Gear Review: Condor Outdoor Garner 6" Zip Boots

We recently tested some Condor Outdoor boots – the Garner 6″ Zip to be exact – and they held up extremely well in what we threw at them so far.

After about 15 miles in the boots, I can say that they are very comfortable and easy on the feet. Granted, 15 miles is barely putting a dent in the capacity a boot should output, but even without breaking them in, I had zero blisters, and my feet weren’t very tired, despite the rocky terrain I was on.

The Condor Garner-Zip 6″ Tactical Boot features security friendly eyelets, and come with elastic laces, which tuck up into the tongue. They also come with standard laces, which means one could use that stow pouch to put some low-profile E+E gear, like that we’ve shown from Shomer Tec.

Upon first inspection, the boots are well made and relatively lightweight.

The zipper access side allows for quick deployment, but also is very comfortable, and despite some of the lining being “bunched up” you don’t feel it. The bonding on the upper and lower is very robust as well, I would presume due to Condor’s AM-TECH direct soling technology, which essentially binds the upper directly to the sole without glue, creating a permanent bond. This is pretty clutch if any of you have had your shoes “start talking” when the sole pulls from the upper; common in some of the milsurp brands.

It also touts Aquashield, a waterproof bootie membrane that keeps your feet dry and comfortable in wet weather. I can attest to this; I traversed a couple small creeks, fully expecting my feet to get wet, but they did not. In addition, it has a security friendly fiber shank – not metal – so you won’t be held up when going through checkpoints.

The Garners also have 100% full grain cow leather, and 1800 Denier coated nylon, the polyurethane outsole. The soles are flexible, but do offer significant traction in wet and rocky terrain.

Overall, the boots are faring well, but we will do an after action report after we log around 100 miles or so in them, or perhaps put them through the paces in an upcoming GORUCK.

Pros: Lightweight, quiet, easy to get into and out of. The elastic laces are cool, but if you use standard laces you can get them snug on your feet, then zip out of them; and they will be ready to go, snug and secure, when you zip back up. The waterproofing is solid for short bouts submerged, we haven’t traversed any marsh or exceptionally wet terrain in these yet.

Cons: My only qualm is the zipper. It is security friendly plastic, but feels a little flimsy. However, they’ve performed fine so far, and only time will tell. Other than that, I like these boots for hiking, tactical applications, hunting, or general use.

Check out more info on the Condor Garner-Zip 6″ Mens Tactical Boot – HERE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Castiglione lives in Atlanta, and is an avid outdoorsman and competitive shooter.

Where-abouts include getting after it in his garage gym, practicing martial arts, hitting the trails, or running CrossFit and Strongman competitions for his non-profit, Barbells for Bullies, which holds fundraiser fitness competitions dedicated to aiding Bully breed rescues, dog rescues, or other non-profits with similar missions.