Jack boots

If i remember correctly, for a regular soldier there's two models, the pre/early war boot that comes up to near(ish) the knees and a wartime model which is pretty much the same but shorter to save leather.

Jackboots can be a bit tricky. If you can find them for the right price, East German or Soviet jackboots aren't a bad option but prices have been going up as they've become rarer. Modern Bundewher parade boots are also a good look, well made too but normally need a good greading to soften them up and again, can be pricey. A cheaper option is Czech communist jackboots: https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/ ... plus/30672 don't look perfect up close but they're pretty good and it's only airsoft after all. There's several different models of reproduction boots available that start at pricey and only go up, you can spend as much as you want on repro boots! Whatever you go for be sure to buy some dubbin and give them a few coats then stomp around in them a fair bit to break them in before playing in them.

I always try and buy footwear where I can try them on, a baggy tunic is no big deal but ill fitting footwear can be painful I bought my short boots at Dead Mans Corner while on holiday in France and my jack boots at the Yorkshire Wartime Experience where both Militaria Net (where I got them) and Richard Underwood had stands. Have a look to see if any of the suppliers are near you or they are exhibiting at a WW2 show in your area. Other than that Matts advice is good, I haven't worn my jack boots to a game yet but they are dubbined up and broken in with a few country walks

I got some of the post war bundasware ( excuse the spelling) boots ,the quality is very good but they take a lot of breaking in ,I'd suggest at least a month and plenty of leather softener ,see my "breaking bund" thread .if you get them a week before the game they will shred your feet but that's general good advice about boots ,nothing can ruin your day like foot ware .

Yeah that was a worry of mine, just how long they will take to wear in, I always wanted to get something as close to the originals as possible, but does seem a lot of money to spend on something your going to drag through the mud, maybe the look-a-likes will do the job just as well, I did also notice at the last ww2 game I was at most of the German players tended to wear lower boots rather than jack boots, I guess its a combination of comfort vs look

I picked up East German surplus boots from Epic Militaria.
Really came down to who had them in my size :O

The Jack boot (marching boot )was early war ,later on they moved to the low boot as it was more practicle and less leather was needed ,if you want one boot for the whole war then Jack boots cover it but low boots are more comfy .
My Jack boots came from epic as well but the leather was like iron when they arrived ,it took over a month of walking the dogs in them and plenty of leather softener to make them usable ,its worth looking at the price of leather softened and dubbin etc and adding it to the cost of the boots if you get the post war ones from epic then you can do a propper price comparison with repro boots ,it narrow the price gap a bit .

I would prefer jack boots to low boots, but all comes down to price I guess, is there much point in paying quite a lot of money just to drag them through the mud and ruin them, I've looked on both epic and sof, some slight variation in what they sell, I only think you cant tell is how well they will hold up in the field, if they fall apart after a tiny bit of use are they worth it! With the low boot did the Germans wear gaters for ankle support!?

The east German ones are closer in design to wartime jackboots than the bundeswehr one's. I got ddr one's and had them resoled.

Leather like iron, five coats of neatsfoot oil and lots of leather softener internally, took a while to break in, but they are OK now. You just need to wear them a lot.

You can get repros of course, both mass produced and hand made. The proper army boots are somewhat better made than the cheaper repros.

Low boots are worn with gaiters, and if you've dubbined your boots properly, no amount of mud, rain, cow crap or whatever is going to ruin them. Scrub them off and redubbin, as much as possible.

Cheers
Martin

No need for my favourite panto softener then? 'Piss in Boots'

No need for my favourite panto softener then? 'Piss in Boots'

I've never try'd it but am curious how well it works ,I think some of the over the counter products are based on some form of urine and oil mix .

No need for my favourite panto softener then? 'Piss in Boots'

I've never try'd it but am curious how well it works ,I think some of the over the counter products are based on some form of urine and oil mix .

Yeah that was a worry of mine, just how long they will take to wear in, I always wanted to get something as close to the originals as possible, but does seem a lot of money to spend on something your going to drag through the mud, maybe the look-a-likes will do the job just as well, I did also notice at the last ww2 game I was at most of the German players tended to wear lower boots rather than jack boots, I guess its a combination of comfort vs look

Well now we're going to get technical... a large number of us were playing as Gebirgsjaeger, German mountain troops, who almost never wore jackboots so the rule of thumb for them is lowboots with putees (if you have them) or gaiters (if you don't). Low boots with gaiters also became more common later war so you'll see them about a fair bit, the advantage of course is that pretty much any boots look the part with gaiters wrapped around the top.

Yes, any old boots and gaiters will look like low boots, and as BF says, post 1943 low boots were pretty much the order of the day. British Combat Highs will do double duty as FJ jump boots, and when worn with gaiters, looks like low boots. They are notorious for blistering though, so go big and wear thick socks.

Cheers
Martin