Customer Reviews Bates Footwear 8" Tactical Sport Composite Toe Side Zip

Great boots for the money. Comfortable and light.

I've owned a number of Bates boots over the years, however I ordered a new pair this spring and have since returned them twice. The first time the zipper broke after a month of wear, the second time the sole on one boot began to separate after two months.

Good: Surprisingly waterproof. Medium: Didn't feel really secure/tight on my foot, like there's a lot of extra room inside. Bad: After about 10 months of daily wear, one of the side zippers broke, and some of the velcro has started to come unstitched.

So, these boots are great to wear, fit well and break in pretty easy. BE WARNED, THEY DO NOT HOLD UP WORTH A CRAP! The sole has separated from the boot on 3 pairs already in under 6 months a piece... I really wish ZAPPOS.COM would invest in some quality manufacturers! Full in of Danner, 5.11 and other quality companies... Good luck folks, I am currently trying out the 8" Magnum Side Zips as a replacement to this boot...

I have an old pair of Bates steel the Marine Corps issued to me a long time ago. I loved those boots and literally almost walked the soles off of them, so I ordered these Boots expecting the same comfort and durability and was not disappointed in the least. These boots are super comfortable, the side zipper is a nice touch, makes taking them off easy at the end of the night without unlacing them and the updated composite toe makes them light enough to be worn on concrete for a 10 hour shift without too much fatigue. Overall I highly recommend these boots.

Another great buy from Zappos! An excellent boot whether you're in law enforcement or not. Surprisingly light for a steel toe boot, great ankle support, extremely comfortable, easy on/off with the side zipper. Great tread on bottom too. Highly recommended!

I've had this boot for nearly a year and love them. Company gets us boots once a year and Bates will be my choice again. They are very comfortable, which I need since I work 12 hour shifts.

I bought these for part-time work as an ambulance EMT. Super light and comfortable. Compared to my normal fire dept station boots these are light as a feather and don't cause fatigue like a clunky steel-toe boot. Easy to get in and out of. Great style. Good tread. Good flexibility. Unfortunately, a little smaller than I anticipated. I wear a 9-9.5D in dress shoes and 10-10.5 in athletic shoes. I ordered a size 9.5 medium and it's too tight in the toe. Also, I never considered my feet wide but it turned out that a 10W worked out a lot better. My advice: order your athletic shoe size or go to a local store to try them on first before ordering.

I had to return these, due to poor arch support for me, and I could not get the right fit between 8M (slightly too tight) and 8W (too loose, especially in the heel), despite 8 being the correct length, so no point in my trying out 8½M - though I am sure that Zappos would cheerfully send them on for me too try. I am going to skip that, because Timberland Pro Helix 8" size 8W fit me perfectly and Timberland's anti-fatigue system is really comfortable, especially noticeably so after walking about 10 minutes on the treadmill to keep the soles nice and clean for the next Zappos customer! I also recommend that you run up and down your carpeted stairs as well as walking running and jumping around to be sure the size that you are trying is not too wide. That and standing on the edge of the stairs with my foot half off the front of the step pointed downstairs is how I more quickly realized when my feet were sliding forward in the boots that are too wide for my feet, though among the dozen or so boots that I tried, this fact did not come to light with several of them until I stress-tested them - this pearl may be the difference maker for your size selection too. Thanks, Zappos, for the free round trip shipping that takes all the risk out of getting the best fit. I found 8M in some Timberland Pros with safety toes (8" Ringmatster 95553and insulated 8" Helix in brown91607) to fit great, but I needed 8W in other Timberland Pros (8" Helix black, 87568, which is only available uninsulated, and 8" McClelland desert tan, 90647) as well as Bates GX8 safety toe side zipper EO 2766 and Chippewa 8" Bay Apache style 55168 - and I always had simply worn 8M for decades. Guys, it is different now! Order up a selection and take a few days, even a week or so to decide what is best for you. If they are comfortable enough for you to fall asleep in watching TV as well as walking, running, jumping all over the various floor surfaces in your house and including garage/basement for testing on concrete, and walking uphill fast on treadmill if you can, then you should be good to go. Wear them for 30 minutes at least, because you may get a surprisingly different impression (bad) compared to the initial feel, like I did with several types of Irish Setters (disappointing, as they were extremely well crafted boots). If they wake you up during that unscheduled nap in front of the TV because of forefoot pain, maybe you have small bunions like I do that make assessing toe room a tricky somewhat lengthier decision. You can't beat Zappos for wide selection, Zippy free shipping and free returns to boot!

It says it's a COMPOSITE toe. This is NOT a safety shoe. It's a soft toe.

Love them fits great

4th or 5th pair.

It's formidable

Very well constructed boot. Right fit and great comfort. Very pleased.

Boots feel good i normally wear a 12 in any sneaker size the boots were 11.5 and felt perfect

Fit great and are comfy. Use them for work and hiking.

I loved it! I used it for Airsoft n work . Catch attention for sure

These boots feel great. I did not need any break in time for them.

The boots fit to size very comfortable without having to break them in. Very light weight like wearing pillows on your feet out of the box

Gr8 Boots excellent brand. I wearing them right now (lol)

Wear these boots 10-12 hours a day walking on concrete or prolong standing at times, I did put in a different type of insole but boot provide alot of protection and support