What about those Velcro shoes that light up when you walk. Operators gotta look cool, too.

An overlooked aspect of tactical footwear is utility. A chunkier tread to help clear mud for cross country, but for improved mobility in urban environments you really need a little wheel in the heel.

Personally I prefer Ancient Roman caligae. Studded all-terrain-sandal-cleats that feel comfortable for those 30 mile force marches, and can bash your enemy's skull in when you need it! All for the glory of the Imperator!

Daddy was so serious back then

Imagine not operating in tactical black Converse All Stars

You know mike is piss at us when he doesn’t start with an “if you’ve ever”

Spoiler alert : You're so much happier in your new videos, the tanstion from NCO to Officer must have been amazing lol

In this video: thanking boots for their service

i personally use combat flipflops when i operate

One simple rule when it comes to boots. Your feet are what get you there and back. Invest in good quality footwear. I faught wildfires for quite a few years and never skimped on my boots. I've seen new guys with cheep boots arrive on a fire and within a day or two were done because their feet were like a package of hamburger meat. Take care of your feet and your feet will take you the extra mile.

As I grew up, live and did my army training in the north of Sweden in sub-arctic climate I have a couple of recommendations concerning this. Spot on when it comes to wool. Wool will keep you warm even when they are fairly wet. I generally use a very thin syntactic runners sock with a wool sock over. Vary wool sock thickness according to weather. The runners sock helps move the sweat away from your feet. Finding a pair that is melt resistant can be tough but not impossible. The same three layer principle applies to the rest of your body. First layer to move water away from your body. Second layer to insulate, wool or wool blend. Third layer is to break wind, snow etc. Goretex is nice in summer but I really dont think it works at all when you drop a bit below freezing. If anyone tries to sell you some kind of battery powered heating, do feel free to give them a nice round of screaming courtesy of me. Change your inner layer periodically and to let the stuff dry, bring sweet and warm liquid in a good thermos and lastly, try to stay a bit active. Have a nice day and good luck!

My guide to perfect boots / shoes. I work in an outdoor dealer in Germany. I've seen a lot of experience and a lot. Socks: The best socks for any weather are merino wool socks. The heavier the boot, the thicker the sock. The best is 70% merino, 30% nylon. The best are falcon, smartwool and woolpower. Boots: For most people, full leather without Gore-Tex is best. Can stand a lot of weather if cared for properly. Gore and synthetics work best for cold temperatures (below 18 degrees Celsius) or when you're in an area with a lot of rain. The heavier the backpack, the stiffer the sole for the boot. You should also really mess your foot up. I wear a British 10 in normal shoes and a 12.5 in heavy boots. The heavier the boot, the bigger it should be. If you want to use crampons, please buy them even bigger so that the effects of the movement are not transferred to the foot. If you slip in the heel, there is a catch to prevent this. The hook closest to the heel should be tightened until you no longer slip. If it still slips and you can no longer tighten it, the trunk is not for you. Lighter boots work well on light terrain, but if you want a boot for all activities, choose a stiffer sole. I don't really know much about the American boot market but I can reccoment a fiew european brand: Meindl: german, for wider feet Lowa: german, for slimmer feet Hanwag: german, for most feet ( I own the Hanwag Lhasa and its an absolut dream to wear) Break-in period: You should buy your boots at least 2 weeks before a big trip so that you can shrink them for at least a few days. I wear mine at work or at home to break in. Just use it as your everyday shoe for a few days. Daily care: You should always remove the insole after use so that the shoe and insole can be tried overnight so that you have a test shoe in the morning. Please also brush off dirt or water from the outside of the shoe so that it cannot dry out in the material. Leather in particular can suffer if there is dirt on the face fabric for too long. Routine care procedure: For a full leather shoe: You need a beeswax, a brush, water and a cloth of any kind. First of all, you want to make sure that the shoe is cleaned completely. Therefore, gently wipe the inner leather with a clean cloth to remove salt from the sweat. Remove the insole and rinse it well under running water if it is made of a textile. If it's made of leather too, just use the cloth you used in your shoe and clean it thoroughly. Then continue outside, where you can perfectly clean the shoe with a relatively stiff brush and plenty of water. In addition, the shoelaces should be removed and the tongue set up before cleaning, making sure that there is no dirt left behind. Now dry the shoe slowly to ensure that the leather does not dry too quickly, otherwise the leather will tear and discolour itself. Just leave it in a well-ventilated room overnight without the effects of one direct heat source. When the bone is dry, use the beeswax and a soft brush and cover the outer leather completely with a thin layer of wax. Make sure that the seams are completely covered and there are no dry spots. Now you can move on to the inside of the shoe and apply a thin layer of moisturizer to the inner leather. Normal cream from Nivea is perfect for that. Care for textile shoes: if the shoes are made of a textile outer material, the shoe should be cleaned in the same way. You just don't have to apply wax and cream, but only spray the outside of the shoe with a Gore-tex impregnation spray. Care for the large membrane The membrane only needs to be carefully cleaned. Most membranes are equally good. Some companies use their own membrane technology, which is no worse than that of gore itself. Care for the soles. Because soles are glued to the upper part of the shoe nowadays, soles fall off faster than before. Therefore, it is advisable to insert the rubber parts of a shoe, be it the rubble protection or the sole itself, and back and forth with a product that contains silicones. After some time, they escape from the rubber and it becomes hard and hard. Please be careful after using Rubber-Care. It will make the sole slippery for a view hours of walking This care should be carried out again after about 10-12 days of use in order to achieve the longest possible lifespan of the boot I would always go for boots and not shoes because they hold the ankle firmly and protect the foot area better from rain and dust. If a gaiter is used, a high level of rain proof can be achieved. Now get out and have fun with your perfect boot. Leave a comment if you have any critical Feedback or questions, thanks !!

