M-43 Style boots

[Buggnkat]

I have had both ATF and WWII Impressions boots and they are both good quality boots. ATF is way cheaper and have held up well.

 

[chamboid]

hey Sorry anyone who asked me a question i've been away for a long time. the Doursoux Rough-outs are some of the best boots I own, they are made by the same people who do WWII Impressions boots (Corcoran) and they "perform" well, good sturdy soel, which is oil resistant and tough, the leather is not as thick as I'd like, but is is as per the orginals, but it is tough, even tougher the more you 'dub' them, they are heavy, but no heavier than a pair or redwings, in fact probably lighter, they are a wide fitting and very comfortable, but with no insole (as per the originals) for extended wear they do impact on the knee a bit.

Hope this helps

 

[J.W.]

Yes, thanks a lot, you input is much appreciated! I still didn't place an order for them, but I'm still itching to do so. What about the sizing of the boots? Are they true to size?
You don't have any current photos of the boots by any chance, do you? It would be nice to see what they look like after being worn for some time.

 

[chamboid]

I will endevour to put some up, but they pretty much look the same, but darker, but then again the suns not shinning on them. But they're shipping up like an original you'll see on eBay. Dark brown. Size wise, while size down, and no half sizes. I got a U.S 7 and they for without an insole perfectly on my U.K 7.5 feet. As I said they're wide fitting which helps, think RedWing 8131 'E' an thats pretty much the fit

 

[J.W.]

Hi, it's me again!
I want to place my order in the next couple of days and I'd be really happy if you could tell me something about the traction of the soles (have you worn them out of town? I want to wear them on the paths in Devon and Cornwall this summer.) and the tongue of the boot: is it stitched to the upper leather, so as to prevent water from getting into the shoe?
In what order did you waterproof them? You mentioned saddle soap and mink oil. Did you treat them with saddle soap first and put the mink oil on afterwards?

 

[1961MJS]

Use Dubbin, it's an oil based leather preservative. I used it on my Roughouts and it works great. The M-43's are just roughouts with a leather collar on the top. The link below shows using Show seal, but dubbin is what they really used in WW2. Being in Europe, you can get it easier than I can in the US. I re-coat mine every August, I put the oil on and leave them in the trunk of the car for a few days.

http://www.90thidpg.us/Equipment/Projects/Dubbing/index.html

Later

 

[J.W.]

Okay, quick update: I ordered a pair of Corcoran Roughouts from Doursoux tonight. They're closed on Mondays, so the order won't be processed before tomorrow.

 

[J.W.]

Here they are!

Okay, so I ordered the boots on Monday, when Doursoux was closed, and they arrived today.

Here we go: Unboxing

Fresh out of the box:

The upper leather is really soft:

Rear view:

Bottom view:

On my feet:

Biro mark on the tongue: How did that get there?

Roughouts rough stitching:

Look inside:

So, my first impressions:
These boots are real beauties. The upper leather is soft, but the sole is pretty stiff. Looking forward to breaking them in.
I think I'll get an insole for more comfort. The stitching on the right boot could be a bit more accurate (it looks careless), but these are supposed to be rough boots, so that's something I can live with. The biro mark is somewhat annoying with 180 Euro boots. The last couple of days, I considered not waterproofing the boots because they look really cool with the sueded upper. But as the seams are stitched through and there is no inner lining, I'll be dubbing them after all, to prevent any water from getting into the boot. The sole is different from what I expected from the various pictures I have seen. But it seems to be made by Vibram, so that shouldn't be too bad.
What I've been wondering: Apparently, the original roughout boots had reenforcing rivets. Chamboid's and mine don't, the roughouts you can find at wwii impressions are shown with rivets and without. Does Corcoran (which is the alleged manufacturer) make inconsistent product lines?
If Chamboid reads this: would you mind sharing your way of waterproofing the boots with saddle soap and mink oil? Are there any additives in mink oil?

 

[chamboid]

There are many different rough out types, ours, the un-riveted ones are the USN boots, and a perfect replica. I was a bit confused when I first got mine, but there you go. The heel was a bug bare with me too, sole fine, but heel isn't the nice biltrite style as on the web. They're from an much earlier Corcoran contract, they're all like ours now sadly, but I've already found a cat paw or biltrite replacement for when the time comes.

Anyway, dubbing them is simple, mink oil is good, but I've found a magical thing called Pecards which I'd put on toast if it were edible. £15 for a big tub and not as greasy as mink oil, and cheaper.

