Are Durango work boots on your radar? They popped on mine recently, and I put my feet in the Durango Maverick XP to see how they compare to other boots I’ve worn and help you decide if they’re right for your work environment.

Catapulting straight into this, these aren’t boots you’re going to be wearing at Mach 2 with your hair on fire in your Tomcat or Hornet. But I did discover that there are some jobsites the Maverick XP is better suited to than others.

Pros

X-Pand design makes on/off easier
Good traction on most surfaces
Solid stability
Secure heel
True-to-size fit

Cons

I’d prefer a cushier midsole
It takes a little extra effort to work your heel in

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Durango Maverick XP: What They Say

The Maverick XP comes in several varieties and share the same basic build qualities. I’ve been wearing the steel toe waterproof Western variety (DDB0206). Here’s the full list of styles you can choose from:

8-inch waterproof lace-up
8-inch steel toe waterproof lace-up
Western ventilated
Western ventilated insulated
Western waterproof
Western composite toe
Western waterproof composite toe
Western steel toe waterproof (tested)
Western steel toe ventilated
Western steel toe puncture resistant

My test pair has a classic Western style with an 11-inch height with the Durango X-Pand System to make putting them on and taking them off easier. The upper is made from full-grain leather, and there’s a soft mesh lining along with a waterproof membrane bootie inside. Along the footbed, there’s a removable memory foam insole to improve the comfort.

The midsole is a dual-density EVA material with a firm shock-absorbing heel section and a soft shock-absorbing fore section. Double row stitching attaches it to the upper.

Cement connects it to a multi-durometer rubber outsole with a 1 1/2-inch heel. The outer lugs feature high-abrasion rubber, while the mid lugs are softer to improve the flexibility, along with better oil and slip resistance.

Between the two, there’s a fiberglass stability shank. This works alongside a rolled shank section and a ridged external shank to create better lateral stability than an internal shank alone.

Wearing Durango Maverick XP Work Boots

Fit

I normally wear a 12.5 regular, which very few brands actually make aside from handmade boots like JK Boots or Nick’s Boots. As usual, I went up to 13, and that was the right call. In both length and width, they fit true to size.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind as you’re trying them on for the first time, though. For starters, Durango deals with a common pain point by integrating their X-Pand system into the boot.

This is a mesh material hidden behind the inside medial seam that expands as your metatarsal hits the front of the boot. It doesn’t look like much, but that extra 1/2-inch or so of movement really did make putting the boots on and taking them off easier for me.

I also noticed that my heel consistently hit an obstacle when I was putting the boots on. This is the heel lock, and while it takes a little more effort to put on than other Western boots I’ve worn, it’s critical to prevent your heel from sliding around while you work. For me, the heel security I experienced was worth the extra effort, especially since it didn’t seem to affect my ability to easily take them off.

Comfort

In general, Durango chose legitimately comfortable materials for the Maverick XP’s upper. The leather is supple enough that it moves easily out of the box, and the lining did irritate my skin when I tried with low-cut socks instead of the tall boot socks I’d normally wear.

Where the rubber meets the road, and the layer in between it, is where the most noticeable comfort gains or losses occur.

The EVA midsole isn’t one of the lightweight, super-cushy ones that have become popular over the last several years. This one is denser, which has its pros and cons. The downside is that it isn’t as comfortable as the aforementioned midsoles. On the plus side, they hold up longer.

I’m in my mid-40s, and work plus several decades of soccer and running have taken their toll on my knees. The point is that it’s painfully (literally) obvious where work boots are comfortable and not.

For the Maverick XP, I was perfectly content on bare ground. On concrete and asphalt, it was a bit tougher, but not as bad as some boots I’ve worn.

Considering the outsole is specifically designed to be effective on multiple surface types, I recommend upgrading the insole if you’re going to wear these primarily on hard surfaces. A good one to start with is Superfeet’s Work Cushion insole, designed specifically for jobsite use.

Traction

When I first flipped my Maverick XPs over, I was intrigued by the outsole’s lug pattern. Normally, it’s obvious right away if an outsole is designed for hard or soft surfaces, but this one seems to hybridize the two schools of thought.

I kept that in mind as I walked over various surfaces. On flat, polished concrete, standard poured concrete, and asphalt, I didn’t deal with any slipping outside the norm. However, I could tell I didn’t have as much surface contact on wet concrete flooring, even though I didn’t feel unstable.

On softer surfaces, I had solid traction on sand, packed soil, grass, and deck boards. It wasn’t until I tried getting a foothold on the steep slope of the hillside on my property that I slipped more than I would with a fully deep-lugged boot.

None of that was really a surprise. But the bottom line is that you’re good to go for the majority of jobsite surfaces you’ll be working on. It’s at the extremes that you’ll want a more purpose-built outsole.

Durango Maverick XP Price

The Maverick XP steel toe waterproof Western boots I reviewed run $173.50. Looking at the lineup as a whole, they range from $173.50 up to $219.00.

You can buy them directly from Durango, visit online stores such as Amazon and Academy Sports, or select Western retailers.

Should You Buy Them?

Overall, I think the design of the Maverick XP is solid. I don’t have any concerns about the durability of the boot’s materials, the construction is jobsite-ready, and they wear well.

The Maverick XP bills itself as an all-around work boot that can handle a variety of work environments, and I think that’s true with a few caveats.

First of all, I can easily recommend them for farm, ranch, lawn care, landscaping, and bare ground construction jobsites. The only thing I’d keep in mind is that if you’re working on harder packed soil and you’re already prone to knee pain, swap out the insoles.

On hard or mixed surfaces, I’d plan on swapping the insoles out for sure. If you already have knee pain, steer toward something with a softer, thicker midsole for cushier support.

When it comes to working on steep slopes or constantly wet/oily floors, I’d pass on these and grab something with an outsole specifically designed to support those extreme conditions.