Which boots, authorized or unauthorized, do you most prefer?

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:06:55 -0500

We have about a dozen boots we can wear in the Army, I believe the rest of forces have to choose from fewer than four, and the Marine Corps even less.

I sure miss the jungle boots. I prefer a Danner mil - spec boot, Danner Recon, or Danner Acadia specifically.

Did you have a favorite boot that you wore in uniform?

Recently, at ALC, there were many Sgt and SSgt's wearing unauthorized boots to an Army school. I couldn't believe they didn't send them home nor make them rectify the situation. So let me rephrase the question: Which are your favorite authorized military boots; and favorite non-authorized boots?

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 20 at 2014 5:12 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:12:51 -0500

I LOVED the Bellvilles we were issued in Afghanistan. Wish I could have kept wearing those CONUS.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Dec 20 at 2014 7:20 PM

SGM Erik Marquez — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 19:20:22 -0500

"Recently, at ALC, there were many Sgt and SSgt's wearing unauthorized boots"
Let me ask,, what is your litmus test for what is authorized? What regulation, or procurement document are you referencing to determining which off the shelf commercially available boot is or is not authorized?

Unless things changed in the last few months, there are issued boots of several types, and then commercially available boots which must only meet guidelines to be worn.. There is (was?) no definitive list of "ONLY THESE boots may be worn"

Or has something been published in the last 11 months that does so?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 20 at 2014 10:05 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 22:05:09 -0500

My favorite boots to wear for Garrison work are my Rocky C4Ts. No boot is more comfortable, not even the Nike boots. I also love my Blackhawk combat boots for training, ranges and other combat-esque situations.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Dec 20 at 2014 10:05 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 22:05:27 -0500

As far as I know for the AF (per the AFI) there is no list of authorized boots outside of "safe to fly" boots. So we have hundreds of options as long as they are baby...I mean sage green.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 20 at 2014 10:14 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 22:14:19 -0500

Converse. I have had the same pair for so long, that apparently, they added a zipper on the newer versions. (according to the internet) Why they messed with perfection, I don't know.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 20 at 2014 11:02 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 23:02:15 -0500

Shit..just looked at my boots and the only thing that made them unauthorized is the sole coming up over the heel. Guess I will be ordering a correct pair if I make it to WOCS.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 21 at 2014 12:20 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 00:20:18 -0500

I would not recommend anyone buying boots right now until after the uniform changes start to happen. Unless you wear through them quickly

Response by SFC William Swartz Jr made Dec 21 at 2014 11:25 AM

SFC William Swartz Jr — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:25:15 -0500

My personal faves.......

Response by Capt Gregory Prickett made Dec 21 at 2014 5:49 PM

Capt Gregory Prickett — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 17:49:15 -0500

There's only one boot that matters.

Response by SSG Tim Everett made Dec 22 at 2014 10:38 AM

SSG Tim Everett — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 10:38:15 -0500

I served during the era of BDUs. I wore green jungle boots for a while, then I discovered ten-eyelet Doc Martins. I painted the sole and threads black, tucked the tag into the back, and replaced my laces with black 550 cord just because laces tend to rot or fray. Nobody could tell unless they looked up-close. Unauthorised? Yes probably, though I never found a definitive list of what boots we could and could not wear (just barracks lawyer talk about "oh, those green jungle boots aren't authorised, oh those tanker boots aren't authorised"). But my pair of boots lasted eight years, hundreds of miles, and both the 550 laces and the soles never wore out. I finally had to retire them in favour of a new pair of Doc boots, which I'm currently wearing.

Response by Sgt Jason West made Dec 23 at 2014 11:28 AM

Sgt Jason West — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:28:48 -0500

My favorites were ET specials and Docs. The ET specials were bought from a surplus store in Havelock NC called ETs (go figure, right?) The story was they were made with Carolina Boot and Georgia Boot parts and pieced together, who knows for sure. They looked similiar to Capt. Prickett's boots except without the stitch across the toe. Oh man those things were great and held the best shine. Later I did the painting of the soles/threads on some docs similiar to what SSG Everett said. Hated it when we went to roughouts. Those things are just ugly. I was nice for a while though when we first switched to the MarPat but were still authorized to wear the old black boots. That looked pretty sharp.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 23 at 2014 8:29 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 20:29:30 -0500

To be blunt, I could give a rat's behind if the a soldier is wearing an authorized or unauthorized boot in the field as long as it is practical.

In garrison as long as it "looks" authorized I'm not going to consult the regs to see if it is.

Can a soldier shoot, move, communicate and do his job in combat is what we should be worrying about. Can he administer aid to a man who has been shot or blown up by an IED? Can he pass a freaking APFT? I was really hoping in 2005ish or so we had gotten past a garrison mentality. Because we are at war and going to be for a long time to come.

As for my personal favorite boots a pair of green jungle boots with both heel and toe caps taken out. They had vibram low profile sawtooth soles and been worked over with neatsfoot oil so they would never shine. But they sure worked on multiple field problems and SFAS.

As for garrison as much as I hated wearing them Jump boots looked sharp with a good shining, worn with starched BDUs and a beret.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 23 at 2014 10:12 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:12:14 -0500

I wear my issued flight boots - summer weight in summer, winter in winter. I will say, the winter boots are pretty freakin awesome, I love them so much. When I first came on AD I bought a pair of Rocky's - most comfortable boots I've ever worn, even if they weren't authorized to fly in! I also laced my boots with 550 and haven't regretted it so far.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 23 at 2014 10:35 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:35:39 -0500

I love these

Response by Sgt Adam Jennings made Dec 24 at 2014 12:24 AM

Sgt Adam Jennings — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:24:37 -0500

My favorite boot that I have is a pair of Danner boots with the Gore-Tex liner in them that the Marine Corps issued to me to deploy to Iraq with, lol. Needless to say I took a pair of my Belleville hot weather boots, cheaper but not crap boots, and left the Danner boots at home. I am still wearing those Danner boots almost 6 years later! I'm actually about to just have them resoled and keep on wearing them until they wear out completely. They're sill waterproof and they're the most comfortable boot I've ever owned. The only thing I have more comfortable are my running shoes, lol. The best part is, I got a $300 pair of boots for free!

Worst boots I've ever had, well, that honor goes to Bates. I've had three pair of Bates, one with the fire department and two with the Marine Corps and they are crap.