RostokMcSpoons

Ah, ok, good info to have. It remains to be seen exactly what surface the Spec Ops CQB site will have though

Unsure whether to use the 'Cool AF' or 'Careful Now' button 😂

Dan, I've been looking at the YDS Kestrel boots, they're in stock in 10W for me, grade 1, and reviews seem positive though they're 'only' a patrol boot and thus not very 'technical' in their features. But they're relatively lightweight (1.7kg) and reviews say they are comfortable out of the box. And I stumbled across a pair in size 13W 😃 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325667286913 And here in standard width, in Aylesbury https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134126926082 (£50 for either pair) Now I have had my eye on a pair of used but excellent condition Iturri Desert boots on eBay for a while. Size 10 W but the seller won't take a return, so it's a bit of a gamble they would actually fit, but there for £35. And the listing only has another half an hour to run. Is that a good bet, or should i keep looking for the Cold/wet Iturri, or the Karrimor SF in preference?

I thought those Kombat UK looked the same as the Viper ones, that's useful info, cheers 👍

A very valid point! Here's my new thread

As per the title, this is a continuation of the discussion in the How Did Your Day Go thread which started when I mentioned my Karrimor boots had suffered a 'disruption to the natural order' during gameplay, which had necessitated zip ties, Gorilla glue and duct tape. That got me through the day, but has left me with either Clompy McClompy-Face boots (2.4kg of Austrian paratrooper boots - great in the mud, too heavy in the dry), or trainers (don't fancy twisting my ankle on a tree root thanks) So I need some new boots. Must have good ankle support, must be ok in a CQB battle area, must look vaguely military / tacti-cool, and preferably be cheap! My awkward foot size of 9.5 length and 11 for width means I'm probably searching for a 10 Wide or 11 Standard My shortlist looks like.... Wellco classic jungle boot £28 brand new, available in wide, slippery soles? Baltes German jungle boot, £35 grade 1, green and black for extra style points, better soles? Karrimor SF full leather wet weather boot, £50 grade 1, highly recommended Iturri Desert boot, £35 lightly used eBay, wide fitting, not great ankle support? Iturri Wet and Cold Weather boot, full leather, highly recommended Iturri Patrol boot, full leather ~£45 used on eBay Viper Multi-cam Spec Ops twin zip £80 YDS Kestrel patrol boot, £35 grade 1 A trip to bricks-and-mortar stores has added these expensive options, which might get a look-in if I can find 'em lightl;y used on eBay, or if I win the lottery / actually get a job Lowa Renegade GTX (£140 on-line, £215 in-store) - never mind the quality, feel the quality. Super comfortable even in a size too small! Salomon Quest 4 GTX (£120 on-line, £170 in-store) - look the part, super lightweight OEX (GO Outdoors / Blacks brand) Crusade Mid Height (£100-120ish?) - look good, very comfortable for my feet (I'll try to add some links in for the best prices I can find. It seems 10 / 11 are popular sizes so a lot of places just don't have stock) I've just found the German jungle boots are ~2.1kg which rather surprised me, and I'm a bit concerned a lot of the other boots are going to be heavier than expected. Maybe those expensive boots will become more attractive! Current front runners are the Iturri Cold and Desert boots, and the Karrimor SFs ... unless someone is going to put me off I'll probably try to find the best deal for one of those on eBay and go for it, because £35-£60 depending on condition on eBay makes them all a tempting value proposition. Some slightly tatty Lowa or Salomon boots at the same price might tempt me too, though.

~ Yes, sorry, that did occur to me halfway through proceedings - apologies. I'll start one!

I had ruled those out as a little too pricey, but I can feel some 'budget creep' coming into play here, I'll add them to my shortlist. £70 new, aren't they? Edit: £80, at the only place with any stock I've found, so far... https://www.horseandhoof.com/viper-special-ops-boots---multicam-68428-p Oh yeah, I've found my combat boots in the loft, and weighed 'em. 2.4KG for the pair. I suppose for a full height paratrooper boot in size 44, it's not actually outlandishly heavy. But they do feel hefty for sure. (Here are the same make / model boots in a recent ebay listing: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295588238936) Chances are I'll be either picking up something cheap (~£30) now, or wearing the chonky para boots next skirmish and hoping I get a job so I can treat myself to a pair of those Lowas (or something similarly fancy)

