Review: Magnum - Amazon 5 boots

I lucked out with a eBay lot and snagged some new summer-weight boots, just in time for the scorching weather we've been having. I wear boots all day, every day, apart from when I am in my Barefoots, or in fact barefoot. I've been wearing the rather comfortable Danner Striker II's but I wore them out, the sides wore through, in this case, rather than the way both my Bates Delta-8 and Altama Desert boots dies, with splits in the soles. FOr heavy work, I fall back to my HyTest armored boots.

These are the Magnum Amazon 5 boots "Light Sand" boots. A discontinued line, the current Magnum equivalent is their Mach II Desert boot.


These 8" boots are fitted out with a suede / 1150 Denier ballistic nylon upper, with a friction and slip resistant outsole, it is even stamped Oil and Slip resistant. The outsole has a steel shank, which adds to the support of the boot (though it did set off the metal detectors at the airport at my last visit).

The tread is quite interesting, in what appears to be a proprietary Magnum pattern, unlike the Panama or Vibram styles I have been used to. They have given me no trouble, and give quite an even walking and running surface. I also like that they include a Flex Groove to avoid the split that killed my Altamas and Bates boots.


The boots are lined with a Dri-Lex® two zone comfort lining with Hydrofil® for breathability, and the FPS footbed with dual shock pads and antibacterial lining. Months of wearing these boots now, and they don't smell too bad, thus far.

The padded, broadly gusseted tongue not only keeps the laces from pinching and rubbing the foreleg (important for those of us with skinny legs), but it also acts to keep out debris, which has done so nicely.

 I also really liked the built in boot-strap, which was offset from the mouth of the boot, meaning that I can feed my laces through them, without it riding up over my ankle.

As well as the boot-strap, they also feature 4 sets of eyelets, a set of speed hooks and then four sets of speed loops. This makes putting the boots on, and with a quick pull, the laces simply zip up tight and you are good to go.

I've given them a coat of spray on suede protector, which has kept some of the grot of my day to day life off them, but one thing I can say is that these are some comfortable boots. I look forwards to many seasons of wear out of them, but, we'll see. I seem to kill boots on a regular basis. I'd love to hear about what boots YOU get a lot of wear out of or can recommend ...