After 20 years and units ranging from Regiment, Scouts, LRSD and Ranger Instructor I think I'm somewhat qualified to say every issued boot I've ever put on my dogs they all suck shit. Some were a terrible fit that lasted forever(Green Jungles) some that were comfortable that fell apart after a few days in the field. Now I wear Salomon with wool people's socks.

Sold lots of boots when I worked at REI. To touch back on the toe conversation, you want an appropriately wide toe box that allows your toes to flay outwards when walking downhill. Lots of people have space when walking on flat terrain or up hill, but they walk down hill and their toes rub the side of the boot. Salomons, Asolos, and Lowas are all have great combat boots (Fan of the Lowa Zephyr's myself, have two pair) and I sold several to special operations members for LEO state-side. Consistently speaking, Keen's have the widest toe boxes, and typically have more wide shoe molds in the factory for you wide-foot mammoths. Just some info for digestion. Great video nonetheless you sexy beast.

Keep in mind, Darn Tough offers socks in like 5 heights and about 5 thicknesses. Not all variations are sold in stores, or some online retailers, so you may need to order straight from the manufacturer. Salomon is owned by Arc’teryx, and I love the quest 4D, but some other models break down at the creases faster than my other brands.

you missed your calling you should have been a shoe salesman. I sold shoes for 30 years and you are on the money great video.

So you're saying my Army standard issue desert boot was not the right choice when it was -18 here the other day? Wow, that explains why it took 3 hours for my feet to un-fuck themselves after coming inside

Do UGGs come in multicam?

I’ve had my same pair of Rocky S2v boots for 4 years now. Used them for an entire deployment to AFG as well as working on the flight line and flying in Blackhawks. I’m not in a position to have civilian style boots, so they’re about the best I can get.

Jackboots have always served me well here in Australia. It's a good idea to use them if your terrains wet, creek bogged or marshy etc since jackboots are made to be water tight. Learning how to use footwraps is essential, they fit jackboots and are far more hygienic than regular socks. You can scale the level of insulation you have in your boots by changing the fabric of the footwraps you use. But importantly, these boots offer protection against leeches, ticks, snake bites, plant snags etc. And super importantly, if emergency services need to strip them off, for whatever reason, they're very simple to take off. They do come with cons though. Take a bit of practice to use properly especially with footwraps; expect blisters if you don't wrap properly. It's not too hard though. fitting can be a little bit of a bitch if you're not careful when picking the size and they can be a little warm to wear if you're not used to them. 10 years trekking the country using the same pair of east german boots and rituals ever since. I can walk from one end of the country to the other, that's how much faith I put into them. Edit: Lars can back me up on this

You're one of my favorite gear channels, keep up the good work.