@rocketdogbert does the horse piss and shit come with the boots, or do I have to pay extra for that? Well that's quite a recommendation. And a very good price, compared to the sticker shock in the shop. However, we both know what happens when you recommend something to me matey.... :Goes off to search Alibaba for a cheap knock-off for a quarter of the price: In all seriousness, I am tempted. Given the intermittent use they'll get, they'll last me a lifetime and they'll look good when I wear them to the pub

That could just be the gearbox locking up in semi, and then getting cleared in full auto (that's a thing with some gearboxes - if you spam semi fast enough... someone please jump in to verify)

Went t'shops - Cotswolds/Trek (high-end), Decathlon (rubbish), GO Outdoors (sale) - tried on some boots... Cotswolds had Lowa Renegade GTX. Blimey that's a nice pair of boots, you can feel the quality oozing out of them (Like the River Ouse, but with fewer discarded condoms, and less effluent). And so they should be, for the Kingly (rather than Princely) sum of £215. Lovely though, very comfortable even in a slightly too narrow size. I am very impressed. Salomon Mens Quest 4 GTX. Blimey that's a light pair of boots, you can really feel the weight not being there. Like a helium balloon weighed down with only a small number of miniature lead ingots. Honestly. 655g for a full-height walking boot is silly when my paratrooper boots have a pair of black holes in orbit around them. They also look very 'Special Forces' with a nice green / carbon-fibre grey effect. £170 on special offer there, but I think they can be had for £120 on t'internet. If I was feeling super-flush they'd be bought by now. Decathlon had 20 minutes of my time which I'll never get back. Let us not speak of them. Oh alright, if you insist. A lot of own-brand mid-height walking boots that didn't look like they'd survive for long even if I was walking up and down my carpeted staircase (though to be fair, the barbed wire does tend to catch on things a little, and the acid can be problematic). GO Outdoors in MK are closing down for a refit, so there's 30% off at the moment, but they're actively packing away the boots right now, so there was not much to see on display. I worked my way through stacks of boxes. I saw some Peter Storm boots (which I suspect won't be amazing in practice, but looked alright-ish), and some other cheapo brand which also came in a 'safety boots' version. Nah. They did have their own brand OEX Crusade WP Mid-height boots. They looked like really good quality. I tried them on, they fitted very well (size 10 standard width), felt very supportive around the ankle too. They're £120 on the net, but usually ~£150 in-store. There was no price, and no kindly shop assistant to ask, so I left without getting a 'best price'... they're more than I want to spend, so no problem. So I circle back to my shortlist... but I'm going to be scanning eBay to see if I can get a cheap pair of Lowa or Salomon boots too!

Okey dokey, so a quick search and I find an old model of the German jungle boot,which actually looks exactly like the Wellco classic Vietnam jungle boot, but had a different sole grip layout (smaller chunks, perhaps more suited to gripping on hard surfaces?) And there's a new model which is only slightly more expensive, looks the same, but claims to be waterproof because it doesn't have the drain holes. Both are available in green + black which does look cooler than the all black Wellco's at the preppers shop. So they're definitely an option. This leaves a shortlist looking like this at the moment: Wellco classic jungle boot £28 brand new, available in wide, slippery soles? German jungle boot, £35 grade 1, green and black for extra style points, better soles? Karrimor SF full leather wet weather boot, £50 grade 1 Iturri Desert boot, £35 lightly used eBay, wide fitting, not great ankle support? Iturri Patrol boot, full leather ~£45 used on eBay Also found some used AKU army surplus desert boots for £35 but no one has recommended those, and I've not checked reviews yet. The chunky patrol boots might be too close in style and usage to my paratrooper boots, that might be an unnecessary doubling-up of my inventory, so I think I'm more likely to go desert or jungle. Desert boots might get some extra use walking to the pub 🍻 I think I'll make a trip to Decathlon and Go Outdoors .. if nothing else I'll try on some boots to get a feel for the most likely best size

If you chaps can't tell me there's a clear winner I'll just have to stick with my Swiss army paratrooper boots that are so heavy the Earth is gravitationally attracted to them (rather than vice versa). I am unemployed, and therefore allegedly skint, after all 🤤

Yeah @Tactical Pith Helmet they are ridiculously cheap for a new pair of boots, I'm watching a YT review of a guy who has bought multiple pairs because he loves them so much. I remain tempted to buy a pair to try them out. They are cheap and it seems they are tough (as.... old....). Hmmm, too many options now 🥴

Thanks that's incredibly useful info, I'll go look for those Cold Wet Weather boots if you recommend them so highly. They're not too heavy are they? My foot sizing is anoying, I'm about a 9, or 9.5 in length, but a 10.5 or 11 in width Makes buying shoes online... Tricky

