British Army Pro Boot Review

[Unrustle_Thine_Jimmies]

BRITISH ARMY 'PRO BOOT' REVIEW

 

 

This is just something written out of boredom. I'll update this tomorrow or later this week with pictures and more thoughts after I've used them for a more extensive time.

 

(They are more matte in the other pictures from insane amounts of wax)

 

I got them from Army Bargains in Dublin for 35 Euro. Great price for the condition,I'd rate them at Grade 2,toured in Afghanistan apparently but only minor wear on the soles but a good few scuffs on the front. They look pretty good as seen in the photo(After a metric Fcukton of Shoe cream,shoe shine and anti bacterial spray! I wouldn't want all that nasty squaddie stuff getting on my innocent civvie body*.)

 

I was going to buy German Para boots,but they unfortunately fit me very badly. I will be comparing them to these as both are strikingly similar. You can hardly tell the difference at a distance!

 

 

The boots are Goretex and Thinsulate lined. Very comfortable padding wise,good ankle support. I do recommend wearing these with thicker socks however. These are already broken in a fair bit,so flexibility is excellent. These are much lighter than German Para boots,but at one expense,shock absorption, which I'll explain a bit further down.

Soles are moulded,very soft and acceptable shock absorption,which I'll explain more further down. Grip is excellent,However I did roughen up the soles a bit with sand paper,though I do this with most of my footwear.

Leather quality is superb,stitch work and overall craftsmanship are great. Considerably better than alternatives made in China or Vietnam or some other Asian sweatshop nation. The British can still make great footwear.

 

I am concerned however for the sole grips,they are very soft which gives good comfort but they seem a bit on the weak side. I have read of report of the grips coming off and leaving smooth rubber.

 

Lacing system is far superior to it's German cousin. It's a speed lace type,the eyelets are pretty good and easy to get through. I am however left with a lot of excess lace due to my skinny little leggy bobs,I simply weave them through the little leather hooks at the back.

The one drawback comfort wise is the insole,or lack thereof. The German paras have a nice and soft insole to absorb shock, but this feels like walking on wood or steel. I remedied this by jamming in some sorbothane insoles from some worn out runners I had. Coupled with some nice Russian Army wool socks it was a very soft and secure fit.

 

Light weight and good grip meant sprinting and sneaking about was very easy,handy for my sneaky bastard/Sprinting nutter hybrid playstyle. Very little side to side movement so twisting an ankle is very hard.

Shock absorption was acceptable maybe a bit mediocre,I tested this by jumping off a 3m wall onto concrete,standing,which did earn a few odd looks from the neighbors! Without the insoles i did feel some hard hits to my heel,which was a particularly tough area. With the insoles however it felt very light,but you knew you hit something. I'm guessing shock absorption would be far superior on the German para side. Incidentally,climbing up the wall with no support with these was very easy,thanks to the good grip and flexibility

 

I've yet to test these in the Irish forest,but I expect them to perform well. I've also got a skirmish on next sunday and I'll report after that. Those two events combined will probably end up with 8 hours worth of rock climbing,hiking on rocky and muddy terrain,sprinting about on various woodland floors and more jumping on to things,with a greater height hopefully.

 

I've also heard there's a clusterfuck with the quality of these. There are a few version around,ones with red lining,ones with white lining,new version and old versions and such. I noticed a lot of the problem ones are newer ones sold as 'Pro boots Classic' with the little Gore-Tex tag on the shin side of the boot. I'll read into this a bit.

 

Minor issues and abnormal reports outside,Highly recommend these so far,rugged,comfortable and light weight,great quality. I'd almost go as far as saying these are something along the lines of the AK of boots.

 

UPDATE:

 

I've taken them on 3 hikes and a bike ride now. I've beaten the ever loving sh*t out of them,waded in water for a good 20 minutes,climbed rocks,trees and sprinted about the place like a squirrel on crack.

 

My fears for the soles were confirmed,3/4 of one of the grips was torn off,and one part has cracked. I don't know if this is from my very sharp bike pedals or rocks.However everything else is fine. We do have an excellent cobbler in town so I can get them resoled and improved hopefully if anything happens.

 

They are fully waterproof,waded in water for a long amount of time and not a single drop got through.

 

Past statements stand,excellent grip and support,very comfortable and lightweight.

 

Shock absorption seemed a bit better but still average.