I'm surprised that Mike never mentioned welted construction. Almost all of my non-welted boots, including my Salomon 4Ds, have crapped out on me and delaminated on me. I've gotten sick of resorting to regularly using shoe-goo on my high dollar boots and now I won't buy a boot where the sole to upper connection isn't reinforced with stitching.

For anyone who made it to Mountain Phase. Ensure you have hard sole boots. I learned the hard way when I used my Rocky C4Ts. The hard sole will help with your footing when your mountaineering on Mount Yonah and sidestepping across the side of mountains.

I wear my flannel crocks when I’m operating to the kitchen and back.

Love your humor. Thank you for your service!

I felt "go-ahead and drop" on a spiritual level

Love seeing the difference in his old videos and new videos. Been watching for years and it's always great stuff

My 2 cents , I had a nice experience with Lowa's Zephyr GTX mid. Impressively comfortable, very light and lasted quite some time for light boots. Just a negative thing, they are slippy in wet environment, particularly stone or urban soil. Great video BTW!

great video for choosing footwear based on whats currently avalable. fyi, the template that footwear companies use is called a "last" and its actually the solid mould that they make the boot or shoe on / around. it isnt really based on someones foot, its based on avarage measurements and it differes from the shape of a foot in a couple ways, some practical and some related to style, although it resembles a foot. like you said, the boot fit is totally dependent on if that last happens to fit your foot. for example, nearly every boot ive ever tried is loose in the heel for me, because my heel is small compared to the avarage foot for my size / width. higher end / coustom bootmakers will modify the last to fit your specific foot, but generally they are making traditional logger style boots or cowboy boots, not usually suited for military / tactical wear or even hiking. this is largly because the type of construction popular in lightweight boots and shoes (mostly cemented construction with multi density moulded soles) dosent lend itself to coustomization, and probably because there is less demand for this type of footwear to be coustom fitted. to some extent you can also modify the fit, especially in the heel cup. by adding leather inside the boot, this has helped me allot with my "narrower than avarage" heels. The other thing im verry intrested in footwear wise is heels and heel striking while walking / hiking. looking into the subject in some depth, ive come to the conclusion the reason we walk heel toe and have lifted heels on our footwear is mostly due to fasion and walking on predictable, hard surfaces like concrete at a fast pace. Its totally unnatural and is part of the reason we have such a prevalance of knee problems, especially the military. its a common belief that the human knee is a badly designed joint, this isnt true at all! its just that we walk incorrectly from the moment we learn how to walk, and walk on hard surfaces all the time. this way of walking puts tons of stress on all our joints but especially our knees. the achillies tendon and calf muscles are the shock absorbers of our legs, but they are completely negated when walking heel toe. there is a reason every competitive sprinter runs on the balls of their feet, and many medium and long distance runners are starting to move twards forefoot or midfoot strikes. modern footwear shapes are not designed for natural walking. they nearly all have heel lifts, making it verry hard not to heel strike, they have narrow tapered toe boxes, which dont make any sense at all except for fasion, these restrict the natural spread of your toes while walking which is critical to balance (the military actually tried to correct this for a while with the munson last, which had a wider toe box, but for some reason that style has died out in military footwear). they also have whats called toe spring, which means that the front of the boot is pre stressed so the toe lifts off the ground when standing in a nutral position, this is so that when walking heel toe, the forefoot rolls with the walk instead of slamming down. but this prevents the toes being engaged for balance till later in the step. also arch support and padding prevents the muscles in your foot from developing properly. this kind of support might be nessisary when carrying verry heavy loads, but developing those muscles would also help allot in dealing with those loads. I know this is all verry contrary to what youve heard all your life, but realize we have been walking incorrectly for centuries. riding horses, with the type of stirrups western people used, ment having heels on boots helped prevent the food going all the way through the stirrup which can be dangrous (a big reason people get dragged when falling off a horse) this lead to heels being fasionable, and combined with predictable, hard walking surfaces and hard soled footwear where you dont have to feel where your stepping before trabsfering your weight, lead to heel toe walking and its just become the norm, and is somewhat self perptuating because heel striking is better with raised padded heels for shock absorbtion and wear. take a look at minimalist footwear, minimalist running, etc

Another great video! Saw it after I purchased my Zephyrs but still great info to soak in. And damn these are comfy. Thanks for the info!

