Bates M6 Desert Assault Boots
 

After some networking I was able to have a pair of these sent to me through a local Bates dealer. This was only after I had my eye on them for a while but had been unable to talk with someone who had actually worn them.

I have worn them once so far in an administrative capacity while operating the PRISM training simulator for about 8 hours. In total I wore them for about 14 to 16 hours that day. The terrain in which they encountered during the day was composed of wet grass, gravel, concrete, pavement, tiled floor and carpet.

So far they are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. The M6's are very lightweight and the one thing that really stuck out to me is that they let my feet breath. The factory insole was very comfortable and I will probably leave it in place unless it causes me problems in the future.

The boots have a water proof coating on the exterior that I'm sure over a period of time will wear off. While walking to the simulator room I had the opportunity to walk through some wet grass and the water beaded and rolled off.

During the day I noticed a few black scuffs on them. With the wipe of my finger the black scuff disappeared. Talking to the LE/Mil rep he told me that they are very easily cleaned with mild soap and a brush.

As I venture out with them more I will try to post some updates.

Bates M9
 

I have been using the M9, which is the same boot in a 9" as opposed to the M6's 6" height.

They have been outstanding performance wise. About 4 or 5 days after I got them I did just a short 6mi. ruck to see how they would hold up. They were brand new out of the box and hadn't been broken in at all. I didn't have any problems except one small hot spot on the heel; once they were broken in the hot spot issue was quickly rectified.

The rubber on the front toe started to peel a little after the first week but I trimmed the piece about a 1/8 inch and haven’t had any other issues in the last 8 months.

Also, as STR8SHTR said they breathe pretty well. I haven’t really used them around much water but I have used them in the desert and they have held up.