• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Loadout Room

The Loadout Room

Professional Gear Reviews

Hardcore Gear and Adventure

Menu
  • Shooting
        • Pistol
        • Pistol Accessories
        • Rifle
        • Rifle Accessories
        • Shotgun
        • Machine Guns
        • Air Guns
        • Ammunition
        • Optics and Sights
        • Weapon Lights
        • Tips & How-To
        • Concealed Carry
        • Holsters
        • Suppressors
        • Precision Rifle Shooting
        • Firearms Training
        • m243The M24: America’s Headhunter
        • skorpFull-Auto Fun — Shooting the full-Auto vz. 61 Škorpion
        • p320-full-leftSIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can’t Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
        • TISAS_10100520_1__98179Tisas 1911A1 U.S. Army Review: Best Budget .45 ACP WW2 1911 Clone?
    • Close
  • Gear Reviews
      • Mission Gear
      • Camping Gear
      • Survival Gear
      • Medical Gear
      • Adventure & Travel
      • Knives & Tools
      • Overland
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Footwear
      • Womens Gear & Clothing
        • Hunting in TexasThese 5 ATV Dealers Will Get You Ready For Hunting Season in Texas
        • ac65a540-2ef3-4598-8d11-afdf53f46e94.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount HL-X: A Thoroughly Bright Review
        • Bluetti 2 handsfree power backpackBluetti Handsfree 2 Review: The Ultimate Power Backpack for Off-Grid Adventurers
        • The Gallagator 10 day pack on the shoreline next to a hiking trail.Day Pack – Mystery Ranch Gallagator 10 – The Best Yet?
    • Close
  • Men’s Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • EDC
      • Eyewear
      • Watches
      • Electronics & Technology
      • Downtime
      • Mens Clothing & Accessories
      • Manly Skills
      • Style & Grooming
      • Gentleman Drinks
      • Crate Club
        • Tom and Blake Sell TeaHow Sasquatch Tea Is Revitalizing a Stagnant Tea Market With Veterans and Outdoorsmen in Mind
        • redcat-blackwidow-articleheaderWar of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
        • Photoroom_20250525_074933Juggernaut Tactical Frame Review: The Best Upgrade for Your 365
        • craft holstersCraft Holsters Makarov Tuckable IWB Holster Report
    • Close
  • News
  • Video Demo
  • Buying Guides
  • Shop
  • Advertise
Firearms

A New Take On the Updated Salomon Xa Forces Mid Boot

February 19, 2024 by Fred Rowlands Leave a Comment

Proud to present an article from Leland Keane, our gear review guru from the Nova Scotia.

The new Salomon XA Forces Mid Gore-Tex

I read Steve Balestrieri’s review in Loadout Room from 2019 on the Salomon XA Forces Mid-Boot, with interest when planning to write this review. The boot in his review is similar but not waterproof. -(https://loadoutroom.com/117606/a-green-berets-take-on-the-salomon-xa-forces-mid-boot/)

I purchased the XA FORCES MID GORE-TEX Ranger Green / Men’s on sale directly from Salomon in June of 2023 for $187.50(CAD) down 25% from $250(CAD) with free shipping. I was further charged $28.13(CAD) in provincial and federal tax.

(Canada is awash in many layers of excessive taxation by our increasingly kleptocratic municipal, provincial and federal governments. It’s been an especially unpleasant tax regime since a Federal Liberal-NDP Government under Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015.)

In the 1980s and and to the middle of the 1990s the police department I worked for was resistant to letting folks buy and wear their own boots. Between the rigid top-down procurement policies of the department and political interference in the adoption of contracts on such items as kit, there was no real appetite for serious examination of the value of footwear and its relationship to the health of employees by the department.

This is not an article on the importance of proper footwear on the spinal health of police officers carrying heavy loads on their person, and professional activities and the impacts on their health. Suffice to say, policemen have bad backs.

When there was finally an appetite to loosen the apron strings on boots in our department, most of my colleagues and I involved in actual police work had no issue spending a few dollars on proper footwear. Like many of my colleagues I wanted comfort and less aggravation of my ankles and back.