I just discovered your channel. Been watching newer vids and now have gone to the older ones. The excitement and energy and humor is WAY more entertaining now!! Love the vids! Thank you for what you do!!

I was a road guard through airborne school, and the whole time I wore my issued winter boots, they were hot as balls but not 1 blister. I never had better boots my whole time in the military in terms of no blisters; on rucks, runs, obstacle courses, trauma lanes ect.

Some further information: That foot template that companies use for designing their boots around is commonly called a "Last", no idea why though. When selecting boots, hold one in both hands and flex the sole as much as as you can (bending toe area back towards the opening) to get an idea of how thick / flexable the shank is. The shank is a piece of heavy duty plastic that runs through the sole of the boot and each design is different and flexes to a different degree. That shank is basically what protects the bottom of your foot from the rocks ect you are walking over, the more weight you are going to be carrying and the rougher the terrain, the less flex you want. For lighter loads you want more flex in the shank to reduce foot fatigue and especially so if you are going to be running in them. Like all gear there are pro's and con's to weigh up.

i wrestled an alligator and then turned him into somewhat fashionable and comfortable heels for my deployments

from a technical perspective, the lighting job is perfect in these videos

GREAT VIDEO! Especially the break in part. 20 years in the Seabees and I could tell you some foot stories. I work in the trades now and have to constantly mentor younger guys about proper footwear and care. I’ll share this with them.

I didn't even know fitment was a word until I watched this. My feet used to sweat a lot so I'd avoid wearing winter boots like Danners and Matterhorns as long as I could. I wasn't in a high-speed ninja unit that allowed commercial boots so I had to wear what was authorized. Not pissed at your statement about them, but I wore issue jungle boots almost all the time. Heavier socks in winter unless I knew I'd be in snow and slush. I never resoled them but I probably should have. I used spring cord locks on the laces instead of tying them. With a new pair I'd strip them, saddle soap them, then reseal them. I'd also put a good set of insoles in them. They weren't the best, but they did the job. Good stuff. Keep your powder dry.

Great video and channel. I've been an avid hiker over 20 years. I've tried lots of boots and tend to wear them in manufacturing and machine shops. Few hold up to industrial use and hiking. Oils and coolants chew through rubber soles and toes. Asolo has been the best so far for me. Best socks = People's Socks (80% Merino). Trick I learned from ballerina sister: wrap toes and heels with Lamb's Wool if blisters start to develop (feels hot). I know this works as I had to puddle stomp through a rainy trail on the first day of a 7 day trip. Blisters between toes first night. Wrapped them each morning with fresh lambs wool and made it all week no infections. Never pop a blister! (Unless infected etc). Lamb's wool is washable and dries fast. Just pull it apart as it clumps after use. It also packs well. I always bring enough to share. Did I mention it is fire resistant and absorbs moisture.

I like the smartwools even in summer, i was surprised how dry my feet felt on long hikes in switzerland mountains. These socks made my fet even feel cool. Never had blisters. I wore quite heavy Lowa full leather boots. The smartwools don‘t stink at all when i wear them 2-3 days. I had the same salomon boot you displayed first and i wore it when i worked on a farm for two years, they held up very good. They just didn‘t like cement/concrete mix on the seams, thats what killed them. Quite light, toughand comfortable boots. Great heelfit

Rocked my Lowa Zephyrs till the soles fell off. Great boot. Now using the Salomon Quest 4Ds. So far so good

I was in a CAV unit for 6 years, 1 deployment...my standard issue summers and winters have lasted me for 9 years! I am an avid hiker and camper now. Have been out of Army for 5 years, not 1 failure with my rock kickers! Gave my son my extra summers and winters, had him break them in properly - took 2 weeks - fits awesome now.

I've only been in 6 years, but my Rocky S2V's have been with me the whole way. Got 'em after AIT and now I'm in OCS. Great boot.

I just came across this today three years late I've been watching your videos for at least 2 years thank you for your service I never served and thank you for the free knowledge that you give us

I used to have so many problems finding the right boots. But then Salomon finally released some good wide toe box boots and I haven't looked back since. Amazing how much difference it makes.

