>>2704566got any arguments besides ad hominem and anecdotes?
Let me show you an example. Check out this Belleville. It is one of the ones they issue new recruits. That tiny strip of material at the bottom that is roughly 1 centimeter is the outsole. The fat ass chunk is the midsole usually made of polyurethane. A dense foam.
Now lets focus on barefoot shoes, which I also criticized because everything in life has a tradeoff. A barefoot shoe, such as one by Xero has virtually the same outsole height as a surplus boot of about 1 centimeter. Xero also warranties their outsole for 5,000 miles. That tiny outsole Xero uses is a very dense rubber or plastic rubber (nitrile). The surplus boot uses a similar material or a TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane)
If you are getting 15 years out of your army boots, you aren't using them. Even wildland firefighters with Vibram Montagna outsoles, which are some of the thickest in the industry wear out their outsoles in a few seasons.
My friends still in the military, as I said, wear out their Bellevilles in a year.
Garmont is the best manufacturer of military boots for US right now with their Bifida, but it uses a TPU outsole. The tradeoffs you get is a cheap boot, mostly leather, with a fairly good design and high shaft at the expense of something that will not be very water resistant, is slick, weigh's about average for most boots but more than many boots used for hiking.
Furthermore I would not consider Garmont or Belleville the high end of boot design as they both make a lot of duds to keep the price low for military but they are still a step above most barefoot manufacturers.
Belleville makes a barefoot boot in the mini mil but uses a pu coated leather that doesn't breath but surrounded by nylon that will take in water whereas the suede version will have little water repellency. It's a decent boot.
Pick your poison.
for any gov/police/military you can get good discounts on govx
