I posted a story on Military.com yesterday about the Army being close to a final design for its new Jungle Combat boot.
Belleville Boot Company and Rocky Boots were selected in December to supply the Army with about 36,700 pairs of newly-designed Jungle Combat Boots as part of a direct requirement effort to select and field jungle boots to infantry soldiers to wear in the hot, tropical terrain of the Pacific theater.
The Army plans to field the 2nd and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii beginning in March
The Army and the Marine Corps retired the popular, Vietnam War-era jungle boots in the mid-2000s when both services transitioned to a desert-style combat boot for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The new Jungle Combat Boot looks similar to the Army Hot Weather Boot and feature rough-side out leather and speed laces. But they are radically different than the jungle boots soldiers wore throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The outer sole is similar to the popular Panama-style tread on the old jungle boot but is designed with a shorter heel so there is less of a chance of it snagging on debris and undergrowth and becoming a trip hazard.
The new design features a thick polyurethane insert that has channels and perforations to move water away from the foot.
The old jungle boots had two drain holes that often became clogged with mud. The new boots feature several small perforations into the fabric on both sides of the boot that are more effective at pushing water out of the boots, Army officials maintain.
