Nicks New Tactical Boot is COMPLETELY Different

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In this Nicks Tactical boot review, I'm showing how they built a boot unlike anything else Nicks Handmade Boots has ever done. Get the Nicks Tactical → manly.link/nicks-tactical
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The wrong tactical boot can lead to problems down the road for you-bad knees, bad back. Who wants to be uncomfortable or buy a floppy boot that’s just going to break down in 6 months.
If you want a durable tactical boot, you’re in the right place. In this Nicks Tactical review, I’m diving into the details of the world’s most rugged tactical boot.
0:00 Overview
1:39 First Impression
2:44 Leather Quality
3:51 Sole Quality
5:32 Fit and Sizing
6:16 Break In
7:00 Verdict
Disclosure: The links above are affiliate links. If you click it and make a purchase, we make a small commission at no additional cost to you.

[@joebiggs135]

As a former NCO in a light infantry unit, do not use these boots for the field or a ruck march. Aesthetically they are beautiful and built like a tank. However, they will not breath and push out water or sweat like a lighter/jungle boot will. Also you will eventually destroy any boot, get a cheaper boot that is still well built that doesn't cost $560. Save this boot for out on the town.

[@wecanjump7512]

Impossible to say without using them. The standard issue boots did just fine, and they didn't have the little holes/canvas that the jungle boots did. You must've been in the 82nd. I always tell people I was in a light unit, too. Saying 82nd Airborne makes me feel cheesy, especially when I think about all the cigarette butts we policed😂

[@wecanjump7512]

*I do think they're a little short, though.

[@bendover8433]

Agree. These don’t meet Army regulation and even if you are in SOF, we would use lighter weight shoes like Solomons. They look good though

[@miopera40]

If you use nicks in infantry your unit might need a truck to pull you out of the mud because of the weight of those things

[@Georgiaboy_]

@@wecanjump7512 what about the 8 inch?

[@bcwrangler]

I can't agree more...the boot industry was pushing tactical boots into the disposable world. It's really nice to see I can get a tactical boot that will survive abuse.

[@Highland_Paddy]

partly true but I don't think this is the one and seems like I'm not the only one

[@Highland_Paddy]

You'd be hard-pressed to convince me I'd like these more than the 7" Bates ones I have with nylon inserts and tongue and some ventilation and reinforced toe and heel and Vibram outsole with different lugs.

[@Highland_Paddy]

has pull-through hooks instead of speed hooks or eyelets and slightly articulated shaft bit and more collar padding.

[@UriNierer]

These are disposable boots. The foam in the heel will eventually crumble and cause the sole to fall off.

[@rastislavstanik]

​@@UriNiererthey can be resoled easily

[@cameronmccray5963]

Something to note about their tactical boots is that they provide enough room to fit bulky orthotics which is handy if you actually plan on working in these.

[@nahaha8219]

These (in the 8 inch version) would be a good companion to the Army's two mandatory issue boots (hot weather) and they fit 670-1 for the optional boots category. If you look at the formations today, most people already wear burger king optional boots that would not pass for issue boots. Ignoring the price, these boots are a great replacement for the cold weather boots. They are heavy for ruck marches, but can still work well in hot weather if you just apply the lost art of sock-changing.

[@customconnections2425]

Holy shit!!! Don’t give up the secret of the art of changing socks! Now it’s out!!🤦🏾‍♂️

[@thesharpercoder]

Due to the heavy wax coating, the “waxed flesh” leathers do tend to be quite stiff. The leathers are highly resistant to bending and flexing. These “waxed flesh” leathers are supposed to “patina” as the wax coating erodes and wears away over time. A lot of time, like wear them everyday amount of time. Due to the heavy wax coating, you cannot really treat the leather with anything short of washing away the wax. The waxed flesh leathers are not for me, either. But, they are great in wet conditions, something which your standard roughout leathers are not very good at Water does not naturally roll off roughout leathers. Water tends to soak into the leather, which is why they apply a heavy wax coating.

[@chuckmarsh7981]

So glad you mentioned the slight struggle to put them on. My Marshall boot has no tongue. it's sewn together to the shaft limiting how much you can open the top to slide your foot in. That being said they are very comfortable and wear nicely. When I first got them I wore them for 12hrs let them air out for a few hrs then wore them again for 30+ hrs doing runner's stretch and light walking foot movements and even slept on my recliner in them. A week later and they are breaking in with no problems or hot spots. I Love these boots and even though I still have to use a shoe horn to get them on they are amazing!

[@minnesota-hk1vp]

Awesome review my dad was a firefighter retired now and I like the tactical boot reviews thank you for sharing

[@samuelgarza7685]

I’ll get them if they make a Munson fit.

