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Boots for Cadets...

Started by CAPLTC, May 25, 2018, 02:44:22 AM

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CAPLTC

Where is everyone getting boots for cadets?
Point me to some links please.
The sizing varies so widely and so too does the quality.
How are you handling this in your Squadrons?
What are your best practices?
Thanks.
"Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact." -- SECDEF Mattis

THRAWN

Try Amazon. I'm wearing a pair of black jungles that I got for about $25. I use them for daily wear and have worn them camping as recently as this weekend with Scouts.

Here's the results from a quick search on the Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=military+black+combat+boots&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS795US795&oq=military+black+combat+boots&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.6895j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
NSS ISC 05-00
USAF SOS 2000
USAF ACSC 2011
US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

GroundHawg

If you want to do a larger order, I can have them drop shipped to you at wholesale cost.

Turtle1

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Men-s-Interceptor-Force-Boot/55333429 We recommend our cadets go to Walmart and purchase these boots. The price is right and the break-in period is minimal. The boots hold up well and do come in the smaller sizes.
Marybeth Williams
Major, CAP

J2H

As an Encampment TO... if you go with the cheap boots (I have too, BTW)... wear good BOOT socks, not sneaker socks or dress socks... your feet will thank you
SSgt Jeffrey Hughes, Squadron NCO
Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron MD-031
#217169

CAPLTC

Ugh.
$30 WalMart boots...
This just seems wrong to me.
Military uniform with Chinese-made boots.
This makes a solid case to switch to whatever color the USAF is wearing.
"Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact." -- SECDEF Mattis

J2H

I bought Wellcos only because my 200.00 Danner duty boots are black suede and therefore not the polishable material the AF and CAP like
SSgt Jeffrey Hughes, Squadron NCO
Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron MD-031
#217169

PHall

Police Uniform shops are another place to look.

Slim

Quote from: CAPLTC on May 28, 2018, 01:42:36 AM
Ugh.
$30 WalMart boots...
This just seems wrong to me.
Military uniform with Chinese-made boots.
This makes a solid case to switch to whatever color the USAF is wearing.
Where do you think those $30 jungle boots Rothco sells to your local surplus emporium come from?
I steer my new cadets towards those same $30 Walmart boots for their first couple of pairs.  So what if they're made in China?  Honestly, what isn't, these days?  They're black, leather, and at least 8 inches tall.  At 13, they may get a year out of them, at the most before they outgrow them.  With the added benefit that if Junior decides after 4 months that CAP isn't really for him, the First National Bank of Mom and Dad isn't out a lot of money.  Boots from LE/FD/EMS supply shops are also horribly expensive.  Mainly because the cops and firefighters don't care, they get a uniform allowance to replace them as needed.

I purposely steer my new cadets away from those Rothco jungle boots, cautioning them not to be enamored by the price.  I've seen too many fall apart within a matter of months, usually in the middle of encampment, or get their feet torn up because they didn't break them in right, or didn't wear the right socks.  Aside from that, I'm in the Northern tier, where no matter how tough you think you are, you can't wear jungle boots at least half the year.
Now, I also tell my new cadets that if they stick with it for a few years, and get to the point where their feet stop growing, that is the time to go out and drop some serious coin on some good boots. 


Slim

Spam

Hi, Slim,

I would suppose that the FD/LE/EMS guys really might care, to have little things like steel toes and to not have "pleather"/synthetics that melt onto the foot, and to not have the cheap welts come off in the middle of a fire or something.  No disagreement on the hypothetical 13 year old who wont have to worry about such things - just that people who need quality gear DO care, generally (and will pay for it).


My standard answer these days is, have the unit buy and maintain a stock of quality loaner boots (fund raise for them) for those new guys (and ensure that parents understand they are LOANERS not freebies). I've wavered and bought the poor quality Rothco boots which lasted about four months in one sons case and six for another cadet son, and no, they are not worth it at all. BITD, I mowed lawns back in the early 80s to earn the hundred bucks for my issue boots, to get out of the size 12 narrow loaners I wore for my initial cadet membership (I wear a 13 wide, lol).


