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Mk III Combat Boots: Use, Maintenance & Other Stuff.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dessert Fox
  • Start date Start date
Hey all,
I just got my kit last Saturday, and I've been breaking in the boots all week (aka they only come off when I sleep  :blotto:).  Now, in my other shoes, I have arch support inserts.  I was wondering if there's any problems with putting the supports into the boots.
 
gun plumber said:
Also,if at any time you begin to suffer from shin splints, feet going to sleep on the march and\or extreame knee and back pain,a trip to the MIR would be justified.I pesonally sufferd with compartment syndrome for 5 years and finally went to the MO.The doc got me specialized orthodics and 2 pairs of Danners and now a 2 x 6 is a joke.
Just my 2 cents a little experience for ya to chew on.
Arte et Marte

Good advice especially for Reservists like me.  If you are feeling any kind of pain (pain, not soreness, there is a big difference) in your ankles, calves, knees etc, when doing ruckmarching, marching, or running, get in checked out ASAP.  There is nothing worse than not be able to go on a tour because your legs are screwed up so badly you need surgery to fix them, all because you didn't want to appear "weak".  Don't be like me, don't wait to get things checked.
 
Parsons said:
Lotta stuff said.

I experienced the same things with the black liner socks. Not a fan of them. I just end up wearing thick white / grey soled socks, with the green ones on top when wearing the WWB.
 
Yeah I hate the black socks. I like to wear the short/ankle sports socks with green over, and I've never had any problems.
 
I would suggest you need to walk more in your boots.  CWWB with black sock inner and green sock outer are good to go from my experience.... I've worn them at 10,000 feet, and 25 degrees Celcius in Afghanistan. 

Don't think you can find a magic panacea if you haven't been training.  Walk 6 km twice a week in boots with a ruck on your back and you will have no problems.  I'm certain I could put any one of the 20 or so pairs of Army boots I own and do 8 km without blisters.  It is conditioning not unlike any other type of conditioning.  Untrained and un-toughened feet will blister.
 
"Untrained and un-toughened feet will blister."

- Yup.

I was never issued Mark 1s.  I went from the old pebbled 'Ammunition Boots' to Mark 2s. I took a 9 1/2D.

When we went to the Mondo-point system in the early 80s, I was not properly fitted, and walked Auyuiituk National Park on Baffin Island it wet, ill fitting boots.  A year later, I told the old guy behind the counter at Base QM at CFRS, and he tossed me a pair of 7 1/2 - 8C, and said "Try these!"  Perfect.  I could - and did - run for miles in them, with issue insoles and Socks, Wool, Grey.

Getting ready for a Nijmegan Team in Lahr, I was advised to trade in the two pair I had worn out on Forced March Team before training for Nijmegan.  So I did.  Special order due to the C width.  back come two pair of Grebs.  To tight across the top.  All of my MKIIIs to that point were Sunbeams.  The Grebs started to flatten my arch.  I drew two pair of the next biggest size, and walked four days of 52 - 58 km in a new pair of boots that did not fit.  Taught me a few lessons:

1.  If at all possible, NEVER turn in both pair at once.  Especially on Ops or Trg.

2.  If sizes were perfect, boots would cost $1,000 a pair.  Sizes fall into contractual specifications, the looser the specs, the lower the boot price.  These 10Es don't fit and your last ones did?  See if the mfr is the same. Yes?  Try on another pair, then. If they came off a different machine, they might fit.

3.  If you are going to experiment, do it in garrison, and give yourself lots of time before deploying - if you can. Try one NEW item at a time - not new insoles with different socks in new boots under a full ruck cross country: that would be a roll of the dice.

4.  You can walk 200+ km in four days with ill-fitting boots, a ruck, a medic, and Motrin.  Now that you have read that here, there is no need to try it yourself.

