Gore called for 100 police officers to volunteer to participate in a large-scale Tactical GORE-TEX Footwear trial. Overwhelmed by 2,367 applications, Gore decided to set up two tests rather than the one test that it had originally planned. Between March and June 2014 two groups of 100 police officers tested GORE-TEX Black Eagle Tactical 20 Mid and Low boots by HAIX® and then shared their experiences with a test institute.
Gore's main aim was to find out how well Tactical GORE-TEX shoes and boots met the everyday needs of the modern police officer. On foot patrol duty and in their cars. When standing, running and jumping. Outdoors and indoors. In rain and in dry, warm, summer weather.
This is what some of the participants had to say about waterproofness:
Wet grass, puddles, heavy rain, mud. Cleaning the boots afterwards with lots of water was no problem at all and they could be worn again in next to no time.
... Actually, waterproofness is critical in all kinds of situations. It's horrible having wet feet and that really affects your performance. But that wasn't a problem with these test boots...
"I was very impressed by the performance of the test shoes. Particularly in challenging weather conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm. The waterproofness is very impressive. These shoes have a good grip, are extremely lightweight and to top it all they have the look of a sports shoe. All good reasons to recommend these shoes."
BEST WATERPROOF PROTECTION
...I was also involved in an operation mounted to search a rural area with streams running through it and didn't get wet feet – AMAZING!
Waterproofness: I was very impressed by the performance of the test shoes. Particularly in challenging weather conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm. The waterproofness is very impressive. These shoes have a good grip, are extremely lightweight and to top it all they have the look of a sports shoe. All good reasons to recommend these shoes.
Waterproofness: A critical feature during operations involving exposure to unknown liquids - often found around stations - and in wet weather.
HIGH BREATHABILITY
I feel great – working a night shift at the moment, temperature inside the office at 1.15am is 29°C. My feet feel warm, however my socks (trekking socks) are totally dry.
On warmer days they keep your feet comfortably cool – they don't stop you sweating completely but you certainly sweat less than in other daily duty boots without GORE-TEX.
LIGHT WALKING COMFORT
Unrivalled in terms of wear comfort. When we are wearing our duty suits it is better to wear the boot style with the high-cut upper.
An excellent piece of work. These shoes are lightweight, well made and have a comfortable fit - a joy to wear.
VERSATILE
My daily duties included all kinds of situations, ranging from firefighting operations to incidents in heavy rain. The shoes withstood the water.
ALL SEASON
In colder conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm and in much warmer conditions the temperature is well balanced so you don't even begin to get sweaty feet.
CLIMATE COMFORT
The inner lining makes sure that there is a pleasant climate inside the shoes in all weather conditions.
WOULD RECOMMEND
These shoes look great. The fit is excellent. They are waterproof, breathable and very comfortable to walk in. I would recommend these shoes to everyone.
I had absolutely no doubts about recommending these shoes to my colleagues. They certainly made an impression on me.
The test was conducted and the data analysed by HYVE, a Munich-based innovation and market research agency.
partner
HAIX
Manufacturer of the test shoes and boots: GORE-TEX Black Eagle Tactical 20 Mid and Low.