I'm a big fan of Scarpa boots, specifically their "approach shoe" called the Scarpa Zen Pro. I had the outsoles replaced, but the uppers are in perfect shape, even after ten years. They make really serious hiking boots as well. Italian brand, this model was made in Romania.

Salomon GTX were my daily non-work footwear for about 3 years. Can't rate them high enough Recently upgraded to the X Ultra, basically the same thing but the new version. The old ones are still good but just starting to wear the grip down under the ball of my foot so I've put them aside as a spare pair. But they're the low cut model and doesn't provide any ankle support, but they do make moving quickly much easier... like everything, it's a trade-off

I’ve spent several days researching hiking footwear. I’ve gone back and forth on my choices due to so much confusing and conflicting information. Just as I was reaching my limit, but refusing to quit my search, I stumbled on this video. After the video was over I was left with clarity and direction. I immediately purchased the Salomon Outward GTX (suited my budget more than the boots featured in this video), but both the X Ultra and Quests are on my radar. Thank you for the solid advice.

I like how whenever I need advice on certain recce equipment, there’s always a garand thumb video. Love this channel so much

16:43 Garand Thumb forgot to recover them in the next video and to this day they’re still doing push-ups.

For my leather steel toe boots I normally treat them with Ballistol. I spray it down liberally on a Friday and let it sit until Sunday. I wipe off any excess and it breaks in the boots well but also helps with rain and snow. Just what has worked for me. I’m sure there’s better or different methods. Thanks for the video, even though it’s like 2 yards old lol

Thanks Garand Thumb. This info helps alot the older I get more I have to be selective about what type of boots I have. I do alot of walking in security and military and lately starting to have foot problems based on the type of boot I selected.

Great job on the videos, all very informative and well put together. Semper Fi!

Had great personal experiences with the Rocky S2V standard, (Non-Jungle, Gore-Tex, Insulated). First pair lasted 3 years before the outsole wore out.

I've been watching all the "what should I have or wear" videos on the channel. But the real important question is what kind of tactical hair cut should I have?

Thanks I’m going to be needing a good pair of boots,I been watching all your videos and I appreciate it Ty bro.

Thanks for solving a mystery I've had for a long time. I also spent a long time in the ARMY. Combat arms, jump school at Benning, etc. and I wore the jungle/jump boots almost all the time. I ALSO can't feel my big toes and middle toes on both feet. I have no other medical conditions that would produce the loss... has to be the boots. The military boots are cost-effective and last a long time... that's all the ARMY cares about. They don't care about permanent damage, pain, being uncomfortable, etc. In fact, I could sum up being in the ARMY with one word... uncomfortable. The civilian shoe companies take the time to build a quality boot AND add all the extra comfort, etc. features. Good advice, go with civilian-made boots, they're just better.

It would be cool seeing a video on what type of arctic gear you guys primarily use and prefer. - From your arctic Swedish marine brother :-)

Interesting! I never even heard of Solomon before a couple of years ago. I now use Solomon running shoes exclusively and recommend them highly. I constantly fight with finding correct width for my shoes. I got lucky with the Solomons, they were on sale half price via Amazon. They were still nearly 100 bucks but worth it as they lasted a whole year of running and biking. I saw the list price at ~$180 bucks and it has been my experience that $150-$200 is the sweet spot for professional / serious, specific footwear so I took a chance and was rewarded. I will definitely give the Quest a shot for my next boot. Thanks again for your wealth of information!

Love your video man keep up the good content

In the Austrian army you have the so called "Belastungsübung" at the NCO academy. Basically a march with about 100lb of gear where you have to do several combat tasks inbetween in the role of the squadleader. In the end we walked 105km with about 4000 height meters. I used the Lowa Mega Camp for that. Great boot for that distance and that extra weight. Unfortunately they got leaky afterwards, now I'm using the Hanwag Alaska GTX but never had to walk over 40km with them.

I have the Rocky s2v and love em. But then again I also like my Merrells.

I got issued lowa renegades and alot of my teammates got the solomons shown first. Both are good but the solomons are so much more durable than anything else I’ve seen, very good choice imo.

My favorite All around boots are definitely the Garmont Extreme GTX's. Really affordable, incredibly comfortable. And Goretex. I love the tread on them too. They just run narrow, so getting the wides is definitely a must.

