The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Approach shoes are a hybrid between a hiking shoe and a full-blown rock climbing shoe. Combining the grippy rubber sole, reinforced toe area and ample laces with a more conventional low top hiker. Â Producing one of my favorite types of active footwear on the market. Not all manufacturers produce an approach shoe. But Adidas has […]
On the water it’s always tough to try to get quality shoes that dry as well as shoes that keep a grip on wet surfaces. From Under Armour to Bates to Danner I’ve tried a lot of boots/shoes for operations. Altama sticks out to me as the pound for pound champ so far in boots/shoes […]
Mobility equals survivability. I remember getting both my jungle boots and leather boots issued to me in the Marine Corps. Those issued boots along with the issued socks did nothing good for my feet. The issued leather boots were worn for pretty much everything at the time. Everything from the dreaded long forced marches to PT […]
SocietĂ Calzaturiera Asolana Riunita Pedemontana Anonima, or SCARPA, translates to Associated Shoe Manufacturing Company of the Asolo Mountain Area. Located in the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains, in the Asolo / Montebelluna region of Northern Italy, SCARPA was founded in 1938. Their mission was to bring together the best shoemakers in the Asolo region to hand build […]
Throughout my life, I’ve been drawn to the Hawaiian island chain. Born on the Island of Oahu to an Army Lieutenant and his wife, my roots were set early and deep in this island paradise. Over time, I’ve returned to Hawaii more than I can count. With each visit came a new adventure. Whether it’s […]
If you’ve been in Law Enforcement or the Military there’s a good chance you’ve likely tried out more than one Tactical boot. Maybe you found that you didn’t know your true boot size or perhaps the boots fell apart after a short amount of use. In any case it’s good to garner more information on boots. […]
I’ve owned other Salomon shoes and boots in the past and can honestly say they have been the best footwear I’ve spent money on. Yes, they may cost more than other brands, but you get what you pay for. My military service taught me the importance of having the proper footwear and taking care of your feet […]
My experience with Danner boots began back in 2001 when the Acadia was the issued winter boot for all Rangers within the 75th Ranger Regiment. It didn’t take long for anyone to figure out they were far superior to the green “Jungle Boots” in almost every application. Since that time, I’ve toured the Danner factory as well as taken […]
This past summer we had our own USMC Veteran and current wildland firefighter Travis Pike perform an extensive testing cycle on the Propper International Series 100 boots. So when Propper International reached out and asked if I wanted to test out their 300 Series boots I knew that I was going to be testing a quality […]
Ridgemont hasn’t been around for long. In fact, most of you probably haven’t heard of Ridgemont or have seen a pair walking around town. Because Ridgemont is a very new brand on the scene. So new, that their webpage is offering some lucrative investment options to help them raise capital. I was lucky enough to grab […]