Currently, the US Marine Corps issues the Rugged All Terrain (RAT) Combat Boot in both Hot and Temperate Weather variants produced by several manufacturers including Wellco. AFMO currently has a smoking deal on the Hot Weather version of these boots which have become very popular due to their “shark skin” capped toe and heel. They feature a lace to toe upper with nylon sides to help combat the heat paired with a Vibram sole.
Get yours from www.afmo.com.
Anticipating a wholesale switch to brown boots for the UK military in order to blend in better with their new MultiCam-based pattern Multi Terrain Pattern (MTP), specialist cobbler Altberg boots has introduced several of their models in brown. For example, here is the Bergen, one of their rough terrain models.
Mission Ready Equipment is offering the Sheriff of Baghdad Boot Lace Kit. The concept is simple, it’s a cordloc you add to your boot laces in order to rapidly don and doff your boots rather than fumbling with tying laces. The kit comes complete with all of the parts needed to modify your laces.
Interested? To get a set, order a Sheriff of Baghdad B Sling and get your boot lace kit for free OR, you can order the boot lace kit from Mission Ready Equipment for $4.00.
Starting now through Midnight on this Christmas Eve, Magnum will be donating $1 to Operation Gratitude for every Facebook “like” to Magnum’s page and/or designated Ops Gratitude image on their Facebook Page (up to $1,000).
Help Magnum celebrate this holiday season by giving back!
The Inov8 Roclite 295s that we mentioned awhile back are now in stock exclusively at Extreme Outfitters. Available in Black and Tan they are designed specifically for trailing running and hiking.
To save an extra 10% put SOLDIERSYSTEMS at checkout. Additionally, Extreme Outfitters ships free.
We are a little late reporting this one but last month Adidas purchased specialist outdoor footwear brand Five Ten for a cool $25 million. This is significant for two reasons. First, Adidas used to make THE assault boot, the GSG9. It was a very comfortable boot although it suffered from three issues. It was expensive, difficult to procure due to limited production, and didn’t last very long. (Un)fortunately, Adidas developed the so-called GSG9.2 in 2006 to improve the durability of the style and update it’s features but the resulting shoe leaves a lot to be desired.
The second significant issue with this buyout is that Five Ten has developed several tactical styles such as the Valor and seems to be on the path to do more and more. So, here’s to hoping that Adidas let’s 5.10 do what it does best.
You might well know the shoe company ECCO, but what you probably don’t know (and we didn’t either) is that they have introduced a line of performance socks utilizing drirelease, a moisture wicking material that dries 4 times faster than cotton. While there are a number of types available for a variety of applications, the Technical Socks might be just the ticket for cold weather use. In addition to padding along the bottom of the foot and the heel, the sock also incorporates shin padding which may be idea for certain applications.
This video gives you an inside look at the manufacture of SmartWool socks at their factory in the US. It’s a cool video that shows you the machinery at work and gives you a good idea of how the socks are made.
However, please remember, not all SmartWool products are manufactured here and although there are Merino sheep here in the US, Merino Wool is a product of New Zealand.
