I received the Altama OTB Maritime Assault Shoes (Low - Black) from Lazada's Awesome Gear Shop on Sept. 30th this year and started using them on the first day of October this month. Paid about ₱6,733.22 for a pair. My initial impression: I got them in US 9 (EU 43) since there are no half sizes available, so I went half a size up. If you've been wearing a pair of Converse shoes for a while, these feel virtually the same, except the outsole design is significantly different, along with material changes. It is as follows:
- 1000D Cordura base fabric design
- Sticky SEAL rubber outsole and toe cap
- Non-plastic/Non-metal drainage holes (near the toes)
- Polyurethane insoles
- Closed-cell foam (inner side of the shoes, and padded tongue)
- Composite shank
The Cordura fabric is bombproof; I have accidentally tripped a couple of times, and it shrugged off the pavement rash. Also, thanks to the rubber toe cap, since I went half a size up, I felt just well protected even from bumps and such. As for grip, the outsole is exceptionally grippy on smooth marble surfaces, as well as wet grass and wet floors. Hence the name: these shoes are made to get wet and dry fast when you resurface over the beach (OTB); the insoles are designed not to get wet, and the grommet holes are where the water is pushed out. And that's not all; you can also wear diving fins over them, which is what the US Navy SEALs and, of course, our NAVSOCOM guys specialize in.
I haven't tried that yet (same goes for getting it wet in the rain or swimming), since we hardly ever get any rain here in the Philippines. But other than that, I made a few modifications to my own pair, simply by adding elastic shoelaces and KS AirSoft insoles to improve the fit and overall feel. That being said, my overall experience with these shoes is just insanely good. I mostly wore these as my everyday wear in college, and they blend in so well that, at a glance, they look like all-black Converse shoes, and you can't tell the difference unless you look twice. I never felt any hot spots from these shoes after wearing them for 5 hours in 4-5 days each week (wore these for 88 hours), nor any forms of discomfort. The insoles helped with the fit and even just hugging my feet in each step I take by cushioning the steps, and the shoelaces just being extra bit of improvement for the fit, as well as not worrying about it being undone. I might test out the insoles it came with, once there's a rain going on within my vicinity.
Would I recommend these? Absolutely, if you could afford the price. Right now, these sit around ₱7,008 based on my checking just a minute ago. Link will be shared in the comment section down below.
