Tough go at the Dome

Needed an all black work boot. I used to wear slip-ons as a firefighter, but with a bad ankle, I needed more support. Getting promoted to driver,m was my opportunity to upgrade boots, as now I didn’t have the frequent need to quickly kick off my boots to get into my gear. The tankers were available as ready to ship, and offered me the ankle support I needed, as well as the straps. I was skeptical at first, but found they’re much quicker to remove that laced boots of the same height.

1/2 size down as recommended from my bannock/red wing sizing.

Ready to ship page after hunting every day for 2+ months

Well, the dome is officially over for me, but I had the feeling a month in that I was done. These tankers are my work boots, so the logical thought was the work category. After the 1 month update photos were uploaded, I immediately realized I was no match for the guys literally running their boots into the dirt every day. As a firefighter, and more specifically an engineer (driver), these boots have a little different use case than the others in the work category. They see 10 shifts a month, so they’ve only had 64 wears while in the dome (I don’t suck at math, but I do work some overtime). 10 wears per month is certainly a setback for getting the same results as everyone else, but there is a strict rule: Work boots stay at work (for good reason). Each shift has these boots on my feet for about 18 hours, and they have been incredibly comfortable the whole time! The weather shield black is a durable son of a gun, and hardly shows patina. Great for most situations, but not the dome. My ‘dirty’ is much different than most of the others in the work category. While they haven’t been caked in mud, hydraulic fluid, or fertilizer like some of the others, they’ve seen their fair share of filth. They’ve stepped in blood, sweat, and any other number of fluid/tissues you can imagine coming out of a body. They’ve stomped out burning trash after the ‘urban outdoorsmen’ were informed their kitchen was out of line with the current burn ban. Their toes have been buried in the dingy carpet of the local crack houses while we pump on chests, push narcan to reverse the overdoses, and try everything we can to bring someone back from the brink of death, even though we know it’s too late. These boots certainly have stories to tell, and even without winning this contest, I appreciate the dome. Without it, they’re just boots. The Dome gives us all a reason to stop and reflect on the past 6 months, as cheesy as it sounds, but I’m still thankful nonetheless. Good luck to all the other contestants!

Looks like new after 6 months. Very slow patina, great for work boots, not the dome

Very comfortable, even with 1 very flat foot, and severe ankle issues

Many of the other existing tanker examples felt ‘gaudy’, so I was initially skeptical. I certainly get comments from chop-busting coworkers as they’re so unusual, but when worn with pants, nobody can tell they’re any different from another work boot for the most part.

Heavy, but great traction