 

Another neat 'feature' is that you can only the writing on the gore text tag underwater,though I'm not sure if this is intentional!

 

Still recommended them,just make sure to get some sorbothane insoles and you know a good cobbler if anything happens!

 

 

PROS:

-Light weight

-Good construction quality

-Good quality materials

-Great grip

-Excellent support

-Flexible

-Rather Bombproof

-Waterproof

 

CONS:

-Really tough,requires an insole

-Mediocre to average shock absorption

-Bit of a clusterfcuk with versions and quality,though they are isolated reports.

-Grips/soles are good quality but not too strong

-Not very comfortable with thinner socks

 

 

*sarcasm!

[Moose87]

I wore these boots for 6 years almost every day while i was in the army. The soles last forever. I still have and use the same pair for airsoft. You do need insoles but everything else is all good.

Btw with the extra lace your suppose to have alot extra so you can wrap it around the top of the boot then tie it off in the usual knot

[Mike1971]

^{I got a pair of these in the same size as my Lowa desert boots (9 large) and my standard issue assault boots(also 9 large) and the dam things didn't fit..}

^{I ended up in having to get a 10 large so they would fit. still don't know why?}

[Moose87]

that is strange as im a 9 large in both and my pro boots fit like a dream

[AK47frizzle]

35 euros?! They are that cheap?!

 

My boots cost a tad over £100. But then again. I used them for extreme (maybe a little exaggerating) conditions during my camping and hill walking and mountain climbing days. And good boots were mandatory.

[Unrustle_Thine_Jimmies]

These are Grade 2 condition,I suspect grade 1 or new would run up to 60 or 70 euro depending from where you buy.

 

Price has dropped massively on these boots,I read on some old ARRSE threads from about 2003 or something and they cost about 120£ new.

[Mike1971]

that is strange as im a 9 large in both and my pro boots fit like a dream

Yep I found that really weird Moose, So I have ordered myself a pair of ECW boots and given my proboots to my son.

[jay83]

Epic review, i want some now if they last as long as moose said thats epic

[Moose87]

they are mega. my mate went through like 2 pairs of lowas and my boots where still going.

[jay83]

where would you get these?

[Moose87]

army surplus stores. ebay

[Hutton]

I wore these boots for 6 years almost every day while i was in the army. The soles last forever. I still have and use the same pair for airsoft. You do need insoles but everything else is all good.

Btw with the extra lace your suppose to have alot extra so you can wrap it around the top of the boot then tie it off in the usual knot

not to keen on the boots myself moose, for afghan I used the altberg mountains in tan obviously. but for the exercises in the UK (ie. Brecon) I use the altberg sneekers. what regiment did you serve with?

[Moose87]

36 engineers. altbergs are good they are better than lowas. they last longer, more comfortable and lighter. if you people have the dosh than crack on.

[CaptainSwoop]

I have a pair of Pro Boots, I have had them for a while, I use them for Fishing and such.

I have a pair of Assault Boots as well.

Pro Boots are 'easier' to wear from new but as far as I can see apart from the extra padding round the top and the goretex lining they are the same as the Assault Boots.

 

You have to be careful buying them new though there are some 'fake' boots starting to creep in from the Far East of both the Pro and Assault Boots.

Not a patch on the genuine items, sizing is off and they are flimsy.

[Moose87]

well thats what confused me when he said his soles fell apart easily. mine have been through hell and back and are fine.

[CaptainSwoop]

[Richie Boyle]

you really cant go wrong with army issue boots. they want to running in streams, climbing over assault courses, running over uneven terrain and still in good enough condition to stamp your feet on parade and make a loud enough noise to give the sergeant major an erection that will keep his wife faithful while he is away for 6 months

[mta111]

It's a good all-round boot, being gore-tex lined though does have a tendency to stay wet for a while once you cross a river (or fall in one).

 

Wish I could go back in time and tell the younger me that boots are important (especially ones that fit very well) but far more important were getting some orthotics made to the actual shape of your foot. Sorts out all the shin splints from running in boots and most other foot related problems I have encountered.

[Richie Boyle]

i went for a pair of grade 2 desert magnums which have also supposedly been used in Afghanistan. I haven't worn them yet but i did try 1 for size and it was very comfortable. £19.99 if i remember correctly and they were bought specifically for airsoft. I think they will serve me very well