Bad experiences with Magnum boots

I spent years going through my first pair of Magnum desert boots back before I actually moved to the desert. Loved them, so when they went south I bought another pair. They also wore okay, though they constantly raised a big painful callous on one toe. Three years in the desert and they were toast, so last summer I bought another pair of Magnums. I couldn't find desert boots locally and my only attempt at buying them on-line ended badly. So I bought some super-lightweight black zip-side Magnums. Less than one year, and they're falling to pieces.



The stitching's coming loose all over, the sole's about worn out - I just wasn't happy with the way these held out at all. And Landlady has a practically new pair of Magnum desert boots (Ah, the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots!) and this morning she found a big tear across the back of one, just above the heel reinforcement, that makes no sense at all. If you hit a boot hard enough to tear it like that, seems like you'd notice.

So it looks like I'm going to be shopping for new, and they won't be Magnums. I don't know why the brand went downhill like that. Anybody have a suggestion for a replacement? What with the wooden leg, I need something light but able to survive what I do out here.