[@mandalorianactual1215]

Those Oakleys are AMAZING for rucking on pavement. So for the occasional 12 mile road march on paved road, they are phenomenal.

[@Skiballz]

Just picked up the Marshal Duty Boot in Black All Smooth for my every day duty boot. I'm currently wearing them around the house to start that break-in period before they see a full duty day. The quality is definitely top-notch and I can't wait to put them through their paces.

[@michaelgrapner1091]

How have these held up as a duty boot ?

[@Skiballz]

Nearly a year of wear and they do not disappoint. After a brief break in period, they’re very comfortable to be on my feet for hours on end thanks to the foam midsole. Insole is thick, but by now has provided a comfortable footbed. Outsole wear is minimal and I don’t see myself resoling them until probably well into next year. This only due to my own gait causing heel wear.

[@michaelgrapner1091]

What kind of work do you do I was looking at getting these for work but don’t know how they would be running

[@Skiballz]

Federal agent so they’ve seen all kinds of environments. They’re comfortable to run in because of the amount of shock absorption the multiple sole construction provides.

[@abarrett9493]

How would you compare these to the JK OT boots and maybe the Nicks Ridgeline hikers?

[@jeremyd2003]

Would it be good for corrections? Or what else would you recommend?

[@billybob7088]

Most enlisted members will not be able to afford this, I would of loved to have them when I was in the desert.

[@Highland_Paddy]

and by the time they arrive, you are home already

[@milesn3173]

Not after that Oceanside Mustang payment, for sure...

[@devildog5354]

Might make a good prepper boot for when there won't be any replacements available...

[@travistucker1033]

They will definitely last.

[@cjanquart]

Ordered mine back in November 2022 and as of May 2023, they're under construction, ETA one month. As I've worn Danner's (Striker EMS and Assail), I'm really looking forward to wearing these.

[@AdamHill1234]

They actually have the tactical boots in a 6 which are the ones I ordered.

[@jj4483love]

I like everything but that giant pull tab. Why would you need pull tabs on a 5 inch boot?

[@justinschexnayder8485]

In case you need to pull yourself up by your boot straps

[@randomname7636]

William, what jacket is that?

[@brandonbeck1946]

I agree and this is awesome! Hopefully it catches on with special forces

[@Highland_Paddy]

probably won't. i mean, if I'm waiting that long and paying that much, I would customize them more

[@motocross402]

I appreciate your reviews. However, after 6 years in the infantry I would not consider those tactical. They look super heavy. Try the Rocky SV2 (even those aren’t super light) or the Lowa Renegade. No doubt the Nick’s is a high quality boot. But I wouldn’t pick it if I was going for a ruck.

[@Highland_Paddy]

I would probably customize them more if I'm waiting that long and paying so much.

[@AB-qc6pf]

What would a cheaper alternative be ?

[@averagejoe4101]

Would you say the tactical boot runs 1/2 size or one full size larger than branock size?

[@Gorlami90]

I went a full size down but I like snug boots. The width is definitely narrow. I wear 10 I. Sneakers got a 9D in nicks overlander and the length is great but the width was definitely narrow, the leather stretched n the fit great now but I’d recommend go up at least 1 width size

[@enjoythesilence902]

Everything is good but not the price. No gore-tex is not a problem. It will be perfect at $350~$400.

[@herbertsmagon5777]

Its 560 dollars!? I'll give ya 250

[@GamerNxUSN]

Why does no one talk about Belleville?

[@HeritageCast]

I hope they can get these approved for uniform wear to save these guys feet. My feet are all messed up from deployments....

[@infernoeagles5812]

Just get them no one is going to say anything seriously, unless your unit or command is full of blue falcons that seriously don’t know how to mind there own business, I wore redwings before the change in uniform regs about boots and no one said anything some people notice and asked me about them and why I got them and told them that all the other boots I got kept breaking after 6 months and hurting my feet really badly.

