SOF's Jump Boots

As far as I know the more expensive ones are made in Mexico under licence from a US company & the cheaper ones are made in China, I have the SOF service shoes ( low boots ) from China & they are quite good, I hear the cheap SOF roughout boots fall apart.

Ste.D

Thanks very much.

We each have a pair of the "Corcoran" i.e. expensive ones.

They're very well made and sturdy, ours are over 2 years old and no problems so far.

They take a bit of wearing in, and the soles are rubbish for grip in the wet, there's just no tread on them, maybe because that's the original pattern or something.

Probably. I'm not sure whether they import the cheaper ones or make them themselves. If they do import I hope they're as good as the WGP or ATF ones.

Sorry if this is straying off topic a bit, but what d'you think of these...

http://www.paratrooper.fr/product_info. ... eee5130a2d

They're cheaper than the SOF expensivo ones and they look alright, but you never know.

I bet they aint made in the US 88 euros = $118 US Dollars, I would go with these that look exactly the same,

http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-US-Army-Paratr ... dZViewItem

$88 Dollars is about 65 euros, the Spearhead militaria (Barry Lyndon) stuff is quite good, I have had several things from him, bear in mind any ww2 US boots will not be as comfortable as modern ones like magnums etc,

Ste.D

Thanks for the tips. Just need to try and find them in size 13 now, big feet have always been a problem.

I have had two friends buy Cost A Fortunes (SOF) cheap jump boots, both have some very badly placed nails in the sole that came throught the day they bought them and some parts seemed very badly made. Buy Corcoran every time... they are an amazing boot that will last many many years, have had mine about 5 years now and well worth the money

Pay the extra and get the Corcoran Boots, they are extremely comfortable, I hear the knock off versions give you no end of foot trouble!

I got Corcorans. Bloody comfortable. As Barrie says, very slippy in mud and pine needles, but that's what the soles were like so....

The only issue is that the modern leather is painted instead of dyed so it scuffs off. There's a debate as to whether to strip the paint off and dye with wax, have to say they look awesome when stripped and re-dyed, but it takes ages and is very messy.

http://www.wwiireenacting.co.uk/forum/v ... hp?t=29483

http://ww2reenactors.proboards35.com/in ... 1068855977

Just got 2 pair of Buckle Boots from the US for £40 inc p&p.

http://www.specialforces.com/store/cust ... =657&page=

They are same as UK size 12 so fit me ok.

The look is close enough to WW2 US 1944 issue and the price was 1/4 that of Chinese copies, these also have better grip than a US or copy.

I have applied dubbing on 1 set to water proof them, I am told many would have axle grease etc rubbed into them to do this but many WW2 buckle boots seem to have brown polish applied to them to keep the water out.

Here are some M1943 US buckle boots.

Edit
Here a some WW2 period buckle boots.

Looks good - I see them a lot at militaria fairs and they are very passable for M193's. (FNG Supplies usually has a crate of them). Most of those that I have seen the leather has turned rock hard so passed them by. However, the sole grip looks much safer than the slippery ones I have.

Over the three years I had mine (the type SoF sells) I have used misc layers of soft clear wax & brown boot polish (and a few black polishes for 'patina' ) and so are not only waterproof but have also lost the 'rough out' and so are now smooth and shiny.

Yes I was trying to avoid the slip on ones arse part of WW2 kit

I could not find them in the UK so FNG has them oh well at £20 per pair from USA I can't moan and they fit ok.
Eyelets on one pair have corroded though so will have to replace them all.

I wear a pair of ATF Jump Boots, worth every penny.

FNG

How the smeg do you get in contact with these guys, their website has been down for aaaaages!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/US-WW2-STYLE-BUCK ... dZViewItem

They do pop up on Ebay from time to time.

Also try Ebay.Fr with the French for French,Army,Ranger or Para boots to see what comes up

Also i might be wrong but i think this is Lee from FNG on Ebay-if you cannot access his website you could ask him from here if he still has any of the French boots for sale????

They are usually at the fairs - is there an exhibitor list for Malvern?

Edit: just looked, list doesn't seem to have been updated...

Keep an eye out for them on the 19th then, I need a US army greatcoat for the Hurtgen game