What boots do you wear?

[MIKE]

Bates Infantry Combat Boots.  My next pair should have a nonmetallic safety toe though.

I wear the ICB's all the time in the Marines. I've put a lot of miles under a lot of weight on those boots.  They've taken a beating in some nasty terrain, and are comfortable enough to live in, in the field, for weeks at a time.  A testament to their durability, I think I still have the pair that I wore all through Parris Island and School of Infantry.  If a pair of boots can survive that, it can survive anything.  Heh.

I was looking at these to replace them since mine are getting pretty worn: http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=5557&tabid=548&catid=84


It seems the USCG issue ones are cheaper now though at $108. The price has gone up on the ones at USCav.

[68w20]

Corcoran Jump Boots

Anyone know a good place to get these cheap?  I'm looking for a new pair and $150 will break the bank for a poor college student.

[Duke Dillio]

Corcoran Jump Boots

Anyone know a good place to get these cheap?  I'm looking for a new pair and $150 will break the bank for a poor college student.

eBay FTW....

I normally wear a set of 5.11 boots with the side zipper.

[a2capt]

... that were made for walkin'...

[Private Investigator]

http://www.uscav.com/ZoomImage.aspx?CatID=377&ImageURL=/prodinfo/enlarged/15903L.jpg

My favorite Altama.

[onetimeoneplace]

I wear the $30 Rothco jungle boots because my feet are still growing, and I don't want to shell out $100 for a pair of boots that I'll have to replace in six months. They're fine for anything up to a weeklong Encampment, but when it comes to hard-on activities, I usually destroy them. I remember the sole of one boot I had cracking right in two halfway into NBB.

[HGjunkie]

I am interested in getting a pair of ICB's for the eventual date when my Bates wear out. What manufacturers make the best version?

[titanII]

Anyone know a good place to get these cheap?  I'm looking for a new pair and $150 will break the bank for a poor college student.

I got mine at the local army surplus store, for $70 or so.

[Smokey]

Kinda wish we could go to the new AF green suede type boots.  After polishing boots for 40 years in my police job and past 14 in CAP, I'd love to get away from the chore.

Let the cadets learn to polish boots/shoes. 

I don' think the issue of stains on them (as some AF folks complained) would be an issue for us.  We aren't usually around the stuff on the ramp that stains them.

[afgeo4]

I have two pairs.
1. Summer - Bates summer ICBs (no gore-tex) with steel toe.
2. Winter - USCG Super Boot II with composite toe and gore-tex lining.

[ThatOneGuy]

I have a pair of old Magnum Stealth Force 8.0s that I got about three years ago. They survived encampment, several airshows, and a trip to NESA thus far, and are very very comfortable.

[stillamarine]

It amuses me the amount of money some people pay for boots just for CAP. I see this among my cadets as well. As for me. I have a 30 dollar pairs of steel toe boots from Walmart. I wear them 6 days a week. 5 in my police job and on Monday nights for CAP. They usually last me about 2 years.

I also give my cadets a hard time about shining them. If they only wear theirs once a week there is no reason why their boots can't be properly shined. I don't require a spit shine but they meed to be clean and black.

Of course I went into the Marine Corps when Marines still knew how to shine boots.

[AngelWings]

It amuses me the amount of money some people pay for boots just for CAP. I see this among my cadets as well. As for me. I have a 30 dollar pairs of steel toe boots from Walmart. I wear them 6 days a week. 5 in my police job and on Monday nights for CAP. They usually last me about 2 years.

I also give my cadets a hard time about shining them. If they only wear theirs once a week there is no reason why their boots can't be properly shined. I don't require a spit shine but they meed to be clean and black.

Of course I went into the Marine Corps when Marines still knew how to shine boots.

To get the proper fit, quality/durability, or adjustments (like boots with goretex for wet/cold environments, or jungles for hot environments), some times you need to spend an extra dollar or two.

[stillamarine]

It amuses me the amount of money some people pay for boots just for CAP. I see this among my cadets as well. As for me. I have a 30 dollar pairs of steel toe boots from Walmart. I wear them 6 days a week. 5 in my police job and on Monday nights for CAP. They usually last me about 2 years.

I also give my cadets a hard time about shining them. If they only wear theirs once a week there is no reason why their boots can't be properly shined. I don't require a spit shine but they meed to be clean and black.

Of course I went into the Marine Corps when Marines still knew how to shine boots.

To get the proper fit, quality/durability, or adjustments (like boots with goretex for wet/cold environments, or jungles for hot environments), some times you need to spend an extra dollar or two.

To wear once a week? Nope not worth it.

[titanII]

I have to agree with stillamarine on this one. My $70 Corcoran Jump Boots are plenty comfortable and versatile for the amount I wear them (once a week, and one whole week for Encampment). I haven't had any weather problems- neither water getting in, or hot feet. Not to mention the quality- I haven't had any wear and tear problems with them in the year and a half or so that I've owned them.
Now, if I were in the military and wore my boots every day to work, THEN I'd think about getting pricier boots. But that is obviously not the case.

[AngelWings]

It amuses me the amount of money some people pay for boots just for CAP. I see this among my cadets as well. As for me. I have a 30 dollar pairs of steel toe boots from Walmart. I wear them 6 days a week. 5 in my police job and on Monday nights for CAP. They usually last me about 2 years.

I also give my cadets a hard time about shining them. If they only wear theirs once a week there is no reason why their boots can't be properly shined. I don't require a spit shine but they meed to be clean and black.

Of course I went into the Marine Corps when Marines still knew how to shine boots.

To get the proper fit, quality/durability, or adjustments (like boots with goretex for wet/cold environments, or jungles for hot environments), some times you need to spend an extra dollar or two.

To wear once a week? Nope not worth it.

To wear a few times a week sometimes, in the middle of the field, or for encampments/NCSA's? Definately worth it in my book.

[MIKE]

When I bought my ICBs I don't think I paid more than $60-70 for them... Doubt I will find black ones for that price again, but they are awesome boots so paying $108 doesn't bother me that much. I have also had cheap Jungle Boots that did not survive a weekend of Hanscom AFB. flightline.

Personally, I find most "tactical sneaker" boots unsightly with ODUs and BDUs... except some of the earlier styles of Magnums.

[davidsinn]

Personally, I find most "tactical sneaker" boots unsightly with ODUs and BDUs... except some of the earlier styles of Magnums.

It ain't supposed to look pretty. It's supposed to work well and not tear your feet up.

[jimmydeanno]

I spent $110.00 on my boots, 12 years ago.  I still have them, they're comfortable, and I'm probably more active that 99% of the people in CAP.  I wear my combat boots an average of 180 hours per month for CAP.  That doesn't include the 9 encampments they've been through.

I think $8.00/year for boots is pretty reasonable.

[titanII]

Personally, I find most "tactical sneaker" boots unsightly with ODUs and BDUs... except some of the earlier styles of Magnums.

I agree, to a point. For instance, I do think that some look pretty nice, like these Altama's: http://www.altama.com/products/3668-black-8-exospeed-ii-boot
But I also agree with Captain Sinn's post

It ain't supposed to look pretty. It's supposed to work well and not tear your feet up.

So although I might find them a bit un-uniform looking, I wouldn't let looks affect my choice if I were looking to buy some boots with serious features like Gore-Tex, vibrams, etc.