WindRiver Men's Conquest Pull-On Waterproof Duck Boots

Poor quality boots, the back loop to help put the boots on broke as soon as I tried them on out of the box.

My last pair lasted about five years. But are cracking on the side.. where they flex for the ball of your foot. I still use them for dry conditions. They have been through a lot and have done well.

They are not water proof at all

Ripped first time I put them on

I wore these boots when I proposed to my girlfriend. She said yes and my feet stayed dry the whole time.

Bought these for my son. He has a large wide foot (size 13). He loves the fit. Very happy with them.

I don't normally leave reviews; however I feel compelled to on this rare occasion. A long long time ago I bought the first version of this boot. I'm guessing like 2012 or 2013 was the year. They were very similar to this current version of boot (subtle style changes over the years, however structurally the same). That first version of the boot was excellent. The quality was there from the start. That boot never experienced any sort of defect and the wear on them was gradual. They stayed 100% waterproof for a good 5 years with minimal to below average usage. Then one night in 2019 I left them out in the rain and then the intense sun the following day had cracked the rubber on them so badly they were leaky as a sieve. My fault. But hey I had them for 5+ years and got them on sale at a whopping $29.99. Looking back I should have cleaned the local stores of all the size 12's because they were an excellent boot. For a few years I got by without my favourite rain boot. Fast forward to 2024, I decide I missed this style of boot and wanted to buy them again. First of all the same boot now costs 79.99. Hardly worth the price for a simple rubber shell with no ankle support or insulation etc. Its just a rubber shell after all. In any event I wanted them. I waited until they were on sale for about $60 which was stomach-able enough for me to buy them. After about 3 months of light use (only wore them in the rain when it was actively raining) I noticed my feet were getting wet. It turns out that at the upper toe hinge area where the boot flexes during your normal walking pattern, the boot had experience cracking in the rubber. Personally I average about 10,000 steps a day walking (Samsung smart tracking), however only wore these boots when it was raining. So I went back into my step tracking app and overlayed the rain days on those days I walked during those about 3 months. Turns out It wasn't a lot of steps. In fact the boots looked brand new. So I took them back to Marks and exchanged them for a new pair (no questions asked because they looked brand new, with the aforementioned evident cracks). The new pair were worse. Not only did they crack in the same location, they also leak from the seam at the tip of the toe between the sole and the upper shell. They are rendered useless. In my humble opinion the quality of these boots has gone so far downhill from the good old days. It's very unfortunate the quality at Wind River has taken a turn. This can be said for a lot of company's brands over the years (I'm looking at you Timberland work boots). I would have thought this is not at all Mark's fault, however when searching for Wind River the brand, I am redirected to Mark's and have since learned that Wind River is a trademark of Mark's whom ultimately is owned by Canadian Tire Brand. Ironic when we are talking about Canadian Tire and the quality of rubber. So ultimately the onus does lie with Mark's. I would seriously consider discontinuing this boot and try to come up with a boot that doesn't crack so quickly. There are rubber boots from the dollar store that last longer. I personally own rubber boots from other brands like Muck that I still have from 10 years ago. They are fine. Dunlops come to mind. I see guys on jobsites literally beating their Dunlops or Cofras up walking on concrete rubble, rebar, uneven surfaces, and they are fine. I can't even get 3 months out of these Mark's brand rain boots while walking on concrete sidewalks and urban settings. It's an absolute shame. I really should be asking for my money back. Instead, I'm seriously considering just avoiding Mark's altogether going forward. And that's a shame because I had really valued Mark's over the years. And with TSC (Peavy Mart) now gone... I am losing choices. What I assume is (without doing a lick of research, that these rubber boots aren't real rubber anymore. I believe they are synthetic rubber. cheaper and wayyyyy less durable. This is the issue with the rubber industry, it too has taken the ugly path of capitalization. I have digressed enough. Dear Mark's: You're going to have to do better than this.