[@frankcastle3827]

Nicks needs to understand that no u.s. military branch is going to use these at all 😂😂😂

[@vaccinatedanti-vaxxer]

Basic training issued boots are underrated. Soldiers hate them because of their association with basic training, miss fit, heavy, and uncomfortable. They are around 90$ at the PX. Most rather spend double for sneaker boots. Various boot manufacturers make them for the government, bates, Altama, Belleville, rocky… I find these last years of abuse, truly “military grade” and with sole inserts, fairly comfortable. Sneaker boots last 6 to 12 months while basic training boots last years. I get diesel and oil on my boots, by a few months new boots look like I got them from the dumpster. Highly recommend not getting these fancy boots for army work unless it’s for a parade, plus they are not AR 670 compliant. Army gear is made to get beaten up, worn out, dirty. Think disposable and utilitarian gear not fashion forward or upper class. The army gives soldier a yearly clothing allowance, they sneak in a few hundred dollars every year to update army wear. They don’t care what you use that money for but if soldier spend top dollar on a boot, they will pay out of pocket. Sub standard appearance is a good way for soldiers to get punished. I have a pair of thorogood moc toe, hell no I wouldn’t wear them in uniform even if they were in regs. They are too nice. I got winter boots, desert boots, my ruck boots, and I don’t give a darn about those I wear at work. The two type of boots (work and fashion) do not mix.

[@Highland_Paddy]

I thought you were thinning out the herd? I had most reasonable success with the Bates ones that are the nylon / suede combo for civilian hiking use. I would think 5" too short for most situations like snakes and keeping out pebbles and such and possibly even comfort. Well, when they send me free ones maybe I will try them out.

[@Highland_Paddy]

I wouldn't trust the military not to change their color scheme. The green boots all came out several years ago to blend with the multicam, but I don't know what regs went in that direction.

[@Highland_Paddy]

Looks like the same outsole as on my the cheap Mil-Tec Voodoo ones, so still will feel the rocks through the the bottom? [I got those after the re-sole, though, I think.]

[@Highland_Paddy]

Yes, military guys totally need a boot they have difficulty getting on their foot and causing arm fatigue and other problems. We'll just sub that in for the morning PT.

[@Highland_Paddy]

Eight months? You'll already be back from your deployment. No problem. Yeah, that's probably my main issue even more than navigating the fit problems or cost. I mean, we can justify the cost if they are good quality, although most military service is going to destroy the boots in some other way that you would likely need new ones sooner than five years away, anyway. I don't know why they don't find some way to make these to scale if they're going to try and tackle larger markets before they launch another random model in addition to the other three they just launched or something.

[@Highland_Paddy]

Rugged but sweaty feet in hot climate and probably no good for jungle use.

[@edrader]

belleville c320 = the best

[@spencersmustache2844]

The noise betwwen cuts is annoying and distracting. The boots are nice.

[@Georgiaboy_]

Built different

[@crminalminds12]

But I didn’t hear anything that puts it past my bellevilles or dancers except for coating too much

[@jagmeetsmann]

You are wearing lipstick 😂. You can deny but..

[@aliananjum5662]

Unfortunately I don’t believe that those boots will fit the AR 670-1 uniform code. At least for the army. These boots are all leather materials, and to work with uniform compliance they need to have water drain holes and have a mix of leather and nylon upper. Which those do not. They are actually more for people who like to feel tactical then actual service members. I have spoken to Nick multi time regarding the subject and they keep on ignoring the issue of the boot.

[@nahaha8219]

These (in the 8 inch version) would be a good companion to the two mandatory issue boots (hot weather) and they fit 670-1 for the optional boots category. If you look at the formations today, most people already wear burger king optional boots that would not pass for issue boots.

[@mantaroy]

First, the description for boots is in DA PAM 670-1(Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia) Paragraph 20-5. The DA PAM is cited in AR 670-1. Second, under paragraph 20-5 (b)(1)(a) all leather construction is authorized. Third, the DA PAM is very clear that optional boots may be worn at the discretion of the commander, so long as the boots meet the requirements in the PAM. Your buddies, bad officers and bad NCOs can baffle you with BS by farting "AR 670-1" out of their nasty mouths, but wearing ANY footwear other than issued footwear is at the discretion of your commander. So ask your commander. Once you have approval, spend like you're buying your first new Mustang.

[@killer257296]

It works for the Air Force reg for sure, we don't have the same restrictions.

[@herbertsmagon5777]

I hate Nicks! they deleted my bad review!

[@bricktop201]

What were your concerns?

[@herbertsmagon5777]

​@@bricktop201 The sole stitching was sooo off on my boot rebuild that you could see the white thread from the front. I used the leather shoelaces sent in the box and they snapped 3 times in 3 months. The unforgivable part is having fake reviews and censoring me on their channel and website.

[@bricktop201]

@@herbertsmagon5777 Yeah, I can’t agree with them doing that. That’s a lot of scratch for a pair of boots, they need to have honest opinions

[@Highland_Paddy]

Yeah, these companies don't seem to understand that they are NOT in Boot Barn or Target and even if they were they would still have to convince a guy why their boots are worth two or three times the price of other boots already considered "expensive" by hourly wage crew.

[@arcangelsecurity]

WTF makes these tactical?