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Are ATF para boots comfortable?


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Should I get the brown Kiwi polish or the clear?

 

Brown, definitely. Out of the box the boots are a lightish red brown... The Kiwi Brown will give them a little darker tinge. After five or six coats of Brown, I laid on one or two of black to darken them up a bit. Keep in mind boot polish isnt really to COLOR the boots... the coats go on fairly light and clear... just enough to protect the boot and tint it a bit. The boots will darken with wear and age anyway...

 

Wayne

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Sgt_Rock_EasyCo
Brown, definitely. Out of the box the boots are a lightish red brown... The Kiwi Brown will give them a little darker tinge. After five or six coats of Brown, I laid on one or two of black to darken them up a bit. Keep in mind boot polish isnt really to COLOR the boots... the coats go on fairly light and clear... just enough to protect the boot and tint it a bit. The boots will darken with wear and age anyway...

 

Wayne

 

I used kiwi in the service but I use Lincoln polish now. It is better.

 

Rock

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My ATFs are very comfortable. Still until broken, but they fit very nicely. The only thing that annoys me with them (or all Corcorans) is the fact that you have to lace them around your foot. Ie, to get them on, I have to take the laces nearly all the way out, insert foot, and then do back up. They are just too tight to fit a foot into, just the design i guess. Means they don't come off easy which is good (or bad depending on how you think of it :P)

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Sgt_Rock_EasyCo
My ATFs are very comfortable. Still until broken, but they fit very nicely. The only thing that annoys me with them (or all Corcorans) is the fact that you have to lace them around your foot. Ie, to get them on, I have to take the laces nearly all the way out, insert foot, and then do back up. They are just too tight to fit a foot into, just the design i guess. Means they don't come off easy which is good (or bad depending on how you think of it :P)

 

 

Me too. The ATF boots don't look to be made to actual combat boot specs and their leather appears to be thinner. They're initially more comfortable and conform to your feet rather quickly but they are indeed harder to lace up as a result. I too, have to unlace most of the way to get them on but I have never had a blister (being former infantry gives me a headstart on knowing how to avoid foot problems).

 

I used the ATF's for four straight years, about five battles a year. I walked many miles; they got water and sweat soaked for four years in a row. I cleaned and brushed shined them and even spit shined them a couple times. It is important for *any* shoe or boot to keep them polished. It regenerates the leather and fills the poors to keep moisture and salt from dry-rotting them prematurely.

 

The soles held up great, the leather has broken-in to the point that they're quite floppy until I put leather dye and polish on them- when I do that they retain their rigidity better. I'm more surprised that the eyelets haven't failed at all. When I first got them they were comfortable and I expected them to fail after a couple battles. I was wrong. They're the best looking jump boot I've seen as well.

 

Rock

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I got my Corcorans in today. I ordered a size 10D, but they shipped me a size 10EE. Since I'm going to Normandy next month I wanted to have as much time as possible to break these bad boys in. I bought a nice pair of Dr. Scholl's insoles and put them into the boots. The 10EE fits me pretty much perfectly and the insoles filled in the little bit of extra space that was there because of the EE size.

 

I also bought Kiwi brown polish today and spent about an hour spit shining them per the sergeant's instructions. They're very shiny right now, but I still have a ways to go before I'm content with the shine.

 

I just wanted to thank everybody who helped me out with this. It was a big purchase for me as I hope to have these boots for a long long time.

 

PS:

 

WorkbootsUSA.com has these for $123 with free shipping!!!!!! I don't know if you can find a deal like that anywhere else.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm a bit late to this discussion, but figured I'd chime in for the sake of those who come after seeking the same advice.

 

I've worn the same ATF jump boots since 2007, with an average of one event a month. Other than one nail starting to work its way loose (which I pound back in every now and then), they've held up well, and seem to get better the more I wear them.

 

Some polishing advice:

 

1) Before an event, use some saddlesoap (I use Kiwi brand) to clean the loose stuff off from the last reenactment.

 

2) Wipe the soap off with a towel or old t-shirt.

 

3) Brush it with a horse-hair brush to get in the crevices.

 

4) Polish with Kiwi Brown, in a circular motion. I use the sponge applicator that came in the shine kit.

 

5) Brush the polish off with the horse-hair brush.

 

6) Re-lace and you're good to go.

 

Most shoe stores carry those expandable shoe-stays (or shoe blocks) that keep shoes from curling with moisture. Having these in reallly helps keep the boot stiff for a good polishing.

 

Don't forget to polish the sides of the soles, to keep moisture from getting between the layers and splitting the leather.

 

Use leather laces. The cotton ones will only last an event or two before the stress breaks them. For dress boots, you can ladder-lace with white parachute cord.

 

Insert a set of those sockliners, like what come in running shoes (I actually use a running shoe sock liner salvaged from an old pair of New Balance).

 

The more you wear them, the more "character lines" will form across the toe box and heel. This is good! It's what makes your boots unique and eye-catching.

 

Every now and then, polish with a coat of "Cordovan" to give it a slightly red tint to the highlights in the "character lines", then switch back to brown.

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