Baffin Derrick Industrial Insulated Boot

This just may be the best extreme cold weather work boot on the planet! Baffin has set a new standard and competitors better step up their game or face extinction. My first impression when I opened the box was " This is one bad@ss boot! " I removed the inner liners and meticulously examined both the liner & outer shell for quality control. I examined all stiching, seams, and materials for any obvious defects in manufacturing. I could find none. Modern tech is everywhere in this boot design. The "Ice Bear" tread is one of the most aggresive on the market but does a good job of not becoming clogged with snow. The sole feels rigid / supportive with great torsional resistance which is great for my flat feet. Arch support is excellent. I usually require some level of orthotic, but none is needed here. The composite safety toe seems sturdy enough. Baffin claims that the boot is acid, oil, and electic shock resistant. I guess I will have to take their word on that at this point. I did observe the micro cellular waffle foot bed and the metallic frost plate which are underneath the boot liner. They both look high tech and should help prevent heat loss. Baffin includes a small cut away section of the liner in the box to illustrate to customers all the different layers / technologies that go into its construction. I did note the outer most layer of the liner had a metallic quality that I assume is thermo reflective. It appears in the spirit of Columbia's thermo reflective liner that they are marketing. The outer shaft of the boot appears to be made of some type of heavy duty ballistic neoprene. It should be warm and definetly waterproof. The reflect stripes on the shaft aren't just painted on like some competitors. The stripes are made from a separate piece semi-ridgid reflective material that is sewn onto the shaft. I know that Baffin guarantees the boots as water proof and by many customer testimonials they appear to be just that. However, I just wonder if by stiching into that neoprene does that in anyway compromise the shaft's water proof quality over the long term life of the boot? A nice touch that I though was purely a cosmetic oddity is a small retangular raised Baffin logo that is on the heel of each boot. Taking the boots off you quicky realize that the raised section is actually a pry point to give you leaverage to push the boot off with your other foot without scuffing the body of the boot. Nice! I personally have never owned boots with this feature but quickly wondered why all boots don't have this long overdue tech. These boots are SOOOOOOO comfortable! Its strange because that are very supportive / rigid but yet plush! One of my co-workers tried them on and he said it felt like he had pillows on his feet. I am a size 11 mens and have a realatively wide foot. I felt the fit was excellent. I am not a gas pipe line worker working in the artic cirlce, but I am a State Trooper working in New England and I bought these boots to keep warm. We often track suspects in snow / ice strewn rural areas; conduct road closures and assist citizens in sub freezing temparature for very long periods of time with no relief. For the last 12 years I have made due with a pair of Sorel Glaciers that have served me well. I have a lot of repect for the Sorel brand. I recently had to spend several days outside in sub freezing temps for 9hrs at a time wearing the Sorels. This was low aerobic activity work with no way to generate much body heat. After 4hrs my feet were uncomfortably cold. I tried putting hand warmers in my boots with limited effectiveness and they made the boots uncomfortable. After two days of being miserably cold I decided to upgrade. I first looked to Sorel. They still make the Glaciers that I own, which are rated to minus-100 F. They retail for about $140. Sorel's top boot rated extreme cold weather boot is the Intrepid Explorer XT, which retails for $250. It looks impressive and appears to be the old Glacier boot on steriods. Sorel must have struck a deal with Columbia because this boot features their Omni-Heat reflective lining as a bonus. I almost bought these boots. However if you read the fine print, you will discover that with all of its supposed improvements the XT's have the same temp rating as the old Glaciers? So for an extra $110 I can purchase a cosmetically upgraded boot with the same temp rating ? Really? So I began to look elsewhere and discovered Baffin Derrick's which are rated to minus-158F/100C, acid, oil, electrical resistance, composite toe, etc. & almost $50 cheaper!!!! Come on Sorel!! Step up to the plate. I field tested the Baffins in Northwest Massachusetts. Low aerobic activity, temp minus-22C for 9hrs straight in ice / snow with a strong wind. The Baffin's preformed absolutely flawlessly! I wore a regular cotton gym sock and my feet were warm the whole time. In fact because the shaft of the boot extends almost to the knee, the entire lower leg is kept toasty warm. This effect was so pronouced that I had to remove some of my upper body layering because I was starting to overheat. I have never had this happen before and remember I was walking in order to generate heat. The verdict: A+. Criticism: one minor issue- at the top of the shaft of the boot there is a draw string cinch that allows one to tighten the top to keep out cold/snow. The problem I found was that after walking for a while this cinch would start to loosen, which could concievably allow material into the boot while walking in very deep snow. This was not an issue for me because even if this cinch failed, I was wearing pants that had their own internal gator. I wouldn't necessarily call this a design flaw, its mostly because this type of neoprene isn't very flexable. Two quick fixes for Baffin would be to either extend just the neoprene a couple of inches and make it slightly convexed towards the leg. This would allow a better more fexable seal. Another fix would be to add a small nylon internal gator like the larger ones featured on some other Baffin models. So even if the outer cinch loosens snow can't get into the boot. My only other request would be to have this exact boot available in all black or make the stripes velcro removable so that we in law enforcement can be stealthy when we need to be covert. Otherwise: Baffin is the new standard! I suspect that Santa has a pair of these in all red.

My wife purchased me these boots as we just moved to Alaska. We get some seriously cold weather, and I love these boots. They are a tad bigger than what I was expecting, (I could put 2 pairs of wool socks on), but they are super warm and I love them. They are a little bulky, but hey, when your moving and trapping or snowmobiling you don't notice the size. The weight is awesome. However, driving a vehicle with them is not recommended...lol, you can do it, but they are big. If you live where its cold, I would highly invest in these boots! My wife is going to buy herself a pair of these as well. Excellent product...highly recommended!!

I work in the north slope as a oilfield worker and these boots keep my feet warm. Normally wear 9.5 went with the 10 and they fit a Lil loose but I think it perfect because I'm not wearing thick socks.

Bought these winter boots to replace my old sorrel boots , great item , keeps the feet nice and toasty , a bit clunky at first for walking but you get use to them .Excellent outdoor boots , use them for ice fishing , blowing snow and walking the dog .

Nice looking boots easy to slip on can’t beat it for the price on a quality boot