V/r
Spam


CAPLTC

Quote from: Slim on May 28, 2018, 05:29:04 AM
Quote from: CAPLTC on May 28, 2018, 01:42:36 AM
Ugh.
$30 WalMart boots...
This just seems wrong to me.
Military uniform with Chinese-made boots.
This makes a solid case to switch to whatever color the USAF is wearing.
Where do you think those $30 jungle boots Rothco sells to your local surplus emporium come from?
I steer my new cadets towards those same $30 Walmart boots for their first couple of pairs.  So what if they're made in China?  Honestly, what isn't, these days?  They're black, leather, and at least 8 inches tall.  At 13, they may get a year out of them, at the most before they outgrow them.  With the added benefit that if Junior decides after 4 months that CAP isn't really for him, the First National Bank of Mom and Dad isn't out a lot of money.  Boots from LE/FD/EMS supply shops are also horribly expensive.  Mainly because the cops and firefighters don't care, they get a uniform allowance to replace them as needed.

I purposely steer my new cadets away from those Rothco jungle boots, cautioning them not to be enamored by the price.  I've seen too many fall apart within a matter of months, usually in the middle of encampment, or get their feet torn up because they didn't break them in right, or didn't wear the right socks.  Aside from that, I'm in the Northern tier, where no matter how tough you think you are, you can't wear jungle boots at least half the year.
Now, I also tell my new cadets that if they stick with it for a few years, and get to the point where their feet stop growing, that is the time to go out and drop some serious coin on some good boots.

I agree about the price being an issue. Also fully agree about cadets (and seniors) spending $, then quitting...
That said, I can get US-made issue boots in tan, coyote, and sage for under $75...
No options for US-made, quality, black boots in that price range.
I see it as an issue CAP should be working on collectively, versus sending members to WalMart to get whatever ChiCom crap they happen to have in-stock.

"Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact." -- SECDEF Mattis

Slim

#11
Quote from: Spam on May 28, 2018, 07:00:46 AM
Hi, Slim,

I would suppose that the FD/LE/EMS guys really might care, to have little things like steel toes and to not have "pleather"/synthetics that melt onto the foot, and to not have the cheap welts come off in the middle of a fire or something.  No disagreement on the hypothetical 13 year old who wont have to worry about such things - just that people who need quality gear DO care, generally (and will pay for it).
As a matter of fact, the only thing I cared about when it came to the boots/shoes I wore on duty in my now 30 year career as a firefighter/EMT was whether I had enough in my uniform allowance ($500 paid out once per year) to cover them when they needed to be replaced; if I didn't, then I had to foot the bill.  I actually never worried about my duty boots melting off my feet or coming apart in a fire, because I never wore them into a fire.  That's why my department issued me $400 leather, composite toed, goretex and thinsulate lined bunker boots to be worn under my bunker pants as part of my PPE, which per my department policy is worn on any incident besides EMS calls.  Normal duty boots aren't meant for that.  On the EMS side, there are some standards for rejection of blood borne pathogens, and waterproofing is nice, but not required.
So no, I'm not going to send a 13 year old cadet with size 6 feet to the uniform shop my department uses to buy even their cheapest boots at $60-70, when they're going to outgrow them in 6-8 months

I don't go cheap on my boots for work or CAP.  As a matter of fact, the boots I wear for both are pretty much the same.  Belleville Infantry Combat Boots for CAP, and the same version as made by Bates.  The boots I wear to work are 10+ years old, on the second set of resoles, but the leather is still in good shape, I just keep them clean, polish as needed, and they continue to serve me well.

Quote from: CAPLTC on May 28, 2018, 09:24:47 PM

I agree about the price being an issue. Also fully agree about cadets (and seniors) spending $, then quitting...
That said, I can get US-made issue boots in tan, coyote, and sage for under $75...
No options for US-made, quality, black boots in that price range.
I see it as an issue CAP should be working on collectively, versus sending members to WalMart to get whatever ChiCom crap they happen to have in-stock.
I understand, and I'm with you too.  Despite my cautions, of the last batch of recruits I had, a few of them still showed up wearing those Rothco jungle boots.  And that's fine; at the end of the day, it's their money. 

ChiCom crap?  Have you looked at Vanguard's ABUs?  They're selling them about $10 cheaper than AAFES.  But, VG can't buy stock from AAFES (actually DSC, which is where AAFES gets theirs from).  The reason?  VG is buying them from an offshore source, maybe not China, but somewhere else that can get them cheaper, and CAP isn't encumbered by the same requirement that our members be outfitted in uniforms made domestically.
It is what it is.  If a member can save some coin by going to Wally's and hooking themselves with a perfectly acceptable pair of boots that meet the requirements of the 39-1, I'm not going to get wrapped around the axle about it.