I wore many brands both on the “street”, paved and unpaved and in the unforgiving concrete environment of flat and not-so-flat firearms ranges. Working outside was the true test of any footwear. Memories of damp cold feet from working in a rainforest, fording rivers, being stuck to the asphalt after walking through gallons of fish oil spilling from a tanker truck at a collision all flood back to me.

Having broken ankles 3 times related to duty as well as other musculoskeletal injuries and having adopted orthotic inserts, choosing a product required reliable supportive footwear about a size bigger than normal.

I wore models from Oakley, Scarpa, SWAT, AKU and others I can’t remember and lastly Soloman. I always returned to and eventually stayed with Soloman for a number of reasons;

Ankle support and good construction with the Salomon’s

COST ; At work, I remembered they needed to have a toe cap that could be polished, be black, and look “professional” in order to qualify for an annual subsidy of between $100-$250(CAD) depending on unit and department funding.

COLOR; When a unit did not require the color to be black, there was more choice of products.

RELIABILITY, COMFORT; Essentially it had to last for a year before, be comfortable, be waterproof, be light and be able to put on and remove rapidly. Quality boots typically wear out in the sole only in my experience. Solomon is no different.

Since retirement in 2019, I still wear orthotics. I hike, shoot and walk a minimum of 6KM a day just walking my dog.

Gripping but still comfortable sole

Working and living on my acreage in all 4 seasons, I still favor a boot that is light, reliable, priced reasonably, and most importantly be; comfortable, light and waterproof. The speed of putting them on and taking them off is not as important but certainly desirable. Soloman’s “Quicklace” system is so convenient and does not fail. AKU’s lacing is very similar but the laces are not elastic.

Solomon has removed the loop at the rear of this boot intended for ease of putting them on , likely to prevent it snagging on anything as has happened to me in the past at least once.

My choice of green is cosmetic, as wearing a black ankle boot in my opinion screams, “cop” in my experience. The boot is a delight to wear and is so light, you barely notice you’re wearing it.

I’ll continue to wear XA FORCES MID GORE-TEX as long as it suits my lifestyle and It’s not made in the People’s Republic of China(PRC).

Lee Keane
Nova Scotia

Share This

About the Author

Fred Rowlands Fred “Garfield” Rowlands is a 21+ year Navy veteran who spent his career in strange and diverse places like Diego Garcia, Wintering Over in Antarctica, the Southern Border, and Burbank CA. Has spent over 30 years working in Military Physical Security, Law Enforcement, and Private Security, and has “more luck than a cat has lives” supposedly. He now resides in NW Florida with his wife and a Great Dane named Layla.

See All Fred Rowlands Articles

More From The Loadout Room

Comments

Primary Sidebar

Most Read

  • Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
    Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
    SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
  • Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
    Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
  • Black Widow and the Brain: Palladyne and Red Cat Prove the Future Is Autonomous
    Black Widow and the Brain: Palladyne and Red Cat Prove the Future Is Autonomous
  • Bluetti Handsfree 2 Review: The Ultimate Power Backpack for Off-Grid Adventurers
    Bluetti Handsfree 2 Review: The Ultimate Power Backpack for Off-Grid Adventurers

Find Us on Facebook

Recent Comments

  • Winston Smiths on Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • Jared Mize on The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: A Commando Blade That Changed Special Forces Forever
  • GomeznSA on MAC-10: The Wild History of America’s Most Iconic (and Overrated) Submachine Gun

Latest From SOFREP

News

Evening Brief: Military Helps Search for Flood Victims, Russia Warns US Against Forming Security Alliance

Military

How Pete Hegseth Is Rewiring the Pentagon for Drone Warfare

Editorial Cartoon

SOFREP Saturday Cartoon: From Kremlin to Casket

Expert Analysis

How America Can Help Ukraine Break Putin’s Teeth: 3 Brutal Moves to End This War for Good

Military Content Group

© Copyright 2025 Military Content Group · All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers
 

Loading Comments...