Footwear

U.S. Mil. Bata Bunny Boots - Great for extreme cold weather.

I went and bought a pair of carhartt steal toe pull on boots, fully rated. They are my new !@#$ stompers. I made the move to pull ons a few years back and have been extremely pleased. If anyone is interested try some red wings, georgia or rocky's. I have never used carhartts till now so I cannot really recommend them.

If anyone has some recommendations ect lets discuss footwear here.

My tip:

Wear wool or wool blend socks to wick moisture away from ur feet to keep them dry. Cotton is no good, sweaty and smelly feet is all you get.



- NSBiz

I've worked in a few factories, and as far as being 'on my feet', I highly reccommend the o'l 'lightweight-steeled-toes'. The kind that 'allow' for breathing.

Now, as for the ones that are 'light-on-the-feet' kind? We have many 'accross the border - type brands', and in-home names in Canada, that are not only, 'sturdy-all-around', but great for hiking -long distances as well.

Carhett's are still 'top notch'. (still have a few in my closet)

Compair Carhett's Prices

Nothing but Doc Martens for me. I have had my heavily used pair for 3 years, and they're still great. Very comfortable, but could be better with breathing.

i wear wolverines my favorite pair are jack of all trades steel toed ,shock protection,punture protection ,waterproof, gortex liner warm during winter cool during summer.

I can understand the steel toes in a factory or somewhere it's required, but why would you wear them in a survival situation, they FREEZE your feet in cold and mess with your balance. (thats why ironworkers dont wear them, up on beams of a high rise its cold as # and you have to have excellent balance) I don't think they would give you much of an offensive edge in a fighting situation either, compared to some stiff boots and knowing how to kick. I'd say just grab a pair of regular ole' army boots and call it a day or get some nice hiking boots.

If you like to protect your toes, try Sievi or Jalas brand protective footwear. They have a nice composite tips that protect your toes without making them freeze. Same brands allso have a good type of combat boot in production.

Bunny boots are where its at in cold weather. I worked in Alaska on the north slope during the winter time, sixty below, my body was frozen but my feet were toasty. If you are looking for a pair of comfortable, durable as hell boots, whites are the best I have ever had. They are pricy but believe me they are worth every penny. I would stay away from military issue boots, im my experience with military issue gear(other then the bunny boots) it is cheaply made and shows when in use. I have hunted my whole life, spent countless hours outside, walking up and down hills, fighting cold weather, and the one thing that I have found is when it comes to footwear, dont buy something cheap. Another good option and a little cheaper then whites are danner, and irish setter. I have used both, and both wore out, but they were good while they lasted. Whites are awesome and well worth the money, in this mans opinion i wouldnt waste time and money on anything else.

The best boots that I have ever owned (and there have been a few!) are the Lowa mountain boots. Comfy, seriously hard wearing and light enough to be worn over long distance. They are goretex lined and are the choice of professional soldiers (and Royal Marines) all over the UK.

They are, in short, the dogs' danglies.

right now Im wearing Magnum tactical leather boots.
Great ankle support, very durable, good for standing all day & I even use them on the treadmill. I do that because if I get into the sheriff's dept. they train in full gear. I may as well get used to it.

They are not steel toe, but overall, I have bought 2 pair in 4 years, and I'm still not through this pair.

MAGNUM BOOTS WEBSITE

Paddy; Lowas are otherwise fine, but on my experience their soles are very slippery in snowy conditions. For example Viking boots work better in winter ops, but if snow is not an issue to you Lowas are very good.

Originally posted by northwolf
Paddy; Lowas are otherwise fine, but on my experience their soles are very slippery in snowy conditions. For example Viking boots work better in winter ops, but if snow is not an issue to you Lowas are very good.

Really? I hadn't noticed. My cousin (a Corporal in 42 Commando Royal Marines) swears by them for use in Norway, as do a couple of other friends in 3 Commando Brigade. I haven't much experience with them in the snow, so I can only go by others reports.

Still, you have more snow time than me (no doubt), so I'll bow to experience.

Cheers northwolf.

[edit on 26-4-2007 by PaddyInf]

I myself say that the "Dakota Duratoe" would be the best. They are CSA approved work boots. Instead of steel toe and shank(bottom plate) there made with a ceramic and Kevlar blend(don't really know) that is stronger then steel and lighter. They are also insulated for cold, shook resistance, somewhat water resistance, and antislip. I have used them on an iced covered deck and not fallen. When my coworker's did. They cost about $100 cdn at Mark's Work World. I don't really know how long they would last in post sit x world, I put them through hell and they last about a year.

No matter what boots you go with I suggest you invest in a couple of pairs of wool socks.

And if your Footwear is not water proof put a plastic shopping bag over your socks first. Do it carefully so it does not brake and your feet will stay dry all day long.

Originally posted by JoeHooper
And if your Footwear is not water proof put a plastic shopping bag over your socks first. Do it carefully so it does not brake and your feet will stay dry all day long.

I wouldn't recommend this. The plastic will make your feet sweat and the skin will become emaciated. They will start to rot very quickly. That is why you don't see plastic lined survival boots. In the absence of gore-tex or the like, stick with standard leather boots. Most importantly look after your feet!

