I bought a pair of Under Armour 'Valsetz' Boots in May/June of this year. They have seen light work, at best. I went to pull them on for a call yesterday and the back tab pulled right off, taking a good chunk of the back of the boot with it.

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Absolutely unacceptable for a boot at this price point. I will be having a discussion with Under Armour today.

Anyways, recommend me a quality, comfortable duty boot.

Danner is the only way to go... There is no other duty boot that holds up better under hard use, period.

My preference is the Striker series.  They are much lighter (and cheaper) than the Acadia series and are offered in a side-zip configuration.  My last pair I wore full time for 3.5 years and they still had a ton of life left in them.  The only reason I replaced them is because I busted the zipper being impatient when it was jammed up with a loose string.  I will eventually send that pair to Danner to get rebuilt.

http://www.danner.com/men/law-enforcement/?sortId=product-family

My favorite out of the series is the Striker II EMS boot because it is full leather (no fabric on the sides and waterproof) and comes with a hard toe.  My current pair is the Striker Torrent 8" side-zip.

I will warn you though, the break-in period is pretty brutal with the Danner boots (about two weeks), but it's well worth it in the long run.

Salomon Forces.  They make all black mids.

And they are 50% off right now at LAPG. Just order a 1/2 to whole size larger then normal.

Thanks for the good input, gentlemen.

I wore Acadias for my first several years as a puppy pusher and absolutely abused them. They took everything I could throw at them but I'd go through a pair (to the point they'd need sent off at a minimum) in a little over a year. Still have a few pairs as spares. Switched over to the DFA for my K9 duties and they have been excellent. More comfortable and lighter. I am excused from shining in my K9 uniform because if I'm doing my job I should be dirty anyways . For SWAT I wear the Rocky C4T. Super light, takes a pretty friggin good shine and the price is right. They have held up pretty wel so far but only had them about 6 months but that's through pretty rigorous training and deployments. Truth be told I will more than likely drop the coin for the Nike field special boots when I have to replace the rockys with something else shineable.

Edit: full disclosure, the danner DFA cannot be sent off to resole like the acadias so that's a bit of a draw back

Is it really that bad?  All my salomons are in line with all my other shoes.

If they are the same as the UA pair I bought you almost can't get them on without the back tab.

I wore mine about a month and got sick of the hassle of putting them on each time.  Still look like new...until I start to mow the grass in them.

Do you mean size wise ?  Mine are a 12 where in Danners I wear an 11, Oakleys 11, Adidas 12,  Bellvilles 11.

Yes, I would order up a half size. They are tight

Yeah, they are a pain in the ass to get on without the tab. The Police/Fire/EMS uniform shop I bought them from offered to replace them for me. I'm gonna exchange them and see how the next pair works out. Next year when I get my boot allowance I'll move to something else that was suggested from this thread.

I had a pair of those and wore them out in under a year.  I don't know if I got a bad pair or what, I have owned a couple other Salomons (wearing a pair of their lowtop shoes at work right now) and none of the others have worn that quick.  Lots of money for not a lot of longevity.

I like my Belleville s'

Haix R1 or R2's are the way to go. Get the factory seconds if they have any. You will save some money. Upwards of $100 or more at times. I have worn my R1's since 2014 with very little issue.

If you can't get them replaced through under armor there is a product called P-Tex, normally used for ski and snowboard base repair. It is cheap and when used through a glue gun it can be used to repair plastic/meltable products like your boots.  Trying to stuff a foot in a fully laced boot will normally give the same results no matter the manufacturer. I suggest you take a look at that product, unlacing your boots all the way and possibly using a shoe horn to reduce stress placed on your footwear.

I don't know if they come in black, but I love my Lowa's 

With these boots you would have to completely unlace them to get them on.  Simply loosening up the laces still requires a hefty pull on the rear loop.  It is such a hassle that I gave up on them after about three months.

This.

I'd even wiggle my foot and try to pull some from the top of the boot itself, as to avoid excessive pulling on the tab. Mind you they were loosely tied and completely unzipped on the side while doing this.

Luckily the place I bought them has good customer service and is just going to replace them. I'll keep that P-Tex product in mind though. I appreciate that input.

I'll second the vote for Danner Striker EMS II's. Been wearing them for over a year (yeah, the break-in was a little rough), but they're holding up great.

