I used to wear salomons in size 13 and it was like their products were custom made for my foot until they got bought out and has all changed, in quality and fit.
Decided I wanted to go for a new brand and have heard/seen nothing but good things about AKU, and the selvatica tacticals are basically AKU's Ferrari. Well, it all turns out to be true. Solid build, light, waterproof, look wicked, and rugged. I live in eastern Canada where our terrain is wet and rocky with tons of underbrush. I have no concerns having these on my feet in regards to these boots surviving anything I have and will put them through.
The issue i have with them however is sizing. At first I ordered the size 13 as I normally do, and they felt like I was a kid again putting my dad's shoes on for a second to go outside. I exchanged them (at no cost to me!) And got the size 12. I havent worn a size 12 anything since I was probably 16 years old. But that's no big deal, I put them on and the length fits nearly perfectly, but my toes are considerably squished. It is noticeable the very second you lace up as well, not something you notice later in the day once your feet have swollen up a bit. And no, I do not have hams for feet. Very average foot profile. Ive had these now for the better part of a year, and they havent stretched out or molded to my foot or anything like that, which honestly is a good thing, as it shows these boots are solid and they stay solid, instead of becoming flimsy and plyable. But this becomes a problem when you spend a long day trekking, and you need to take them off just to stretch your toes back out.
It would be nice if they had wide sizes to choose from, or to adjust the toebox to solve this problem. But to be fair, I believe with most tactical lineups, they try to trim as much fat off the boot as possible to reduce weight and to dampen sound profiles.
Like I said, these are the Ferrari's of lightweight trekking/tactical waterproof boots, but it's the fit that make these a 4/5 for me. I hope by the time I chew these up and need a new pair, AKU will change the toebox or offer a wide size. I just don't know when that will happen, because all it takes is walking through a puddle and they look almost brand new. I will likely run out of tread before I pull a seam or tear a hole.
If you have a bit of a narrow foot, don't bother looking at anything else. The price is more than worth it.
