whilst there’s enough room in the toe box, which has a raised protective rand, for the forefoot to spread allowing great levels of comfort straight from new. The front lace eyelets are far enough back that they are not going to crease uncomfortably over the top of the toes, and there are enough ventilation panels to keep the foot cool and well aired. The overall construction is of suede leather and ballistic mesh, with a nylon mesh inner meaning they are superbly breathable.

Best Foot Forward

The insole is a removable F2A Force Athletic polyurethane cushion insert with a Shock Eliminator heel cushion; once again this is immediately comfortable, and I can feel that it will mould to my foot shape over time to give even further stability. The outsole is Reebok’s own dual-density Mountain Trail unit which is of a medium to hard compound; linked to an EVA Cushion midsole I can see that this is going to be very durable whilst maintaining very high levels of shock absorption, and offer superb non-slip properties.

Now the boots have a couple of quite unusual features, the first of these is that they have a side zip entry which allows you to get the boot on and off fast without unlacing them. I’ve always found this set up to be a little clunky for my taste, as usually it’s a feature that adds weight and volume to the boot overall, but Reebok seem to have cracked this as, although the YKK zip is chunky enough to be durable, they’ve managed to keep it low-profile and added a tab restraining strap at the top of the zip. On these boots it’s an unobtrusive feature which offers the benefit of letting you keep the lace tension constant once it’s set correctly to anchor your foot in place.

The other feature I really like about this boot is that there are 100% NO metal parts; this means that they are security friendly if you happen to be working with metal detectors or in an environment where sparks could be dangerous. They also have great oil and chemical resistance for workwear situations.

Overall I believe that Reebok have created a superior product for the tactical market, and although due to the lack of membrane lining and the side zip they are never going to be waterproof, they will give great levels of comfort and performance in their intended environment. The Rapid Response RB costs £109.99 which is, if you’ll pardon the deliberate pun, right on the money for this type of boot! There’s also an 8-inch version at £114.99 if you need a higher cuff.

Both www.tactical-kit.co.uk and www.uktactical.com already have Reebok tactical models in stock, and if the Rapid Response 6-inch Side Zip is not the model for you then I can say confidently that there will be something in the range that is!

Tactical Kit already have technical specifications for the different models up on their website, but for additional stockist details closer to you please contact Top of the Range.