Constructed with an upper made from a combination of leather and Kevlar, Wellco’s new Hybrid Hiker also features a sharkskin toe cap and heel counter. The outsole is a custom Vibram design. The Made in USA Hybrid Hiker makes a great alternative to commercial hiking boots having been designed specifically to fulfill the Army’s need for a light mountain boot.
To order visit www.wellco.com.
Tags: Wellco
So much better than what they have going on right now. Those danner boots are garbage.
But still price prohibitive to the average Joe.
Outrageous prices of all the new “Mountain Warfare” style boots! How can the average US military fighting man really afford these type of boots? I sure hope that they’re in the supply line for our troops. Whats going on with the USMC RAT boots? A recall on Bates made boot? And the Danners are twice as much ? Its just ashame that the gear cost so much for our front line troops.
There are two factors at work here and it affects our industry across the board. Issue one is Berry compliance meaning Made in USA with materials of US origin. This alone is very expensive. The second issue is pricing. For many of these products the price is set at a wholesale rate that will allow the manufacturer to cover their costs plus a profit. The US Government is going to pay wholesale of maybe even sub-wholesale. The US Government always likes to get a deal. In order for the manufacturer to make this possible often times retail prices are set at a higher rate than what the average consumer would expect. Retail prices are often used to substantiate and support Government pricing schemas. Ultimately, the product is never really intended for commercial retail sale and the Government is the real client.
Make sense?
@Administrator…. Yeah, it does, I understand the Berry compliance issue and the Gov’t/commercial sales and manufacture profits. I look at it from the enlisted/veteran side of the issue. There were many times while in my years of service that I had made many private purchases on gear that was the latest, greatest and better than the issued gear. I had spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars in the process. I just hope the military has been doing a better job of issued gear fairness to troops that truly need the latest and greatest. Getting it to front line troops like Infantrymen and other combat MOS folks….I would always remember seeing the REMFs, brass, pouges and non-combat support elements with the better gear. Buying Gortex Danners for a PFC in 1996 was a whole pay check! I just hope that the COMBAT TROOPS are getting it issued, and not having to buy it themselves or have their family buy it for them.
I do like the boots, they have been the best looking ones so far, Hope they meet the challenge of troop use and abuse in A-Stan. If they didn’t cost so much, I’d like to buy a set for myself!!
The American service member is the best equipped warrior in the world but there will always be something better. It’s up to the individual whether he wants to buy that something. For those individuals, who look at this as a profession, these are tools. For others, they are things you wear or carry. It all depends on how you look at what you do. The guy who wants the best will pay for it. Remember, buy quality; cry once.
Pretty similar to the Lowa Elite Desert boot.. I’m not up on what you guys can and can’t purchase, but I used Lowa Elites in Baghdad and foind them hard wearing and comfortable. I do appreciate we operate in a different environment now but I think they’re up to the job.
With your own dime you can purchase anything. Whether or not you can wear it is up to your Chain of Command. On the other hand, for unit purchases, you can buy textile products from any origin as micro purchases which sit under the Berry threshold of $150k. There are other loopholes such as purchasing them while deployed overseas.
Cheers for the info!