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- Verified Buyer
Gonna give it 5 stars because I love it. The only problem I've had so far with this boot is the side zipper pull. I just called Bates customer service today and as soon as I'm ready to ship the boots back to them, they're going to replace them.The original reason I bought these boots was to test a theory I had (that theory may only apply to me specifically, but hey, worth a shot). The theory states that for every $10 I spend on a pair of boots, I'll get approximately 1 months use out of it. That was based on several consecutive purchases of $30 boots that lasted almost exactly 3 months of constant, hard use. So the theory goes that I should have gotten 12-17 months use out of these boots before something broke down ($120 on Amazon.com, $169.99 on Bates' website).While that didn't happen (owned them for about 7 months now, but keep reading), it should be noted that I took no action to maintain the boots, or even be careful with them; On one camp out I almost lit them on fire, then as I noticed the rubber smelling smoke from the fire I stuck my foot in a bucket of water. The water proofing did not fail, and the sole was perfectly fine, if a little melted.Honestly, I would have been happy if they sent me replacement zipper pulls with more beef to them. But replacing the entire boot because a single part failed? That right there is the definition of quality control.Based on the original product, my only qualm is the foam near the heel (takes a lot of cosmetic damage), and the small zipper pull. My recommendation to Bates is beef up the zipper pulls, and see what they can do to harden the foam near the heel.I would recommend the product to anyone looking for a good, waterproof, insulated, side-zip, boot that comes in wide sizes.
