With temperatures hovering at the ten degree Fahrenheit mark with a cold wind in the air and icy crusty snow on the ground, I hit the streets in my Altais. The first thing I noticed pulling them out of the box was how light they are – probably the weight of a high-dollar pair of athletic shoes. That makes a difference when you’ re wearing them all day, on your feet all day and working or playing all day. Slipping the boots on, I was very pleased that they fit snugly, akin to a high-top basketball shoe, around the foot and ankle, but with a great deal of toe room at the front for me to wiggle and fit into even with thick socks. The“ sausage link” laces stay tied when you tie them, and with the side zip like mine have, I likely won’ t untie them again for the foreseeable future. Altai advertises no break-in period with their boots and I tend to agree – they’ re comfortable all day and I haven’ t had a single blister or sore spot from wear in the first several days they were on.
The first day I wore my new Altai boots was a busy one, seeing me all over the body shop throughout the day checking on cars inprocess, taking in newly damaged cars for repair and, as the day wore on, putting the finishing touches on multiple cars before seeing them safely delivered to customers. We started at eight that morning and we didn’ t pull out of the parking lot and head home until about eight that night, and most of that time I was on my feet and moving, inside and outside with temperatures that never cleared the teens. There was plenty of ice and snow on the parking lot, and inside, plenty of red and green coolant, washer fluid, power steering fluid and even soapy water to invite a busy person to slip and fall. Inside and out I stayed on my feet all day without aching feet and without even a hint of cold. Even when I lent a hand washing cars and water got everywhere, true to their word the water beaded and rolled right off my Altais.
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