Polymer protective toe. Side zipper. Waterproof. All leather.

P.S. stick 'em in your cart on Amazon and 'Save For Later' for a spare/2nd pair, or if you're not in a hurry. Normally ~$199, they'll fluctuate in price up to $249, and down to $149 (where I got my 1st pair). 2 months ago, I snagged another pair when they somehow dropped down to $119.

I wear Danner Acadias in the Fall and Winter. I have a pair of the uninsulated and a pair of the insulated.

Oakley Assault boots the rest of the time.

Thorogood jump boots.

Cheap, they look good, they're comfortable, and rugged.

My feet are loving the Nike Special Field at the moment. Worth a try.

Rocky S2V and be done.

I wear Oakleys (not sure of the model), they've held up well over the last 2 years. Sucks about the valsetz, half of the guys at work rave about them so I've thought about trying a pair...

They are amazingly lightweight and comfortable. Like I mentioned before, 3 other people at work bought them because I was that guy raving about them. Definitely disappointed with them now but at least my local shop is going to replace them for free and save me the headache of dealing with UA directly.

UA valsetz 1.0 are the best. 2.0 is shit. My 2.0 were broken and torn inside 3 weeks.

I like the “sneaker” type boots. Went to a bates tactical “sneaker”boot cause I got them half off. Only problem is no pull tab on back. Otherwise good to go for past month

Non USA made danners have been shit. Haix side zip ended up being the most uncomfortable boot I’ve ever worn.

I used to spend $300 on a pair of boots that would last. Now they are all imported and fall apart.
I’ve resigned myself to one pair of $80 boots a year.

Glad I'm not the only one that has found this hidden gem

I really want to be interested in the Nike duty boots, but the lack of side-zip is a deal killer for me personally

Bates Code 6 side zip. Some of the local volunteer firefighters use them and swear to their comfort, durability, and lightweight.

Non steel toe so I don't know if that matters to you or if it's required for your job.

https://m.qmuniforms.com/bates-8-code-6-side-zip-boot?PMSRCE=QMPLA&gclid=CjwKCAjwjozPBRAqEiwA6xTOYPSjKIwJVkyKbV78uYNN8TilRyO6tjJWEKQ8SMWc7RPhTKvx8fCprBoCRxMQAvD_BwE

I have worn standard issue boots, Garmont T8, and Rocky S2V. I'd say all three are pretty good with my favorite being Garmonts.

I vote LAPolicegear duty boots.  When on sale they are $39.99.  They are VERY comfortable.

When they start wearing badly, throw them away and buy new ones.

I bought three pairs.  Hoping that lasts me for the next three years.

I've worn the expensive Danners and others, but I would rather get fresh boots yearly as I can put a wearing on them quickly.  I wore the soles off Danners way too fast.

I switched to Danner Tachyon's about a year ago and love them, super light weight.

i like the Tactical Research by Bellville. They come in different heights and comfy.

I didn't realize what nice boots felt like until I didn't think about how my feet hurt for a whole shift.

If you want another athletic style boot without the garbage UA construction I'd recommend either salomon XA forces or HAIX eagle athletics. The salomons are regularly on sale for $110 or so and go as low as $80. The HAIX boots can be had on govx for about $120 if I remember right. Both are extremely durable for sneaker style boots and very comfortable.

Danner Acadias are the most durable boots I've ever owned and also the least comfortable. They're fine when walking but get bad quickly on concrete. The second most durable and also one of the most comfortable would be the rocky s2v, had the same pair for maybe 2 years so far and still going with no issues.

beware if you are a long time user of them like me, they have changed the way they fit sometime in the last 6 months so try on a new pair before buying or be prepared to send them back. They are now a more narrow fit and they aren't comfortable to me anymore, YMMV. Used to be my go-to, although I have never had a pair last more than a year (4 pair in roughly 4.5 years).

Now I have switched to all black asics running shoes for summer wear and will never go back. Comfortable and fast.

I do need a winter boot though, my feet are gonna freeze in running shoes

The TR Minimil's are super comfortable...more so than some athletic shoes.  They're also very light and have thin soles...but may take a bit getting used to.  I can run in mine just like shoes with zero issues.  However, they suck if you're carrying any sort of load and have no ankle support.  Between the minimil's and the S2V's I'm covered and they both last a long time.

any of them that you would recommend that are snakeproof? 

