To be quite honest, no. I am a hiker/packpacker, and take my hiking boots pretty seriously in terms of comfort, load distribution, tread, etc. These jump boots seem well-made, but they lack the kind of soles that modern hiking boots offer. These are hard leather soles with a rubber texturized tread tacked on, and lack any sort of cushion. Plus, they just don't have any tread or grip on the bottom. If I absolutely *had* to hike in combat boots, I'd choose Vietnam-era jungle boots (in fact I have hiked in those, but it was pretty miserable compared to modern hiking boots). And I'd make sure I had a good set of inserts in them.
That's not to say I wouldn't do a brief day hike in jump boots on smooth, even trails, with no load on my back, as long as the boots were well broken-in. But for serious hiking or backpacking in rough country, I'd insist on real hiking boots. Or at least a more modern all-purpose boot with more comfortable soles and treads. My days of trying to look "cool" in the woods are long past.
Here are some photos of me hiking in Ariat roper-style boots, with canvas leggings for protection. This is about as far as I prefer to stray away from real hiking boots. To be quite honest, I don't know how those guys in WWII managed to traipse all over Europe wearing jump boots. Those were some tough fellas, for sure! I like the jump boots for casual wear whether I'm kilted or not, and while I think they'd certainly hold up just fine under hard trail use, I just know my feet and back would suffer.
Originally Posted by Tobus
To be quite honest, no. I am a hiker/packpacker, and take my hiking boots pretty seriously in terms of comfort, load distribution, tread, etc. These jump boots seem well-made, but they lack the kind of soles that modern hiking boots offer. These are hard leather soles with a rubber texturized tread tacked on, and lack any sort of cushion. Plus, they just don't have any tread or grip on the bottom. If I absolutely *had* to hike in combat boots, I'd choose Vietnam-era jungle boots (in fact I have hiked in those, but it was pretty miserable compared to modern hiking boots). And I'd make sure I had a good set of inserts in them.
Bookmarks