On this blog, I have done plenty of gear reviews. These reviews are most often based on extensive use of the item, in various climates or locations. Today I came to the realization that I haven’t reviewed some of the gear that I’ve been using for the longest period of time, and this review is one step towards changing that. Unfortunately, in this case, the Magnum boots I’m reviewing have been discontinued. I therefore won’t be spending too much time on individual features, but rather how they were manufactured and how they’ve held up.
After completion of Field Medical Service School, which included several short “marches” up and down the hills of Camp Pendleton, I reported to 5th Marines and did even more marches up and down hills – different hills, at least. I quickly realized that my issued boots were pretty much terrible and set out to find a new pair.
I spoke to a few experienced Marines and Corpsmen, and they recommended Magnum boots. So, a few months before I deployed, I purchased two pairs of Magnum Amazon boots and proceeded to break them in with some walking and running around San Mateo.
Seven years later, I still have one pair of those boots, and I still wear them in the field. Here they are.
The other pair was stolen while I was in Iraq – why someone stole the bloodstained boots instead of the clean ones, I’ll never know. I used this pair for the remainder of the deployment, as well as for hiking in South America – yes, along the Amazon river – and trips across the western United States, Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska. I absolutely love these boots. They have always been comfortable to wear, whether I was stuck behind a desk or moving with 100lbs of gear on my back.
The only issue I have with them is that they do not provide as much ankle support as I might like – one incident in particular, a dismounted patrol at night during which I rolled my ankle and fell down a flight of stairs – sticks in my mind. However, I was able to cinch up the laces on that boot and hobble along at the back of the platoon, despite a less-than-100%-ankle.
I got a lot of comments from guys in my unit about how they looked more like shoes than boots, and the best way I can describe them is to say that they provided a great balance between the comfort of a shoe and the support of a boot. I raved about them so much that it shouldn’t have been a surprise when a pair disappeared. Lesson learned.
One thing that is very important to me is having boots that breathe, and these do a great job of not marinating my feet as the day wears on. In fact, they do a better job than other boots I have with vent holes in the sides. They also keep my feet dry when I splash through puddles or dance in the rain.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about them is how well they’ve held up. Seven years later, the stitching still looks great – a testament to the methods & materials Magnum used to make these boots. I haven’t done a thing for them other than hose them off occasionally, and there are no signs that they’re about to rot away or fall apart. In fact, the only true sign that these boots need to be hung up for good is that the soles have worn down in a few spots. This hasn’t stopped me from wearing them in the field, though.
The soles are billed as “slip/oil resistant,” and they most certainly are. Whether I was scrambling up a lava flow, down a muddy hill, or working on my car in my garage, I have never had a problem with slick or oily surfaces in these boots. There’s not much to say other than they work very well in this regard.
The purchase price for these boots was around $90, which works out to something like 3 cents per day since I’ve owned them. Thinking back over all the gear purchases I’ve made, these Magnum boots are easily in the top three items in terms of how much I like them and how well they’ve held up. I was severely disappointed to find out that they had been discontinued by Magnum.
A good pair of boots is worth more or less all the money in the world (or at least as much as your next HSLD-blade). I can survive with issue everything (except maybe gloves and underpants) but issue boots the world over suck huge horse balls, why services even bother and don’t just give you the money to buy your own still baffles me. The amount of physio needed for knees and ankles that could have been avoided by good boots is baffling, good boots would mean that the army couldv’e paid for my entire company to go on a boozer ‘cross the Baltic Sea.
I know I wouldn’t be caught dead in uniform without my Lundhags. Pricy as all fuck and ugly to match they are for our climate and terrain perfect which shouldn’t come as a surprice as mine were made in the small village of Järpen, Jämtland, Northern Sweden. Popped by the factory the other both to change soles, cost me the grand total of fuck-all when I mentioned I was forces. Instead, I got a handshake and a cup of coffee by the shoemaker who asked how I liked them. Awesome boots, awesome company [they also do merino underpants].
/Lew, Sweden.
I wish I could get my boots to last that long. I plan on six months for my steel toes. The short service life is 100% due to wearing the soles off them. Constant paved surface use really takes the bottom off a pair of boots.
Love my Magnum’s. Used them for 3 years, running, hiking, caving, mountain biking (yeah…) and bouldering. Running and jumping across hard, porous surfaces probably wears shoes more than any activity I know; it tears the soles up and puts a lot of forces on the seams. Yet my magnums have held up, rain or shine. They have started to tear apart (not at the seams, but on the corners where the tongue meet the shoe). Most likely from not having enough lace-support and leaving my laces loose too much when I run around (not recommended). They had so much grip I often didn’t bother to stop when my laces came untied if I had forget to double-knot them.
Just got another pair of Magnums, I’m sure it will be as good. The break-in period is bothersome!
I’ve worm Magnums for years, and I have to say I agree with you on their durability and comfort. They’re excellent for fall and winter hunting, and aren’t too warm for the summer in most temperate climates. The only better boots I have for winter are my old Matterhorns, and it has to be pretty cold for those to be necessary.
I don’t recall if I ever wore Magnums but I did wear lots of Bates and I loved them. Steel toe or soft toe, all very comfortable and lasted. I wish I never tossed them when I got out…
While writing this I realized I did have some Magnums that I wore to run in when training for BUD/s, very comfortable. (Disclaimer-Never made it to BUD/s)