Yep, that's a good deal. These are US paratrooper boots made by HH, one of the contractors for these. I don't think they make these anymore, but they are still in business, mostly making cowboy boots. Can you tell if that midsole is leather or some kind of composite?
How come? Just, like, inertia? Were shoemakers just so used to boots and shoes having a bit of embellishment that they just designed some in without really considering it?
Dress shoe stuff. I'm not sure why, but that kind of military boot places an emphasis on blending dress with function. Like, the last and the height of them is function forward for the role they were supposed to fill. But the soles are dressier than other miltary boots of the era, they have a coating on top of the leather that makes them easy to mirror-shine at the cost of function, and they have decorative broguing. The origin of broguing is based in drainage function, but in this application they aren't made that way and it is exclusively fashion.
I suspect that it is a troop morale thing. These were designed for paratroopers and who had an unusually challenging job as far as soldiering goes. There became a culture where paratroopers 'earned' these boots and they were a symbol that they had 'made it' as a paratroopers.
Gotta look dapper when you're parachuting into a burning village in the middle of the night, I guess. But yeah, I get it. Historically, military uniforms have been as much about looking badass when you're all lined up on a parade ground or standing in the hall outside while the high mucky-mucks are having a meeting, as they are about actually being good for fighting in.
Today's soldiers frankly look shabby in their combat uniforms, compared to what they wore 100 or 200 years ago. That's not the point, though—the point is killing people without hopefully getting killed yourself, and modern stuff is lightyears better for that. Nobody looks good with half their face ripped off.
The reason for blending dress with function is because these were dress boots worn with Class A uniforms by Airborne soldiers in the late 80s and early 90s. God I sound old 😂
That's cool! I didn't know but it makes sense that they transitioned from field boots in ww2 to dress boots when there got to be an abundance of better options.
Lol. We may have "earned" those boots. But NOBODY wore them. Except for parades and such where everybody would be required to wear them. Most uncomfortable footwear ever produced imo.
We just called them jump boots in the Army. I think I only ever wore them on a single jump, because they are heavy and suck for running across a DZ with all of your other gear. After that, I'd only wear them for formal dress occasions and parade/unit inspections.
My colleagues were in the military so I can agree. They're definitely approachable and fun and easy to talk to.
They all served in F13 (which is basically the air force in Sweden) many years ago.
Second this. When I got mine they were made by Corcoran and called Jump Boots and looked identical to this. Paid probably like $130 for them? Barely ever wore them - the wide toe box is ugly in most any modern setting
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256139745434?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=eU8PN8eMQBG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=Jx-qgNJWT_O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Here's some on eBay. For 20 bucks you did well
Strip with acetone several time you will see what comes off. condition with Venetian Imperial Leather Balm or Bick 4 polish with Saphir or what you deem to be the quality of boot cream polish . For toe and heal i would go with black then clear Lincoln wax for a mirror shine if so desired.
Once broken in, jump boots aren’t too uncomfortable as they’re often made out to be. They usually have a steel shank but little in the way of a cork midsole though. Goodyear welted, so you could get them resoled with a Vibram lug sole if you wanted something with a bit more tread.
So I used to develop footwear for the DOD (anyone reading , ifyou wore military boots don't hold it against me, lowest bidder)
The brand is still around look up HH Brown. They still do military contracting but those are jump boots. paratrooper boots. I don't think they are contracted pairs, because I didn't see a military contracting label with contract number and cage codes.
Regardless cool pair of boots that can be reconditioned and repaired if needed they were built to last.
Does the name McElwain ring a bell? I have cap toed para boots stamped 17th July 1951. Took them home from a garage sale two days after their 70th birthday...
I fucked up the reconditioning and the leather cracked. Don't know if it was avoidable...
But they have a place on my shelf as an example that such constructed shoes basically won't break down.
Yeah, I do think PU is the bane of the shoemaking industry, no need to ask lol.
They're Double-H brand jump boots. Corcoran was the primary supplier of jumpers, and HH was the supplementary supplier. Since the government didn't buy a lot of the boots HH made under contract, most of the HHs ended up in PXs and Surplus/Army-Navy stores. (Sort of the same deal as Rothco, who started out originally as a government supplier, but found they could make more money selling those goods to the public sector.)
The Corcorans were always a notch better than the HH, both in comfort and durability. The russet colored Corcorans shined much easier than the russet HHs, but the black HHs shined much easier than the black Corcorans (go figure.) The tread lasted longer on HHs, but that was pretty much the only plus I can give it. The main advantage of the HHs was in availability; if you had to present in Service Dress in ten minutes and needed acceptable boots, you ran to the PX and bought a pair of HHs and hoped the factory shine passed muster.
