Bates Footwear just gave us some great news. Named in honor of the Viet Nam War-era Reconnaissance Commando program, the Recondo Jungle Boot from Bates Footwear will make its debut at this week’s Warrior East expo. I’ve had a couple of chances to check the boot out over the past few months and it’s exciting to see what footwear manufacturers has developed to satisfy SOF requirements for a boot for hot-wet environments. The Army also has a requirement for a jungle boot which it is investigating via the resurrected Soldier Enhancement Program. Already, they have issued a Sources Sought Notice to industry and this is the Bates entry. I like what I see in the Bates Recondo. They’ve integrated several new materials along with a linerless design for quick drying and a new proprietary outsole.
Recondo™ Boot Provides Special Forces Operators With Innovative Quick Drying and Durable Solution for Multi-Terrain Regions
ROCKFORD, MI (July 7, 2014) – Bates Footwear, a division of Wolverine Worldwide (NYSE: WWW) announced today the launch of the Recondo jungle boot, a low-absorption, quick drying, durable solution designed to provide secure footing in multi-terrain jungle regions. Named for the Reconnaissance and Commando Training Course developed in the 1950s at Fort Campbell, the Recondo meets the need for a Berry Compliant jungle/tropical combat boot for today’s warfighters and peacekeepers.
To meet the demands of today’s evolving asymmetrical threats, Bates partnered with the United States Army Special Forces Command (USASFC) to develop the Recondo. Bates received valuable performance feedback after the 75th Army Ranger Regiment tested the Recondo in Central America during the winter of 2014. As a result, the Recondo boot delivers an exclusive lighter weight, quick drying durable leather and textile upper and has been designed to provide the best breathability possible for the spectrum of jungle combat situations.
“The Recondo provides a much needed jungle boot update for the next generation of our armed services,” said Bates Footwear President Onder Ors. “Based on the specific feedback we received from our development partners in the Special Operations Forces, Bates has created the only boot specifically engineered for hot, wet and humid combat environments common in tropical regions.”
The Recondo boot is made with Wolverine Warrior Leather™ which is lightweight, durable, breathable, and is water, stain, and oil resistant. The MultiCam® ripstop nylon fabric enhances performance as it is lightweight, abrasion resistant, and highly durable. The blended upper material is light, strong, comfortable and has near infrared properties (NIR) making the boot less visible in low light environments.
The Recondo utilizes a unique lacing system developed based on feedback from operators and incorporates Bates’ many years of experience with lace-to-toe styles. This assures that all users can easily utilize the speed lace system and achieve proper fit and closure.
The design of the solid rubber outsole is the Vibram® Mutant, which has a deeper, more aggressive lug depth for off road traction, a multi-directional leading edge that enhance slip-resisting properties, and a rounded heel for natural touch down. This sole design has also incorporated a customized rubber compound that is durable enough to withstand Special Operations Forces use in hot weather, temperate weather, and mountainous operational environments.
The Recondo boot is being officially launched at the ADS Warrior Expo East in Virginia Beach, VA, on July 10th and 11th. This premiere industry event brings end users, program managers, and procurement specialists together with industry-leading solutions providers in an environment designed specifically for government and defense organizations. The Recondo will be available for purchase beginning Fall 2014. Visit warrior-expo.com for more information on the event.
Tags: ADS Inc, Bates Footwear
Great, a boot nobody but snake eaters can wear. Thanks Bates, glad us grunts never have to get our feet wet.
Apparently, you didn’t actually read the story.
I actually read the story and AZSergeant is right. The Multicam upper means us grunts outside of SOCOM can’t wear this.
I have clarified the story a bit since it wasn’t as obvious as I had intended. This boot will also be tested for the Army Jungle Boot program. Bates is a really smart company. If the Army tells them to make it in Pink, they are going to change the color. They are a business and that business is selling boots. it doesn’t do any good to build boots that no one will buy.
I was about to say that the winter of 2014 hasn’t came yet, then I realized we were talking about south america, D’oh!
It’s interesting to see these new hot weather boots, with features new and old.
The Pacific Pivot! 😉
The only thing I don’t like about these boots when looking at them is the multiple colors and multicam, just stick one thing please.
My mistake, the article says central america =/
Nice looking boot although I’m not crazy about the Multicam in the nylon, I would have preferred plain OD/Ranger green or even tan but that’s just me. I’m really curious about the lacing system, near as I can tell there’s nothing special about it except the use of regular eyelets and speed lace up top but I’m sure I’ve seen that on other shoes/boots before, or is the special part of it the flat laces which I’ve never seen in a military boot before?
Concur with Ricebal on concern over the lacing.
“The Recondo utilizes a unique lacing system developed based on feedback from operators and incorporates Bates’ many years of experience with lace-to-toe styles. This assures that all users can easily utilize the speed lace system and achieve proper fit and closure. ”
– How can the lacing system shown be considered a “lace-to-toe” system?
– What does this lacing system provide to some users who otherwise had problems achieving proper fit and closure?
– Will it be offered in NARROW widths … or does the vacuous copy above (cf. “assures that all users…”) indicate that Bates is clever enough (as a manufacturer looking to cut costs) and the military stupid enough (having lost the institutional knowledge indicating that a certain portion of the population will have narrow feet requiring properly constructed narrow footware) to spec out these boots without a requirement for narrow versions?
While I have never come across a strict definition of “lace-to-toe,” that does appear well short of being lace-to-toe. Also, the other aspects of the lacing system do not seem to be unique.
Hey thats cool, I graduated fron the Recondo course at Ft Bragg in the early 1980s’
glad to see a resurecrtion of the name. Hope the boots are good to go.
Hmmm, with others on hoping for other colors offered.
Funny. Was out hiking in the mud yesterday and one of the guys was pining for his old panama sole jungles.
FAST ROPING…….how long do you think these will survive after weeks in the jungle and doing a fast rope train up? A square heel, like the original Jungle boot is what works in the jungle, that rounded heel and sole isn’t going to cut it.
Agreed, rounded heel sucks, much less bite into the mud- tried it with converse boots and will never do it again.
Not sure what was wrong with the old jungle boot short of changing the leather colour?
Agreed
Guess all those years in Vietnam was wasted. Resurrect the Old Jungle boot. Not sure how suede will handle the jungle conditions or the adhesives on the soles. Another company looking to score taxpayer money.
Good points by Stefan regarding the suede and adhesives. I don’t see any drain holes either. The small holes in the arch in the pic only go through the suede, not the fabric.
Regarding jungle footwear, check out these vids from an expat Brit who lives in Malaysia and spends a lot of time on jungle treks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU21ZOFG8EI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXtB7Mv0qks
PLiner makes a valid point about the heel too. A rounded heel wont be any good (or sub optimal) in the regions it is intended for, where conversely heel strike injuries are unlikely to occur due to the soft nature of the Jungle floor. Seems a counter intuitive design.
The sole appears to be a modified version of what is on the M-8. Would you be able to verify SSD?
In the photo, it looks like the midlayer kinda flares out as it goes down to the wider sole. If so, that would tend to scoope up a lot more thick, goopy, heavy mud. I’m not convinced that anyone has significantly advanced the state-of-the-art past the tried, true, and TESTED, mud-shedding, old US GI Jungle Boot.
But, times change: “asymmetrical threats” must call for asymmetrical boots, for America’s boot “operators”.
Thorns. Big ones. The canvas or nylon duck was some protection- not sure about that rip stop cloth.
The older jungle boots with the panama soles were a good piece of gear.
We need them back.
I hope this good enough to replace my old OTB Junglelite.