LaCrosse Boots: 480001 Men's 8 Inch Brown Work Boots

I purchase a pair of the LaCrosse boots for my son. He said they are the best he has ever worn and true to their word for waterproof. First time any boots did what they said they would.
He likes them a lot , and they are really comfortable. so I am purchasing another pair for him and also a pair for my husband. Would definitely recommend these boots to anyone looking for a comfortable, waterproof boots.

These LaCrosse boots are overall a solid pair, tough enough for work and (hard) play. There are some drawbacks, but I'll get to those in a moment. First off, there's definite pros to these boots. I got them about 6 months ago, and put pretty heavy mileage on them since. Lacrosse makes a good product, although I'd prefer it if they were made in the USA.

Pros:

---Tough---
These boots really are quite durable. The soles are nice thick rubber, the rest of the boot is leather except for a rubber-coated tongue. I'm pretty confident they have composite toes, due to the stiffness at that end of the boot. The heel is plenty tough for the hundreds of on/off cycles a good pair is expected to go through. Sides could be a little thicker, and the section between the toe box and the base of the lacing could also be reinforced with positive effects, but that may be my personal preference.
---Waterproof---
I tested these boots in muck, creeks, rain, wet grass, you name it. As long as you remember to keep the top 2 inches above water, your feet will not get wet. I'm guessing it's treated leather, although they also do appear to have a rubber lining/coating on parts of the boot, especially the tongue. Good seal between tread and leather.
---Tread---
Nice aggressive tread, with standard ladder grip in the middle and the Lacrosse logo on that. I tend to like a finer, deep tread (such as a Converse Stealth zip side boot), but these have served me just fine. Could be oriented better to shed mud faster, but overall it's decent. Held up fine to oil spills & WD-40 spots, no slips so far.

Cons:

---Comfort---
I debated with myself as to where to put this one, since the boot is mostly comfortable as-is. There are several drawbacks, though. During the first 2 weeks of breaking in the boots, there was a sore spot on the outside of both of my ankles. I'm blaming this on the stiff leather used there, which has to flex due to the 8" height. Also, while this could be less of an issue to some people, the factory insoles have *really* low arches. My calves would be fine for a few hours, but put 8 straight of working on a farm, or a 4-hour hike in the woods, and they're sore the next day or two. I found a solution to this problem, however. I also have a pair of Brooks tennis shoes, which have excellent arch support. I removed Lacrosse's insoles from the boots, and slipped in the Brooks insoles. This worked like a charm, no more calf pain seems to be the effect (although I'd like to really give the new insoles a workout, such as a 5-mile stretch of gravel or similar rough terrain)
---Price---
Yeah, I know, almost everyone will always complain about the price point, but I seriously do feel these boots should be down in the $90-$100 range. For $150-160, I expected better insoles and sturdier laces (which I had to replace after about 4 months). Also, while the waterproofing is excellent up to the top of the gusset, that tongue gusset only comes to 2 inches below the top of the boot. To me, that makes these boots 6" as far as water and scree are concerned. The grommets could also be better, these require quite a bit of effort to lace properly, compared to NATO grommets or other coated ones.

Overall, these boots receive a solid 4/5 from me. I would really like to give them a 5, but the comfort issue is just not making it happen. Laces are a common failure point, especially for a guy like me - where I pull hard on them to tighten them. Would I buy these boots again? Probably not. Would I throw them out? Definitely not, they're not worthless. I just feel they could be built with a little more attention to detail for this price range.

I am a 54 year old 250 lbs electrician working in the oil refineries and this is my choice. From my experience you will need to order these LaCrosse boots about 1/2 size larger than your normal boot size if your wearing them in the winter for inserts and with heavy socks. The boots feel good the first day you put them on and after 2 weeks WOW! Another feature I like is the lacing hardware make it easy to strap on and remove. They are light weight. I can work in wet weather all day and never any moisture inside at the end of the long day. I do however find that the steel toe is a little tight, but I have become accustomed to it after a few days. I don't think the LaCrosse considers them "insulated" but they are lined and feel very sturdy on my feet. Awesome boots.