I'm resurrecting this to report on the Belleville boots, they're the Tactical Research 555.I know this is an older thread, but I just found out that Belleville now makes hiker-type boots, 6" high, waterproof, etc. I just bought a pair, I'll let you know how they work it.
I've got wide feet (4E in New Balance) and I've had good luck with Belleville. The only other hikers I've been able to find that fit are Merrells, which are great, they're extremely comfortable, but the eyelets are cloth and the last two pairs had eyelets rip out at about the 9-month point.
I like them, but they have some serious design flaws and poor QC, so from a practical standpoint I have to say the ones that I got are junk.
I got the first pair, laced them up and a speedlace eyelet popped out. The rivets for the eyelets weren't fully spread and one slipped out.
Got a second pair, the eyelets held, but all of the rivets were questionable as to whether they would hold, so I used a center punch on all of them.
Longer term, the upper eyelet design puts all of the stress on a small spot on the leather, so they will rip through at some point. I now wear them around the yard, etc, but I really don't expect them to make it to hunting season next year, especially if they get wet a few more times, but we'll see.
The eyelets Belleville normally uses crimps onto the leather itself, eliminating the stress point issue.
In addition, they are advertised as being waterproof, but they aren't.
The basic design of the boots is actually really good, after a short break-in they are really comfortable, I like wearing the, and they have a good tread design.
If Belleville fixes the eyelets and the waterproofing, they'd be great boots.
As I'm sure many of the military guys here relate to, I've had multiple pairs of Belleville boots, most of which have had the soles worn flat while the rest of the boot still has some life left in it. So, this isn't typical of the manufacturer, it's just cutting corners and poor QC on this particular design.