REVIEW // Viper ELITE-V Boot

Viper is a UK based company that you would have heard off and undoubtedly owned a piece of their gear at some point but you will start to see and hear more of them towards the end of this year (that’s another story). Over the past 2 months I have been very fortunate to have run their new Elite-V boot, a wet weather boot which is now available from ’ Viper’ Kit stockist.

Being based in Scotland with my natural skirmish environment being woodland Viper felt I was in an ideal environment to put their new waterproof boot to the test, the word ‘Dagobah’ was used in my description of the lovely terrain you find me in most weekends.

You have two variations, the Coyote Brown (pictured) or the Multicam version, both have identical specifications and other than colour you will find no difference between the two.

These boots have a number of features but the most prevalent is the use of a ‘Vibram outsole’. The Vibram Multi-sport rubber outsole focuses on three key objectives: performance, comfort and quality.

Performance wise, these have endured extensive use in an urban setting (concrete, wood, steel and tarmac) as well as rural environment (dagobah) and have not failed to deliver what my feet need, protection & comfort.

Comfort wise, they have been pretty darn good. The Vibram sole and moulded EVA mid-sole combined with the supple cow-suede leather and perforated foam padding have provided a very comfortable and cushioning system. When spending between 4/8 hours on your feet at a standstill and then moving at speed I felt no ‘shock’ to my soles, shins or knees. The boots did not feel heavy nor did I get any circulation problems. The boots themselves weigh in at 620 grams each (1240 grams a pair) certainly not the heaviest wet weather boot on the market.

The other key features of the Vibram soles include grip, traction and self-cleaning, all of which are essential when moving through wet, muddy and or snowy environments but perform equally well in a more urban setting.

The rubber toe cap protection has come into play on several occasions and is one of those features that you don’t notice until that incident happens when you go “really pleased they had toe protection”.

As you can see it is a nine eyelet high leg with the tongue being securely stitched internally up to the height of the 8^th eyelet. This combined with the hydroguard waterproof membrane provides a great deal of protection from the elements. As you can see from some of the images I had not water penetration even when my trousers were saturated well up to knee height. The addition of rust proof eyelet hardware goes to show the commitment Viper has made on providing a great quality boot.

The five pairs of speed lace hooks allow you to lace on quickly as well as allow you to unlace just as quick should you require.

The only observation I will make is that Viper have produced these in rounded sizes i.e. 9, 10, 11 etc. no half sizes. They have also taken into consideration the fact that users would probably be wearing heavier winter socks and as such have been more generous in the overall sizing. I was predominantly running Applied Orange SIBEX winter socks when using these boots.

The one question I have been asked about these boots is “how they will perform in colder, winter conditions?” In all honesty I expect them to perform reasonably well but they are by no means designated a cold winter boot and your personal winter foot protection regime will need to be adhered to.

I want to thank Viper for these boots and I can foresee a great deal of use out of them over the coming six months. If you are looking for your local Viper stockist do visit >>> www.viperkit.co.uk

[ACE] Thanks to our reviewer Richard aka FireBase Alpha for the product test.