I've been in corrections for 35yrs. I've worn Danner Acadia's, Bates(several different ones), Rocky's(Several different ones), HiTech(worst of the bunch), 5.11's, and UA's. My average day at the facility where I work involves 8-12hrs of stand and walking on concrete floors and sidewalks, 6 days on and 3 days off each work cycle. Over the years the best of all the boots I've tried were the Danner Acadias. I loved them, and still do. The Rocky's were a close second. Do NOT buy HiTechs. Mine were junk in less than 3 months. The 5.11's were uncomfortable for me. The UA's were comfortable, but couldn't hold up to my abuse of them at work. They lasted a touch less than 6mos.

I retired after 31yrs in April of 2013. I took a little time off, and decided to come back and double dip at one of the facilities where I was a supervisor previously. I wore some Bates the first year I was back. Leaky rascals ruined my day one too many times. So, I then went to Danner Acadia's. They were ok, but didn't have the ankle support I wanted. So, I decided I wanted the BEST work boot for me, PERIOD. I didn't want wet feet. Didn't want cold feet or feet too hot. I needed good ankle support. I wanted absolute comfort. The boots needed to be TOUGH on the outside, and feel comfy like a slipper on the inside. And, I knew none of the manufacturers boots I'd already tried were ever going to give me all of those requirements. Money was no object in my quest.

So, I started checking out military forums, forums for the guys who put their boots through HELL, literally. I also went to forums where mountaneers hung out, because those fella's need the most stable boots possible to climb the mountains. I stumbled upon a group of guys from the UK. One of them, no actually several of them, recommended Hanwag Special Forces boots. They told me the boots were the toughest, longest lasting boots they'd used, and highly recommended them. So, I went on the search for them. They aren't sold locally anywhere that I'm aware of, but I found them on Amazon. The boots are made in Europe, where there are a lot of mountains.  And, now they have a few vendors listed. These boots aren't cheap, at between 325-400 dollars. For me, after being on the concrete for so long, and having issues with my knees, I decided money was no object. So I ordered them, and a pair of Powerstep Protech Control insoles to go in the boots. You can find them here:
Hanwag Special Forces
The insoles can be found here:
Powerstep Insoles

The boots use European sizes. I normally wear a 10 and a half, and I had to get an 11 and a half. These boots are waterproof, with an Gortex membrane that actually works, and doesn't start leaking a week into wearing them. Cold wet feet suck, and every other boot I've ever owned started leaking in short order, even with Goretex. Not my Hanwags. I'll have two years of wearing them in April, and they've never leaked a drop. I treat the leather with Obenauf's every so often, and it keeps the leather supple. The soles are excellent Vibram soles, and so far they aren't showing very much wear at all. Which is amazing to me. My last set of Danners wore out their soles pretty quick, and they're Vibram soles too. They gotta have a different type of compound in them though than the Hanwags.

The Hanwag Special Forces boots are simply amazing boots. I put them on before heading out of the house to work, and they don't come off till I'm ready for bed when I get home. I work our facility back gate a lot. Our gates are large swing open steel gates, and we have gate stops that catch and hold the gate open. To release the gate you have to use the toe of your boot to disengage the gate stop. That gate stop has ruined more than one officers boots. The Hanwags have a rubber rand around the base of the boot that protects the boot, and gives your feet an added degree of protection. They have ventilation holes in the padded rim around the top of the boot too keep your feet from getting too hot, and to dispel any moisture you feet may create. They have Goretex. They have padding in the boots main body, and the tongue. Their lacing eye's have ball bearings in them. Imagine that. It sure makes it much easier to get them on and off.  These Hanwag boots met every requirement I set out to use for my duty boots. I wish I'd have done this years ago! If you can find them in your size I highly recommend you try them, and with the insoles. You may not require the insoles, but my feet love them. They are AMAZING boots. Hanwag makes other high quality boots in a variety of models, sizes and colors. I love them. They're fantastic in the performance area.  I've never gone this long without changing out my duty boots for one reason or another. With the Hanwags, it's like I just take pleasure in putting them on. I know my feet will be comfy and well protected, from whatever comes at me that day.

HAIX Airpower XR2

Not to take away from OP's thread but how different are they from the R1's? While i have the spare cash i'm thinking about getting a new pair. I bought my R1's in 2014. Still a solid boot. Just replaced the insoles last year.