Took a gamble on the Bates Rat boots from lapolicegear.com. They're $39.99, but there is a 5% off coupon out there if you do a search for it.
The story, as far as I can tell, is that Bates had a contract with the USMC to supply these boots. One of the batches was complete junk (the d model). The other batches are just fine.
The Marines cancelled the contract somewhere along the line, and now there are a shitload of these boots out there, so they're selling cheap. It's a $300 boot, selling for $39. Here's the catch though: there's a chance you'll get the d model if you order, in which case they will fall apart rapidly. As far as I an tell, based on reviews from lapolicegear, it's about 1/15 chance.
I just got mine, been wearing them all evening, and I'm impressed. They're thick, but pretty light and very comfortable, and breaking in rapidly.I can tell they'll hold up forever. I did not get the d model fortunately. They fit true to size for me (11.5 r).
If you need a pair of boots, and feel like taking a gamble, this is a smoking deal. These are by far the nicest boots I've ever owned.