Dan, we pewed everyone in that defence round when we didn't get killed at all. Just the law of averages says Cowboy suffered our Plastic Balls Of Humiliation too 😆

Thanks @Colin Allen - as the new boots will do double-duty once the promised CQB site opens, dry grip is important ... I am leaning towards getting the Iturris over the Wellco's (though the price for new boots I can return easily if the sizing is wrong is very tempting) Just for shits'n'giggles I went to Sports Direct to see what they had. Subsequent research reveals they actually own the Karrimor brand now, and they do have some nice looking and very reasonably priced (£45-60) walking boots. YT reviews say they won't last very long in hard use but are comfortable... they have to be an option just because I can try them on. And the hard use will be one day every two weeks! However, some of the online reviews are damning. Damn.

Well we know what each other look like, make sure to say hello next time, if I don't get to you first! Glad you had a good day, hopefully it'll be even better next time 😄

Haha I want that first pic framed I (first on the left) look only slightly fat in that pic Camo is obvs very slimming My right boot hadn't suffered its Slow Unscheduled Disassembly at that point. Ah. Perhaps camo can't cover all my chocolate/cake/crisps/beer-related sins... (That rucksack full of ammo, gas, tools, and spare shit really weighed a ton) Pistolero!

Dan, your son's gun was curving off to the left too, I reckon you bought lop-sided ammo, you need to rotate them all slightly in the mags 😉

Blimey, they're cheap! Now I don't want to go looking at the proverbial equine's molars, but with a spike protecting sole and those chunky anti clog grips, I'm thinking they might tend towards the heavier end of the spectrum. I do already have a pair of very sturdy paratrooper boots, but which are so damned heavy I'll only wear them again when it's wet and I want the water proofing. I'm really in the market for some lightweight desert boots with some ankle support. How do these (quite literally) weigh up against them? Edit: I've found some reviews of these boots, and the good news is they're very light, but the slightly less good news is that they may take some breaking in before they're comfortable. I found some lightly used Itarri desert boots in my size on eBay for around the same price ... I may go for those just because they're what I was expecting to buy.

Thanks for those recommendations, both boots I hadn't thought of! I know from old threads that the Viper Multicams get a recommendation for the same £70-80 price (which as much as I can do, given my current jobless status), but in the first instance I think I'll go along to the obvious shops to try on some boots... Decathlon, Go Outdoors, and Sports Direct, because I have annoyingly wide, flat feet. Trying 'em on before purchase is a good idea tbh!

(* But in a good way, not wasting money on mortgages etc)

A sunny day at Special Ops ... Pleased to see @Dan Robinson and his son, and met a few of the other regulars, but missed a meet-up with Cowboy, were you there? A change to the usual warm up game in that it became a single-life defend game. Which really didn't work because I fired one shot to test my hop, waited 10 minutes, and then got shot from behind. Rather the opposite of a warm-up 😂. The switched game didn't go much better for me, I didn't get a kill! Probably a round of zombies is still a good idea. Anyway, for me the morning was a story of my beloved VFC HK416 not living up to its potential. Accuracy and range was pretty good at the outset, and the gun made a few new fans when I let them try it, but the hop setting seemed to slip very easily and quickly. As I've tried to take the hop apart recently, maybe I've made that slippage worse... so rather than spending too much time and ammo shooting at distant trees to adjust and check the hop, I decided to go to my DE 906. It racked up a goodly number of kills through the day. Good old thing did not let me down 👍 But during the day I managed to break the sliding cover in one of my Lonex mags (fixable, I'm sure), from trying to force the mag in when there must have been an errant BB in the well. And I lost my clone Leatherman tool (but it was found and I got back). To thank the God Of Lost Things and restore balance to the universe, I managed to find an expensive looking grenade in a pouch, and handed that in. Weird shit that happened today: someone had some money stolen from a rucksack. Not cool. Carlos got close to losing his temper about non hit-taking, not seen him that angry for a long time. Gave the young kids a lecture that it's not CoD, where you can take multiple hits before dying. I didn't have a problem personally, so just found it amusing ☺️ And possibly the same thief that nicked the money also decided to nick the badge off the front of my (cheap, old) BMW. Or the glue gave up the ghost and it fell off on the way home 😋 My old Karrimor walking boots decided to fall apart, I ended up with one held together by Gorilla glue, zip ties and duct tape! Did the job temporarily, but they are beyond saving. I need some cheap, new (ish) lightweight boots