5.  Once your feet get hardened to a particular boot/insole/sock(s) combo, keep them hardened.

When they gave me Vibram soles and orthotics, I started with broken in boots, had the Vibrams put on, broke the orthotics in slowly, had the boot upper stretched by QM, and when that combo worked, did Ruckmarches to prove the fit.  After that, I got a knew pair of boots Vibramed, stretched, and broke them in on alternate days.  Then I broke in my second pair of orthotics.

For the most part, I still wear Socks, Wool, Grey with the Mark 3s.  I find the US Army OD socks I bought in Hohenfels in 1987 still work good as well.

Tom





 
Hey Gents, go and get a piar of "Super Feet" for your combat boots, they are amazing... Plus you have great arch support in them  :salute:
 
I just got myself a pair of 'Super Feet' and I officially recommending them as well after trying them out.
 
Hey Tom, question for you. Do you just bring your combat boots to supply and ask to get them stretched or what? I have my orthotics and all but I don't like wearing the Mk III just because of the tight fit.
 
Yep.

Base QM in Wainwright has theses devices that fit into the boot like a shoe tree, then a turnbuckle sort of thingy epands up and can stretch the boot where the tongue is sewn to the upper over the top of the foot.  I think they spray it with alcohol, which meakes sense, because I have used Spray-Pam in the past. They wil keep them overnight, at least.

Tom
 
Thanks for all the replies to my question about the boots. I'm going to try out each of the opinions given here, starting with devil39's. Again, thanks. Much appreciated.  :salute:
 
well while your at it for comfort, i know tons of guys while we were in wainright that got chits to have their boots resoled with vibrams, but if your not lucky ebough to get yourself a chit for free vibrams, id recommend shelling out the money to get them resoled on your own, alot of footwear an shoe repair places can do it, it was 65 bucks a pair here in edmonton, and theyre worth their weight in gold
 
Does anybody know of a shop, prefferably in the Victoria area, where you can purchase new Mk III's?  I recently released to join the RCMP, but I miss my boots.

Stu
 
You mean they did not punch a hole in the upper tongue of each boot - so you can't exchange it - and then let you keep the boots?

Tom
 
They punched the holes all right, or rather, I punched the holes, but then they fired the boots into the bin with the rest of the crap.

Stu
 
i was issued 1 pair from my ASU. i wasn't supposed to get them however i didn't get what i was supposed to, i got the WWBs and 1 pr of safety boots (my ASU didn't have anythign else in my size) so I'm going to get chewed out on basic and so on. but from what some officers who i know that have them tell me they are great for the temp range they are designed for... i guess ill just find out soon enough
 
Okay, so I got issued two pairs of Mk IIIs.

I broke them in two ways.

Pair 1 was broken in via the traditional "walk around" method.  I wore them and moved about in them.
Pair 2 was broken in via the quick, hot water method.

Here lies the problem.  Pair 1 polishes up great.  No complaints from anyone.  Pair 2, while nicely broken in, don't polish up so great.  Whereas Pair 1 gets a nice shine, Pair 2 is rather dull.  They've never got that nice shine to them  I wore Pair 2 to parade last night, and at inspection I was told to polish up my boots (they had a fresh coat on) and at the end of the night, I was told my boots look like crap (although, by thhat point the toes were scuffed up some).

So, how can I get the shine back on these boots?  Is there something I can do, or some product I can use so I don't continuously get flak for not polishing boots that in fact receive a good amount of polishing?
 
Combat boots don't shine very well when brand new anyway... you just need to get a few layers of polish on them.

If what you're saying is that they were broken in using the hot water method and not used otherwise, then no worries, just keep wearing them and polishing them using regular kiwi polish, and they'll be fine. Eventually. Nothing else you can really do.
 
They have not been used very much at all.  They have been polished a few times, but not nearly as many as my other pair.  I'll just keep at it.
 
Put the polish on them, and dip the  brush in VERY cold water and brush shine them.

Or, put them otside for a bit in the winter, then brush them.

when i taught in Cornwallis, I would put my ankle boots in my bar fridge overnight, then spit shine them in the morning.

Tom
 
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