Slim

Eclipse

Quote from: Slim on May 30, 2018, 07:23:34 AM
It is what it is.  If a member can save some coin by going to Wally's and hooking themselves with a perfectly acceptable pair of boots that meet the requirements of the 39-1, I'm not going to get wrapped around the axle about it.

+1 That ship sailed a LOOONNNGGGG time ago and isn't going to be fixed or changed
on the back of a cadet parent trying to dress their kid who is going to grow out of everything in a year.

"That Others May Zoom"

NIN

On a related note: ChiCom? What is this, 1958?
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

J2H

I have a $200 pair Danner non-shine black Ascenders I wear for work, but cannot wear them for CAP as they cannot be polished... I wear Wellco Jungle boots that can be polished, but I don't polish them... they are serviceable and have worn just fine for the 5 years I have owned them.  Buy what makes YOU and your WALLET comfortable.. I just won't shell out cash for something that I may not stay in forever, same with my kid.
SSgt Jeffrey Hughes, Squadron NCO
Glenn L. Martin Composite Squadron MD-031
#217169

THRAWN

Quote from: J2H on May 31, 2018, 10:04:22 PM
I have a $200 pair Danner non-shine black Ascenders I wear for work, but cannot wear them for CAP as they cannot be polished... I wear Wellco Jungle boots that can be polished, but I don't polish them... they are serviceable and have worn just fine for the 5 years I have owned them.  Buy what makes YOU and your WALLET comfortable.. I just won't shell out cash for something that I may not stay in forever, same with my kid.

The difference is that you've stopped growing. Do cadets need expensive boots? Nope. most of them wear them less than 10 hours per month and they will grow out of them. The vast majority will not get ES qualified, and of those the vast majority will never do any more "field work" than doing a ramp search.
Strup-"Belligerent....at times...."
AFRCC SMC 10-97
NSS ISC 05-00
USAF SOS 2000
USAF ACSC 2011
US NWC 2016
USMC CSCDEP 2023

Eclipse

Quote from: THRAWN on June 01, 2018, 12:55:50 PM
Quote from: J2H on May 31, 2018, 10:04:22 PM
I have a $200 pair Danner non-shine black Ascenders I wear for work, but cannot wear them for CAP as they cannot be polished... I wear Wellco Jungle boots that can be polished, but I don't polish them... they are serviceable and have worn just fine for the 5 years I have owned them.  Buy what makes YOU and your WALLET comfortable.. I just won't shell out cash for something that I may not stay in forever, same with my kid.

The difference is that you've stopped growing. Do cadets need expensive boots? Nope. most of them wear them less than 10 hours per month and they will grow out of them. The vast majority will not get ES qualified, and of those the vast majority will never do any more "field work" than doing a ramp search.

+1 I have side-zippered jump boots I bought 15 years ago that are still full serviceable
from both an appearance and practical level.

Clothing made for daily wear in high-stress situations that are actually worn a couple times a month
for a few hours, isn't going to wear out for years, if ever.

In fact, the only shoes / boots I've ever actually worn out in the last 20 years are my riding boots
(Bates tactical type that I also used for CAP), because I walked miles and miles (100 feet at a time)
on burning parking lots in the summer and also scuffed and scrapped them on the road service,
and my Corfams, which I bought in like 1999 - other then the !@#$% nick I put in one of them literally
the first time I wore them, apparently the soft rubber sole just deteriorates over time, and
just disintegrated as I was walking at a unit meeting - one minute I had a shoe under my foot, the next
I was walking directly on the carpet, streaming rubber chunks behind me.

"That Others May Zoom"

NIN

Quote from: Eclipse on June 01, 2018, 01:52:49 PM
<snip>apparently the soft rubber sole just deteriorates over time, and
just disintegrated as I was walking at a unit meeting - one minute I had a shoe under my foot, the next
I was walking directly on the carpet, streaming rubber chunks behind me.

Those Corframs should just be on a TBO...
Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

Eclipse

Seriously.

I can't bring myself to throw them out, but can't find any place handy to resolve them, and Bezos makes new ones cheap anyway.

#FWP

"That Others May Zoom"