Good to see you recording with your chest rig on, you never know when the Trolls will attack!

Being confined by AR 670-1 for the last 18 years, I’ve got some favs that meet regulation. The old 10” combat boot was great for road marches because of the ankle support. The Belleville 700 was a great mid temp boot gortex lined. The Belleville 390 was a big improvement over the jungle boot IMHO, though they are missing the drain holes. Glass half full 🤷🏻‍♂️. As far as SNO seal goes, it doesn’t have enough conditioner IMHO. I’ve got a method for leather boots that’s worked for me and usually, with resoling etc, I can keep a pair 10+ years. SNO Seal isn’t a bad product by any means but it shouldn’t be the ONLY product you use.

I just bought that VS GEN IV chest rig you’re wearing there. It is absolutely fantastic.

I've used the Salomon Quest 4D for about 3 years, it's an excellent fit for my foot type and really well constructed. Definitely always try on a pair of boots before you buy, whatever size you think you are you'll find probably won't be true for whatever brand footwear you try on, I've worn anywhere from a UK size 9 to a size 11 depending on brand, and some brands are completely out of the question for me, too short often in my size and the size which has the right length will be too wide to properly support my foot. After 3 years got my hands on another pair of Salomon Quest 4Ds, this time in forces burro colour.

When I was in the tacp pipeline I heard the guys that owned the s2v's loved them, I used the McRae's and they weren't terrible lol

Merrell Moab ventilators and Keen Durands are my two absolute favorites.

Salomon XA Force Mid - unbelievable, best pair I've ever worn.

Quest 4D ftw ! 17 years of buying and trying and these are by far the best I had. It’s all I wear for work now (Infantry) and they don’t tax your feet on long loaded (90lbs+ walk) and allow you to keep going without your feet and legs being sore after an effort. Also Salomon Jungle Ultra. Running shoes feeling, lightweight, some ankle support and protection against debris and what not. Lightyears ahead of the issued USGI jungle boots.

Love the Lowa Zephyr. Really give stability even when they are older and have some miles on them. Synthetic/leather

Wool soc, j soc, mar soc, snow seal ;) thanks for the advice Mr. Thumb.

The salamons that I got are great, I did a couple of hikes in them almost right of the box and had no problems

I use those exact Solomon boots for backpacking in the mountains.

Can’t beat my crocs.

Solomon makes incredible off-road shoes/boots.

Been wearing my Danner boots almost every day since early October. Very good quality and still have another year or so left in them. Use them for almost everything from range days to hiking to my job in Corrections. Very pleased with them.

After watching this video, I went out and bought a pair of Salomon Forces Quest 4D GTX 2 EN and they're great. Very light, fit perfectly, and comfortable as hell. I had a fusion on my right big toe because the cartiledge was gone. This limits the type of footwear I can wear. I was used to Timberland 6" boots for the toe room, but they are heavy and not that comfortable... Plus, I had to leave them unlaced because they made my feet swell up. With the Salamons, I can wear them with the laces tied up to the top and no issues. Expensive, but worth every penny.

Really good advise on the wax treatment of leather boots. Just to add on to that, avoid using any leather treatment that has oil's such as mink oil. That oil will penitrate through the leather and under the rubber rand around the base of the boot and will disolve the glue holding it in place. Make sure to always use wax!

I am a civilian landscaper, the Saloman Quest 4D are amazing I got almost 2 years of everyday wear. Great suggestion superb boot suggestion.

I never served, but love tough gear. Having said that, I worked standing on my feet outside for a decade in zero degrees in the winter to 100 degrees in the summer through snow and rain and mud, on ladders and roofs. And I tried various footwear including Nike sneakers, insulated moto-touring boots, surplus jungle boots, Hitecs, and Wolverine Durashoks with steel toes, as well as Salomans, Merrels, and the cheapy Chinese boots that barely last a season. I noticed many boots just need better insoles for being on your feet for 12-16 hours outside. I did notice the jungle boots tended to cut into the top of my feet and made my feet tingle and burn. Same with the steel toed Wolverine Durashoks making the outer part of my big toes numb, but they lasted several years and were the most bearable long term with their air cushions. The Merrels were okay. The Salomons were great! Both wore out in two seasons. The most comfortable footwear I found were unfortunately Nike Air Force hitops with extra thick insoles. This was back when Nike made shoes out of leather, not plastic and rubber mesh. The Hitecs sucked in the summer. Too hot. and the soles separated. The moto-touring boots(Technik and Alpinstars) were warm and resisted snow in the winter but with the stiff ankles made me walk up steps and ladders bowlegged. There is definitely a group of "BAD" boots and "Less BAD" boots for every scenario...its really an individual thing.

