Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/861022
Boots were produced in sizes from 3 to 14, every half size, and in seven fittings (XXN-XXW, without some of the combinations). It resulted in 133 sizes, so it was rather difficult not to find a right one. The size was chosen with special templates. In practice, soldiers started wearing those boots somewhere around 1986-87. In 1993, there was a time for some modifications. Above all, the solution with speed lace grommets along the whole length of the shoelace was a bad idea - when someone tried to tie the boots, the whole shoelace could shift to the left or to the right and everything had to be done from the start. The problem was solved by the application of two standard holes in the bottom. You did not have to exchange the heeltaps – getting a new pair of boots after two or three years was a far better solution. What is more, heeltaps fixed individual with nails and adhesive deteriorated the reliability of footwear made in the perfect DMS construction. Even today, if we bought such boots produced as a part of the first production batches in 1985, I guarantee you that there would be some mechanical fatigue of the old, dried leather after a year or two, rather than the DMS sole would peel from the rest of the boot. After 1993, the insoles were modified, replaced by PU foam ones. The last boots were produced in years 2003/2004 (SPO100-03-D-0371). InfanTry ComBaT BooTs NSN 8430-01-502-XXX Standardized on 28 October 2002 and produced only in 2003. ICB were based on USMC boots from the second half of the 1990s. They were made of a combination of leather and GORE-TEX membrane. They were 8.5-inch high. They were to replace the standard leather Combat Boots and were a sort of a test before the introduction of new Army Combat Boots from ACU. They significantly differed from previous Combat versions. The construction of the sole was changed completely and the speed lace was removed for the first half of the lacing system. In practice, those boots were used for a relatively short period. BooTs, HoT WeaTHer They were used in tropical regions in the 1980s and produced in an unchanged form since 1967. They were facilitated with Panam sole according to DMS construction and a standard lacing system. Their top consisted of a combination of a leather toe cap and heel with an olive upper reinforced with nylon bands. Such footwear was not distributed as summer boots. When distributed, they were only provided for soldiers stationing in tropical areas. However, very often soldiers bough Jungle Boots personally and used them with BDU Type III. The last time when the boots were distributed to soldiers took place during Operation Desert Storm, whereas their production ended in 1988. Since 1991, a new variant had been produced (NSN 8430- 01-312-XXXX standardized on 22 December 1989), the olive cotton canvas was replaced with black Cordura, while the classic lacing system – with a speed lace system, in which the first two holes were standard-type. In 1993, the upper of the boots was modified by the addition of soft sponge on the top for anti-abrasion properties. Later on, the inserts were replaced with PU ones. Unfortunately, such changes affected the comfort. That variant of the boots was produced until 2004 (SPO100-03-D-0374). other AcceSSorieS undersHIrT, man's, QuarTer sleeVe, Type I, Class 3, BroWn 436 NSN 8420-01-112-14XX UNIFORMS