Clean and dry your feet as part of your daily routine and allow them to breathe. Dust them with anti fungal foot powder and use clean dry socks whenever possible. Dry socks in front of a fire (or under your armpits etc if you have to). Be careful about drying feet in front of a fire if they are really cold. Lack of sensation can cause you to suffer from quite bad burns without realising it. It can also cause serious capillary damage. Best to warm them slowly and dry with a towel. This goes for both gore-tex lined and standard leather boots.

Don't rely on fancy linings. They do help, but don't let them take the place of a decent foot-care regimen. In Bosnia we were issued Gore-tex lined Pro-boots. After a couple of months some of the guys feet were in sh1t state. They hadn't been looking after their feet because they assumed that the fancy boots would mean that they didn't have to any more.

Clean all the mud off your boots - this will stop the acid in the soil from damaging the leather. Dry them overnight by stuffing them full of newspaper if you can. Otherwise let them dry naturally. DO NOT dry them in front of fire. The leather will crack and they will become unservicable in no time. Use dubbing or some other appropriate agent to waterproof them. Polish will do but is not as effective. If this is not available then you'll have to do without. Leather, if looked after, is surprisingly water resistant. Try not to use polish on gore-tex boots. It clogs up the pores, reducing the breathability of the lining and making your feet sweat more. Best to uses purpose designed compounds for cleaning lined boots.

The above comes from 17years of hard experience living and working in many different environments. Unless you are in a very hot environment, the above will do the business.

[edit on 12-5-2007 by PaddyInf]

[edit on 12-5-2007 by PaddyInf]

Paddy:
The plastic bag trick does work if you have to work in cold and wet conditions for a limited time. It will save you from catching a cold, but if you are going to be out for more than a few hours it will be bad.

Ps. If you don't have a pair of boots that you know and have experience with, use two pair of socks, that will help you to avoid blisters. Also spreadding baby powder to your boots helps too.

Pps. instead of armpits, try putting your socks to the crotch of your pants to dry them, works wonders with gloves so i assume it will dry socks too

[edit on 12-5-2007 by northwolf]

Dear Paddylnf

I don't know who lied to you but I live in a temperate-zone rainforest and work as a temporary construction worker who has from time to time worn plastic bags on my feet for 11 hours straight, when I didn't feel like taking my CSA approved rubber gumboots with me. The infection that you mentioned would take weeks to develop, if you didn't have time to air out your feet nightly.

PS. If you're so concerned about your feet do as they did in WWI and put Vaseline on your feet before you put on your regular socks then put on your wool socks. 1st pair for comfort, and the 2nd pair since no matter how wet they get wool socks will keep your feet warm (plan for the best, expect the worst).

Oh yeh if you want to waterproof your boots either use mink-oil or Dakota Duracare snow protector. I was lazy and didn't go to a leather shop when I lost my mink-oil and Duracare worked at least 1/2 as good (supposed to re-apply every 2 weeks insteed of monthly). Just easier to get than mink-oil. In sit x I would rather have mink-oil, it is more compact than Duracare.

Originally posted by JoeHooper
Dear Paddylnf

I don't know who lied to you but I live in a temperate-zone rainforest and work as a temporary construction worker who has from time to time worn plastic bags on my feet for 11 hours straight, when I didn't feel like taking my CSA approved rubber gumboots with me. The infection that you mentioned would take weeks to develop, if you didn't have time to air out your feet nightly.

No one lied to me. It's the voice of experience. I've seen it happen to refugees in Bosnia. They were living in cr@p conditions, their diet was limited, they were open to the environment and they were on their feet for days on end. Just the sort of conditions that you will probably be facing in Sit x. Some of them thought that it would be a good idea to use plastic bags on their feet. Due to combinations of the above problems several of them developed serious infections within a matter of days that were virtually untreatable by the limited medical facilities available short of amputation (another problem in a survival scenario).

Your experience is that of a westerner with a generally sufficient diet and access to hygiene facilities and clean water who does not have to live in the sort of conditions that we are talking about here. You have done this for short periods (1-2 days at a time). In a survival situation you will probably stuck like this for weeks at a time. A small cut or burst blister on the sole of your foot can develop into a festering sore in no time. See how long you last in these conditions if you can't walk.

Paddylnf the carpenter that taught me that trick worked with bags on his feet for 20+ years, in an area that gets rain for a month straight at least 3 times a year. You stated that the refugees walk for days straight to get somewhere. Where would you walk for days straight? After I get to my secure location all I will be walking for is to get fire wood, building materials, food and water -- all well within a days walk. Are you planning to walk yourself to death. You should figure out a closer place to hole up at.

In a mass survival situation, resources will be in very short supply and will be used up in no time. Remember, you will not be the only one who will be caught up in any such emergency, there will likely be thousands of others who will also be after food, clean water etc.

It's all well and good saying that you will find a nice little place to live it out, but history has shown that in any social breakdown of order resulting in a mass survival situation the only way to survive is to continually move on to new areas as resources are consumed by the masses. Maybe where you are there is an abundance of space and supplies for all, but in the UK there is a limited amount of space for a large number of people. This means that the only way to survive is to move on to pasturers new on a regular basis. A nomadic existence can be preferable.