Who has gone back to the heavier leather boots?

[nsherry61]

I would suggest that, although one could suggest that long-distance backpacking of long trails may be a fad, the use of trail runners as the most popular footwear is simply common sense gleaned for a more educated community with more experienced in long-distance backpacking. And sure, I've seen people climbing significant non-technical mountain peaks in minimalist footwear, and I would suggest that may be connected to the ultra-light fad we are living in. But, those same shoes used as long-distance trail footwear is more functionality than fad.

[Feral Bill]

With the fad of hiking with very light weight shoes starting to fade into history, who has found they really needed to go back to those thick, heavy leather boots for the foot/ankle support? One guy swears that the comfort and support his offers is well worth the weight penalty at the end of the day. Im thinking, 'blisters..soaked through leather... but then again, if you find something that really works, I actually damaged my left foot hiking 1/2 the AT in light weight shoes, and that with a 17lb pack load.

So? That does not imply that your shoes caused the injury.

[CalebJ]

6 months after I retired, my buddy sent me a pic of his new suede boots. They had been rumored since I was in Basic.

I'm not sure when the transition occurred, but when I went to PI in 2004 the traditional black boots were already gone. Good riddance. I spent a little time at a military school a few years before that and loved the more functional newer gear.

[TX Aggie]

I'm not sure when the transition occurred, but when I went to PI in 2004 the traditional black boots were already gone. Good riddance. I spent a little time at a military school a few years before that and loved the more functional newer gear.

The transition for all boots occurred with the phase-out of BDU’s and the transition to ACUs in the 2006-2008 timeframe. If you got desert BDUs during OIF/OEF you got the brown suede as well. These are what I had, and they were a HUGE improvement, especially in the hot desert.


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[CalebJ]

The transition for all boots occurred with the phase-out of BDU’s and the transition to ACUs in the 2006-2008 timeframe. If you got desert BDUs during OIF/OEF you got the brown suede as well. These are what I had, and they were a HUGE improvement, especially in the hot desert.

To clarify, this was USMC. Everything issued was digital in '04, though you'd still see the occasional Marine with older issued camo. No sign of black boots on the island.

[TX Aggie]

To clarify, this was USMC. Everything issued was digital in '04, though you'd still see the occasional Marine with older issued camo. No sign of black boots on the island.

Ah, yes, I do believe USMC officially transitioned before the Army, but I could be wrong.


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[Mother Natures Son]

What??No more Spit Shine boots. Whats this world coming to? I have resign my commission. LOL

[BuckeyeBill]

As a Police Officer, I wore side zip steel toe boots in the warmer and transition months. Once the cold hit, I wore the same style boot without a steel toe. If you were out on a accident scene in cold weather with steel toes your toes just plain got cold. But the steel toes did protect me from broken toes on several occasions, especially when people ran over my foot after I gave them an invitation to the next judge's party being held at the court room.

[gpburdelljr]

The transition for all boots occurred with the phase-out of BDU’s and the transition to ACUs in the 2006-2008 timeframe. If you got desert BDUs during OIF/OEF you got the brown suede as well. These are what I had, and they were a HUGE improvement, especially in the hot desert.

My father was 5 foot tall. When he joined the army in WWII they didn’t have any boots small enough, so they made some suede boots for him. Maybe he was the very first to transition from the traditional black army boots.

On another note, one of the most comfortable pair of shoes I ever owned were paratrooper boots. They were given to me in the early 70s by a friend at the Air Force Academy. They were lightly scuffed, so he got new ones because they were required to keep them polished to a high gloss

[One Half]

the only injuries I ever had came when wearing heavy boots. I was so proud when I was able to afford my first pair of Asolo! But the love affair quickly turned sour after hiking in them a few times. They fit my foot well but still caused issues. The biggest thing with boots I found was that they were just so clumsy on my feet and caused me to trip over things, especially when tired, and then when they got wet that brought it's own set of problems. After my last hike with boots I actually started a quest to find better footwear. I started studying feet and their mechanics (I'm a geek like that as I was a personal trainer for many years). I went from custom orthotics and much pain to vibram five fingers full time and now to trail runners full time. Even the trail runners were hard to get used to after VFFs for 3 years. I'll never go back to boots. And now that I can afford lighter gear, and it's cheaper to start with and just plain AVAILABLE, I'll never carry another pack over 30lbs and much more common I'm at 25lbs or less.

[garlic08]

the only injuries I ever had came when wearing heavy boots....

Yeah, same here. Twenty years ago I pretty much gave up backpacking due to knee pain. Even sturdier walking shoes can hurt after a dozen miles or so.

The 25 pound load limit helps greatly too, but I've noticed the effect on my knees on unloaded day hikes.

When I day hike with old friends who still wear boots, their gait looks so painful and slow now. They're spent after ten miles. I'm ready to go again.

I've never tried five fingers or barefoot. I'm not brave enough for that. And I do a lot of hiking in cholla and acacia country.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Yeah, I hiked in trail runners for a couple of years, leading up to my "big hike". Then I did the approach trail up and back in one day with my son-in-law. It rained for about 15 minutes, early on. My high-dollar, gore-tex trail runners soaked through and I spent the rest of the day sloshing around in wet feet. My feet became one big blister. And the next day my ankles were so sore I could barely walk. Turns out there's a big difference between the tame, flat trails I'd been training on in Texas and the root and rock-bound Georgia AT.

After that trip, I bought a pair of real Danner hiking boots. They barely weighed a pound more than those worthless trail runners, which made me wonder why anybody messes around with hiking in sneakers. And not only did they not soak through in any downpour I experienced on the AT the next year, my ankles never again bothered me, and my plantar faciitis actually disappeared. In fact, my bad knee didn't bother me, either, and I never found it necessary to use the knee brace I'd brought along.