Thank you for your service and taking the time to share. 🇺🇸

You gave me a flashback when you talked about artic gear. I remember the Mickey Mouse boots that you have to blow up to create a thermal barrier and all the rest of the gear that went along with them. I always thought the shower idea helped to form the leather around your foot. It worked for me in basic training.

From my personal experience from doing a lot of backpacking with heavy weight packs I really like Asolo’s TPS 520 GV EVO. It’s a leather boot with great support and comfort. The only problem is after 8 years and 200+ miles the polyurethane midsoles fell apart. These are the same leather boots he uses.

I think the best advice is yes the socks are important , I love the merino with a silk liner. And once you find the perfect boot for you..there is no break in period required. My new Rockports feel just as comfy as always. Thanks for your attention to detail

As an army cadet I have went through some boots I am on my last few weeks before aging out and what worked for me well was altberg warriors with combat socks

As someone blessed with wide feet I have ended up gravitating to Keen and Lowa. Also be sure to get aftermarket insoles because the ones that come with most boots are barely better than a slice of cardboard.

Hey there, if you feel so inclined to try a new boot that I have some great overseas experience with, try a German company called Meindl. Cabela's actually carries some of their line if you're not looking to order from across the pond. Anyhow, I wore their Denali boots all over Europe and Afghanistan and they are some of the most comfortable and waterproof boots I've ever owned. I'm talking standing in running streams and no water seeping through. Obviously it wasn't above top of the boot, which is about 8 inches, but still impressive non the less. I also picked up a pair of their Desert Fox boots at a Dutch PX in Afghan, and literally took them straight out on patrol with no problems whatsoever. You're going to pay a pretty penny for them, but Germany builds things to last apparently.

100% I agree with you about the jungle boots. My feet have never been the same after wearing them through MCT. They’re not bad after you get them broken but it is hell getting to that point.

In the summer Salomon,winter Zamberlan great video on boots keep up the great work.👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

I’ve found that minimum rise heels work well for me, specifically with a fracture vertebrae/lower back issue. Helps with lining up hip and knee joints. Not the greatest under heavy loads, but your backs fucked regardless at that point, but for me recovery time is quicker.

Lowa Zephyrs all the Way! And Z8S ! Best boots ever used! 🤩🤔

Glad you brought up jungle boots. I avoided wearing my issued jungles through all of basic, and I wore my icb's the whole time, june-sept parris island. I had to wear the jungles for about 2 weeks, and I also lost all feeling in my toes

I watched this years ago when I was trying to find good boots in the Regular Army. I went with the Rocky S2Vs on your recommendation. Overall they have been the best I've tried. I still wear them as a LEO and in the Guard. Thank you.

When I got my 1st pair of Danner's in the Marine Corps, and got AWAY from my Jungles and Cadillacs my feet THANKED me 1000 times! Bates hot weather were great, just didn't last as long as the Danner's. Then The Corps got us Danner's RAT boots, issued every 6 months and my wallet thank me 1,000 times! 😂

Heartening to know that I wasn't alone in damaging the nerves in both my big toes from those jungle boots... wish I knew it could've been avoided with just a different pair of boots.

I'm currently in search of boots, which is why this video probably popped up. That and Garand Thumb puts out fun and informative videos! As a mechanic, I've worn the issue boots almost all my 30+ year career. The steel toes generally sucked but the others weren't too bad. Until I got a pair of Belleville steel toes about the time we were switching from black boots to tan. Those boots were the most awesome boots I've ever had, and I'll still wear them around the yard and in the home shop after 15 years. I bought another pair of Belleville steels about a year ago and they're just not the same. My feet are killing me after a day of drill and with the supply system, you get what you get. So it's on the hunt for some decent dog covers that aren't going to kill them.

German Soldiers following you! ;-) Prost! ;-) Keep up the good work, stay safe n' sharp. Greetings from Africa.