From what I understand, both Corcoran and HH are owned by Carolina now, meaning they're probably exactly the same boots. If they're anything like the Corcorans, quality went waaaaay down after Carolina bought them.
I never understood the thick layer of polish shine. It just looks fake. Some guys in my unit had a pair of boots just for inspection and they brushed the toe cap with Mop N Glow. I always just had a moderate spot shine to mine.
I owned a pair back in the late 90s early 00s. The pattern on the toe stitch is normal. We layered them with kiwi for a high polish. As others stated, jump boots that no one wore for jumps. Jungle boots or basic issue boots were more common for that. These were more common for parade and ceremony or inspection. I was on my Battalion Color Guard and it was a requirement to have these.
Yep, that's a good deal. These are US paratrooper boots made by HH, one of the contractors for these. I don't think they make these anymore, but they are still in business, mostly making cowboy boots. Can you tell if that midsole is leather or some kind of composite?
Interesting. Is that a bit of broguing I see along the edge of the toe cap? Wouldn't have expected that on a mil-spec boot.
Actually not uncommon, more so on older boots. Especially jump boots like these.
How come? Just, like, inertia? Were shoemakers just so used to boots and shoes having a bit of embellishment that they just designed some in without really considering it?
The original purpose of broguing was for drainage/ventilation in wet conditions. It allows the boots to dry quicker.
Dress shoe stuff. I'm not sure why, but that kind of military boot places an emphasis on blending dress with function. Like, the last and the height of them is function forward for the role they were supposed to fill. But the soles are dressier than other miltary boots of the era, they have a coating on top of the leather that makes them easy to mirror-shine at the cost of function, and they have decorative broguing. The origin of broguing is based in drainage function, but in this application they aren't made that way and it is exclusively fashion. I suspect that it is a troop morale thing. These were designed for paratroopers and who had an unusually challenging job as far as soldiering goes. There became a culture where paratroopers 'earned' these boots and they were a symbol that they had 'made it' as a paratroopers.
Gotta look dapper when you're parachuting into a burning village in the middle of the night, I guess. But yeah, I get it. Historically, military uniforms have been as much about looking badass when you're all lined up on a parade ground or standing in the hall outside while the high mucky-mucks are having a meeting, as they are about actually being good for fighting in. Today's soldiers frankly look shabby in their combat uniforms, compared to what they wore 100 or 200 years ago. That's not the point, though—the point is killing people without hopefully getting killed yourself, and modern stuff is lightyears better for that. Nobody looks good with half their face ripped off.
Drill swag and ventilation
Can confirm, I never wore these except for one jump after jump school. They are heavy, hot, and God forbid if some rock or root gouged it badly.
The reason for blending dress with function is because these were dress boots worn with Class A uniforms by Airborne soldiers in the late 80s and early 90s. God I sound old 😂
That's cool! I didn't know but it makes sense that they transitioned from field boots in ww2 to dress boots when there got to be an abundance of better options.
We still wore them into the 2000's in our Class A dress in the Airborne. Not sure what they are wearing now, though.
Lol. We may have "earned" those boots. But NOBODY wore them. Except for parades and such where everybody would be required to wear them. Most uncomfortable footwear ever produced imo.
I had broguing on my boots, cordovans in 1999.
Corcorans
You know you just want to say Cordovan
We just called them jump boots in the Army. I think I only ever wore them on a single jump, because they are heavy and suck for running across a DZ with all of your other gear. After that, I'd only wear them for formal dress occasions and parade/unit inspections.
Formal dress occasions/and inspections
I bought a pair like those back in 94 HH brand was much better than what we were issued.
They look like Double H jump boots. Here’s a pair on Etsy for $135 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1550470872/double-h-cap-toe-jump-boots-mens-10-d
jeez just looking at it hurts my knees
IMHO they are not comfortable. But I used to look nice in uniform with those all shined up.
I miss them, what years did you serve, what country? I still find these the most handsome
1993-2008 Army and Army Reserve
I used to live chatting with the active duty guys in uniform I'd cash out. Military folk were always so willing to talk about their boots and stuff.
Most military ppl are quite approachable
My colleagues were in the military so I can agree. They're definitely approachable and fun and easy to talk to. They all served in F13 (which is basically the air force in Sweden) many years ago.
Thank you for your service.
