Griffon Combat GTX

Griffon Combat GTX

Overall very comfortable, however they aren’t
as warm at work in the snow as I excepted and the top two hook laces often come undone

Real high quality boots. The outsole grips well in cold weather, and seems to perform as well as most Vibram outsoles. The rand is lower than I’d like, but I understand having a polishable toe for a uniform boot. A lower rand will also make the boot more flexible. The upper is a nice smooth full grain leather, and the cuff is very soft. Both the sole and the upper were more flexible than I expected, so like the name implies, it’s much more like a combat boot than a mountain boot. The flexibility makes it much more comfortable for running, but obviously if you want an ultra stable mountain boot the KS Schwer would be a better choice. The boot is surprisingly lightweight, only 1675 grams for a men’s 9.5 US. Which is pretty impressive for an insulated 8” boot. The boot is much more roomy than other AKU offerings, it feels a full half size larger than the KS Schwer pair I have. If you’re thinking of going up a half size for thick socks, you probably shouldn’t. The lacing system is a bit odd, with a lace lock to control tightness over the forefoot, but then it doesn’t really have a corner hook to lock the heel to the back of the boot, it just has speed lace style eyelets above that. But again, just like the name says that’s a very common lacing configuration on combat boots. The top two eyelets are actually hooks instead of eyelets as well. I’ve sat for hours in temps around -5 Celsius with the boots, and I've been quite warm with a thick pair of socks. The Gore-Tex Insulated Comfort does a good job.
Overall, awesome pair of boots if you’re looking for something lightweight and flexible!