And here's the funny part -- I did most of my hike with an old guy about my same age that I met the first week on the trail. He was in trail runners, and bitched about his sore feet the entire time.

I think if you're a young guy -- like the folks who started the trail runner fad -- you can hike in just about anything. Heck, I saw kids on the AT hiking in sandals. A whole herd of 'em passed me on the approach trail wearing nothing but flip-flops. But if you're an old fart contemplating a summer spent climbing three mountains a day, then do yourself a favor and buy some proper footwear! There's a reason the army issues boots instead of sneakers.

[Tipi Walter]

I think if you're a young guy -- like the folks who started the trail runner fad -- you can hike in just about anything. Heck, I saw kids on the AT hiking in sandals. A whole herd of 'em passed me on the approach trail wearing nothing but flip-flops. But if you're an old fart contemplating a summer spent climbing three mountains a day, then do yourself a favor and buy some proper footwear! There's a reason the army issues boots instead of sneakers.

So true, so true. I've been seriously backpacking since June of 1980 and used every kind of shoe and boot available. I wore a pair of Birkenstock sandals for a season until they disintegrated after a couple months. Pieces O Crap.

Then I spent two years backpacking in Sorel Caribou pack boots---which kept my feet warm and dry but contributed to foot rot because the rubber bottoms didn't breathe. And yes the leather uppers froze solid anyway.

Then I went thru a pair of Vasque Sundowners which got a 3 inch rip across the toe leather after one year---used duct tape in a circle around the boot for repair. Looked homeless. Heck I was homeless.

Then I went thru a series of tennis shoes of all varieties---from New Balance to brands unknown.

In 1983 I upgraded to a "Forty Below" boot made my Chippewa with the fur lined cuff. Looked sharp. High top like military. Sewn welt. These expensive beasts died one winter day when the sewn sole completely ripped off.

And who can forget all the Nam jungle boots I used?? Canvas sides, water drain holes on sides etc.


In 1980 I really iiked my Nike Ascent (or is it Approach?) boots. Awesome little boots. In 2001 I got on my Asolo kick and use their Fugitive for most of my non-winter trips. But Asolo quality control is problematic as evidenced by ripped seams after 3 months of use and by their 520 soles peeling off.

Currently my favored winter boot is a pair of awesome Zamberlan Vioz's. Waterproof like Sorels but not clunky to walk in . . . and very stout.

Oh and I can't forget the terrible experience I had with a pair of Limmer lightweight boots back in the late 1990s. Glued heel detached and sewn welt thread broke releasing the bottom sole. Ergo my rush to Asolo boots in various configs---comfy right out of the box but prone to freezing solid and the mentioned quality issues.

[Dogwood]

...There's a reason the army issues boots instead of sneakers.

Yeah, because it's the military. The ACU boot is combat based.

Different branches issue different style boots. But, even one branch is aware enough to have different boot versions for different goals and environments.

Various branches have become more "sensitive", somewhat reluctantly at times, to providing new boot designs that quietly incorporate studies pointing to injuries caused by ignoring tech advances and this medical information.

This has been munched over many times on line.

[Tipi Walter]

I did all my basic training PT workouts wearing high top black leather boots. This was USAF, 1969. Ever try running a couple miles every day in high top black military boots? Sucked. No wonder they eventually went to tennis shoes.

[Old Grouse]

I did all my basic training PT workouts wearing high top black leather boots. This was USAF, 1969. Ever try running a couple miles every day in high top black military boots? Sucked. No wonder they eventually went to tennis shoes.

Yes, and the running was mostly on pavement. I think the brass just liked the sound of all those feet pounding around in unison.

[Tipi Walter]

Yes, and the running was mostly on pavement. I think the brass just liked the sound of all those feet pounding around in unison.

And back in those days everything below your knees HAD TO BE POLISHED. Running PT drills still had to be in uniform---with polished boots and in fatigues, i.e. in long cotton green baggy pants. I don't ever remember being issued shorts for any kind of PT. But heck maybe I'm wrong and we did have shorts. It was so long ago. . . .

[Bronk]

The military put more abuse on my feet than the AT ever did. By the time I finished basic training all of my toes were numb and half of my feet too. I could only feel my feet for a couple of minutes in the morning during which they felt like they had been smashed with a hammer...after a couple minutes they went numb again. When Peter Jenkins wrote about his abbreviation of FFLH for "feet feel like hamburger" this is exactly how my feet felt.

[Harrison Bergeron]

I still have those same USAF-issue high-top Danner boots, that I ran laps in during basic, and spit shined for four years of dangerous office duty at a SAC base in upstate New York. 41 years later, the leather no longer shines but the soles are still good. I use them for brush cutting.

Danner makes lots better stuff nowadays for hiking, but I doubt that anybody makes anything that'll last through 40 years of hard labor better than those old combat boots.

[Tipi Walter]

I still have those same USAF-issue high-top Danner boots, that I ran laps in during basic, and spit shined for four years of dangerous office duty at a SAC base in upstate New York. 41 years later, the leather no longer shines but the soles are still good. I use them for brush cutting.

Danner makes lots better stuff nowadays for hiking, but I doubt that anybody makes anything that'll last through 40 years of hard labor better than those old combat boots.

We were issued 3 shoes in Basic---black low quarters (your regular dress shoe), Chukka boots (ankle high black boots and my favorite), and high top "combat" boots. Here's a pic of the chukka boots---
img56403291.jpg

(Btw, I didn't know Danner made my boots . . .)