I dunno about some of the guys who bought desert boots for fashion because Im not much on trends, but I recently bought these for a hiking trip to the Tibetan foothills - bottom line these boots are the real deal. Theyre comfortable, they're durable, perfectly temp insulated, mostly waterproof, well stitched at all the seams and hold up very well under most any condition. Whatever the sole is made from makes for excellent shock absorption and comfort and its extremely durable. My only caveat is I wish the laces went one or two loops higher providing more ankle support. All in all these are excellent all purpose boots and I highly recommend them compared to boots at any price.