Originally Posted By TXBossmanSB:

I was stressing because all they were offering at the time was 11X

I was really, really high strung for about a month until that letter.

Originally Posted By alphajaguars:
Lots of memories reading through this thread.

Originally Posted By pinkmist:
The Bellville boot(ICB) issued in Boot camp was my favorite boots they fit like glove but way too warm for summer use thus the Marine Corps would issue Jungle boots (I never really like them). When I Join the Army Guard I was issue Bellville boots again they where the worst boots ever. I have found with footwear that Specs vary with every boot manufacture no matter how slight it can make a difference thus you have try many different types to find a "good pair".

Originally Posted By wag_bag:
I just checked the inside label on my brand new ACUs. It doesn't say anything about permethrin. That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't treated, though. The USMC labeled the uniforms when they started issuing treated ones.

Always, always, fucking always take a thin polypro top, beanie, and woobie with you everywhere you go. You can get all 3 into a gallon ziplock bag and they don't weigh anything.

Continue to eat on long movements. a 40 mile road march can take anywhere from 10 to 20 hours. Your body is pretty much depleted of incoming calories after the first two hours. Set the timer on your watch and put some food in you periodically. I alternate between power gels and snickers bars every half hour. That comes to 300 calories an hour. I also like some electrolyte powder every few hours. The camelback elixir works fine and it's easy to pop a tab into a canteen. I can keep going like that for a loooong way.

Originally Posted By 72coupe:
I bought 5 pair of Duluth Trading Heavyweight merino wool boot sox. Does anyone have experience with these?

They feel pretty good in the hand.

Originally Posted By 72coupe:
If you see me camping out in weather like that you will know that hell has in fact frozen over.

Originally Posted By LRRPF52:
This is what I slept on last weekend up in the Wasatch Mountains here in Utah.  We did a snow shoeing campout with my Scout Troop so the boys could work on their Snow Sports Merit Badge.

I'm a big fan of not taking a tent, even in the most extreme conditions, and I try to hold myself to that standard no matter what, while proving that you can still stay warm and comfortable, while packing lite.

If you didn't have snow shoes on up there, you fell right through the snow waist deep for me, and I'm just over 6ft tall.  My Gore-tex sleep system is inside my LCS-88/CPF-90 ruck.  I had both bags in, slept on the sleeping mat, stayed plenty warm on top of the snow.  Weather indicated no need for overhead cover, so I slept in the open looking at the stars at over 8000ft above sea level.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j422/LRRPF52/2015-02-07%2007.52.05_zps2hpfhjgg.jpg


The boys slept in tents, which is one extra, unnecessary bag of weight to carry.  I carry my medic bag, so no room for tents.


http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j422/LRRPF52/2015-02-07%2007.51.54_zps0hfrcqyk.jpg


Ruck mostly emptied once I got home after re-fit:

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j422/LRRPF52/2015-02-10%2023.16.06_zpsnqn5zdbo.jpg

Originally Posted By 72coupe:
Wag-bag I am not to much worried about hot weather. We only have a few days per year over 115°.

Originally Posted By swede1986:
Snow shoes? Why not skis?

Originally Posted By swede1986:
I've rarely seen undergrowth so bad that you couldn't ski over it. Even in areas where there is no harvesting at all.

Originally Posted By Gmezz4:
Anyone have the Tactical Taylor MALICE? And would you recommend it? Or should I pick up a surplus ALICE? I can't stand my MOLLE ruck.

Originally Posted By threefeathers:



Holy cow, I didn't mean to end this thread.

Originally Posted By retgarr:
Hell of a thread.

I can't speak to the application of it like OP can. I am not and never was a soldier. Other AFROTC in college, I don't have military experience. I hardly think AFROTC counts. I am however a boot salesman. I do sell other footwear such as some casuals in the like, but what I really know is boots. Especially backpacking boots.

I'll start by referencing the thread earlier about the Army working on a new jungle boot.. It is pretty obvious (if that article is reporting accurately) that the boot program is not being run as well as it could. I'll tackle those issues one by one. I think a lot can be learned from that.

1. "The Army now requires that a universal "last" or mold be used by all of its boot vendors"
This is a huge issue.When we think of shoe size, we are looking at maybe two measurements. There is length which is the back of the heel to the end of the longest toe, irrespective of whether your first or second toe is bigger. And then width, which is measured at the front of your first metatarsal (the bump behind your big toe) to the anterior of your fifth metatarsal.

So that is an amazingly small amount of information about a complicated 3d mechanical structure. You can have width at any area of your feet, you can have an arch length that doesn't match your foot length, you can have a high instep and low arch. One last doesn't even begin to cover it all. And you make one last as universal as possible, they will need to make a wide front to back, high volume, soft upper that you can cinch down. We all know how good one size fits all is in performance applications.

Now I'm not saying everyone needs custom boots, but different manufacturers and models have different fit characteristics for a reason. In my experience, the higher quality the boot is, the less likely a given model is going to fit you. But when you do find the right one, angels will sing.

2. "One of the biggest design upgrades is "direct-attach outsoles," Mortlock said, explaining that these soles that are glued, not stitched, to the bottoms of boots, make some pairs of Army Combat Boots up to 1 pound lighter. The direct-attach outsoles are also less apt to separate after long, rough usage."

There are two materials that are common in boots today. EVA and polyurethane. EVA is that same foam you find in a running shoe, although boot EVA is denser. It is cheap, soft, light, and easy to manufacture with. It is a fantastic material for shock absorption. However, cushion has negatives.

Over the day, that cushion compresses. It looses it's shape and flattens out in a shoe. It can take 24+ hours for it to return to the original shape. And of course, over time it stops returning to that shape. The net effect is that you lose proper support. Take a look at the gray bit on this shoe for an example of EVA.

PU on the other hand is a heavier material, denser, more expensive, and harder to work with. But the important difference is that it does NOT change shape over time nearly as dramatically as EVA. It preserves the support in a shoe. It is also often vulcanized or sewn to the upper. Generally that is a more durable attachment than glue and EVA. They got that plain wrong. See the gray bit here for an example of PU, smooth rather than the textured EVA.

Of course we also know that weight makes a huge difference in performance. 1 pound on your foot is worth about 5 on your back in terms of energy expenditure. That's a significant amount of calories over ten days with your gear plus a mortar base plate. Thankfully it is possible to combine PU with some amount of EVA for shock absorption. This might shed some weight, but not a full pound. The new army boot must use a large amount of EVA.

3. "Master Sgt. Benjamin Owens, a 20-year Army veteran who was interviewed along with Mortlock, said that even though many Soldiers opt to buy their own footwear, in his opinion, the best boots are standard issue."

Opinions are like assholes MSG. I don't think I could possibly care less what works for him. To a large degree in foot wear, perception is reality. What works for one person might cripple another. From what I can tell, the Army has a big problem with gruff guys saying "It was good enough for me, it should be good enough for you".

Trying on boots with an experienced fitter is vital to comfort. I tell my customers that are rushing buying backpacking boots that it's not like buying tennis shoes. It's a technical process more akin to fitting a high performance ski boot. I've spent hours with some customers trying to get the right fit. Be ready to invest that kind of time when trying on boots. Just like LRRPF says with insoles, if the boot salesman is just a warm body, try elsewhere or ask if someone in the department is really good at boot fitting.

I think that's all for now. I'll try to cover more later. Maybe use some pictures to make things a bit less tedious. Please get involved in the thread. SOme of my worst customers are the ones who won't tell you what's on their mind.