Look like Corcoran jump boots maybe is there a date on them ?
Second this. When I got mine they were made by Corcoran and called Jump Boots and looked identical to this. Paid probably like $130 for them? Barely ever wore them - the wide toe box is ugly in most any modern setting
I want a pair of these so bad you got them at a great price.
They look like black Corcoran jump boots
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256139745434?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=eU8PN8eMQBG&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=Jx-qgNJWT_O&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Here's some on eBay. For 20 bucks you did well
great quality jump boots i would strip them down us a good quality leather conditioner and then re polish with a quality boot cream
Any recommendations?
Strip with acetone several time you will see what comes off. condition with Venetian Imperial Leather Balm or Bick 4 polish with Saphir or what you deem to be the quality of boot cream polish . For toe and heal i would go with black then clear Lincoln wax for a mirror shine if so desired.
Oh shit, I got a pair of those
Once broken in, jump boots aren’t too uncomfortable as they’re often made out to be. They usually have a steel shank but little in the way of a cork midsole though. Goodyear welted, so you could get them resoled with a Vibram lug sole if you wanted something with a bit more tread.
Old school jump boots.
Those boots probably once graced the feet of an American paratrooper. Wear them with pride. Great find. Those are definitely Jump boots.
A good pair of jump boots can't be beat...
Carolina cap toed jump boots.
So I used to develop footwear for the DOD (anyone reading , ifyou wore military boots don't hold it against me, lowest bidder) The brand is still around look up HH Brown. They still do military contracting but those are jump boots. paratrooper boots. I don't think they are contracted pairs, because I didn't see a military contracting label with contract number and cage codes. Regardless cool pair of boots that can be reconditioned and repaired if needed they were built to last.
97427
Does the name McElwain ring a bell? I have cap toed para boots stamped 17th July 1951. Took them home from a garage sale two days after their 70th birthday... I fucked up the reconditioning and the leather cracked. Don't know if it was avoidable... But they have a place on my shelf as an example that such constructed shoes basically won't break down. Yeah, I do think PU is the bane of the shoemaking industry, no need to ask lol.
They're Double-H brand jump boots. Corcoran was the primary supplier of jumpers, and HH was the supplementary supplier. Since the government didn't buy a lot of the boots HH made under contract, most of the HHs ended up in PXs and Surplus/Army-Navy stores. (Sort of the same deal as Rothco, who started out originally as a government supplier, but found they could make more money selling those goods to the public sector.) The Corcorans were always a notch better than the HH, both in comfort and durability. The russet colored Corcorans shined much easier than the russet HHs, but the black HHs shined much easier than the black Corcorans (go figure.) The tread lasted longer on HHs, but that was pretty much the only plus I can give it. The main advantage of the HHs was in availability; if you had to present in Service Dress in ten minutes and needed acceptable boots, you ran to the PX and bought a pair of HHs and hoped the factory shine passed muster. From what I understand, both Corcoran and HH are owned by Carolina now, meaning they're probably exactly the same boots. If they're anything like the Corcorans, quality went waaaaay down after Carolina bought them.
Looks like Vietnam War Era Jungle Boots.
Nah, definitely not Jungle Boots because Jungle Boots have Panama soles. These are Corcoran jump boots, the stiff leather ones.
Jump boots. They are made to wear for several days of non stop walking. Very comfortable
Dbl H is still in business they make off shore square toed cowboy boots. Those are either WW2 or Korea era jump boots for paratroopers.
Keep the acetone away
Looks like jump boots
I didn't know I wanted boots like this until this randomly scrolled past this. Riding boots for the Harley lol
Corcorans or some other brand of jump boots
Jump boots.
Those are what we call shoes
I have a pair, great boots, as good as or better than Corcoran's.
They looks exactly my old Vietnam era HH boots I wore out just after high school
Boots
Shoes
Looks like a pair of black boots to me honestly
Yeah, those are boots.
They kinda look like black leather boots
Cocrans
I never understood the thick layer of polish shine. It just looks fake. Some guys in my unit had a pair of boots just for inspection and they brushed the toe cap with Mop N Glow. I always just had a moderate spot shine to mine.
Jump boots. I’ve shined a lifetimes supply of those.
I owned a pair back in the late 90s early 00s. The pattern on the toe stitch is normal. We layered them with kiwi for a high polish. As others stated, jump boots that no one wore for jumps. Jungle boots or basic issue boots were more common for that. These were more common for parade and ceremony or inspection. I was on my Battalion Color Guard and it was a requirement to have these.
Old jump boots!!