It's slightly waxyer but the properties are great, just massage into the leather in a strong circular motion, I started on the back suede bit of the tongue in a small spot to see how it would look and learnt how to do it, then just cover, but really work it through when your finished they should look suede at all, I left them to dry then wore them. Where the toes bends and the oils builds up I then got a teaspoon and rubbed is bowl side down over the leather, hard.

You'll get the hang of it as soon as you see the suede flatten and the surface start to shine.

 

[J.W.]

Thanks for the info! I'll have a look around for Pecards, although I already know where to get hold of sno-seal. I'm still breaking the boots in, wearing them around the house. And I still can't think of putting wax or oil on them, especially not since I got my spring - autumn leather jacket out of the closet:

 

[chamboid]

haha, almost too perfect, they look good like that, and i had a strugge to do it, but after taking the plunge I never looked back. And these boots were made for dubbin'. Having said that I am also looking at buying the USMC Boondockers with a more slender style, which weren't meant to be dubbed, or so i've been told. and to your earlier question, the traction is ok, i've never done any serious hiking in them, but the oils resistant sole is good, and and you can fee exactly what your foot is doing.

 

[mkaul]

I have been reading the posts for sometime now and was inspired to get a pair of the M43 rough out boots. I have been piecing a wwii uniform together for a year and need only a few more items. They arrived second week of February. I finished them off with mink oil. I was wondering if i should have stopped at one coat. I thought that i would capture the results with my camera.

(i will try to post soon)

 

[J.W.]

Can you give me a hint regarding the brand of the mink oil? How much did you apply? Did you treat the boots with saddle soap first? Looking for a good brand here, too.
My boots are still the way they came, although they've already made the transition from the inside of my house to the real world a couple of times. They are still not broken in and I will be getting some insoles, as the leather lining on the inner sole only goes 1/4 of the length and that feels pretty uncomfortable.
Yes, put up some pics, please!

 

[archbury918]

J.W. best to always put on in coats. It doesn't take much. A little is always better. Just rub in with bare fingers to get the seams.
Try them for a few days a reapply if you think its needed. Keep in mind, it will darken the look significantly and pick up dirt and fuzz til they dry.
I prefer sno seal, but have also cheated and used the aerosol waterproofing. It keeps the light color more intact.

Also best to wear dark socks when breaking them in in wet conditions. They will bleed the chamois color into the socks to your toes!
M

 

[J.W.]

Well, a quick update: I have still not treated the boots with anything, I'm still trying to decide between mink oil and snoseal. I've put an insole into the boot and they are much, much more comfortable now and that was a real bonus during the breaking-in-period. The boots feel really, really nice, even after hours and hours of wearing them.
As I said: I'm still undecided about what I should treat them with. What do the fellow Loungers think is better: mink oil or snoseal? I'd love chamboid to tell me just how exactly he treated his boots and which brands he used, because his boots are simply adorable.

 

[Baggers]

Snoseal. That's what I used on the pair I bought from WWII Impressions more than a decade ago. Darkened the leather to a nice deep brown shade. I don't reenact, but they've received quite a punishing over the years and still look good.

 

[chamboid]

I used mink oil, and saddle soap, but since have turned to pecards, if I could start again, I would have started with pecards, which would give a nice deep brown to russet shades. But I did wear them about 'naked' before as well, so the suede on the toe darkened up a bit from natural wear, and I got a few grass stains from walking the dog, then I dubbed. First with mink oil, which is very greasy, then left to dry, then added saddle soap over the top, which brought out the russet colour, (this was by fault not design) and thats it. I will post some up to date pics some point this week so you can see them now.

BUT... for my money J.W Pecards will do them proud, and if much nicer to work with.

 

[J.W.]

Okay, here's an update:

I snosealed the boots just before I went on a 18-day trip to Devon and Cornwall. I put on two coats of snoseal, if I remember it correctly. My first impression while wearing the boots after treating them was, that they are not as breathable as before the treatment. But that might just be a false impression, as the weather was really hot from that point on and I might not have noticed it before. I also think the leather feels slightly stiffer than before.
So did I get wet feet during my trip? Not from the rain, I'd say. We spent our wettest day on Bodmin Moor and got wet from the rain and from the grass, but apart from the usual sweaty socks you get from hiking a whole day, I only had some brown dye from the leather on my socks. Any noticable moisture came from the inside of the boots, so they are really completely water-repellent and that came in really handy on the trip.
I've also started to like the colour by now and began searching for a matching leather jacket.

Pictures might follow later.

 

[filfoster]

No, I mean the U.S. M-43 Roughouts or shoes, service, reverse upper. I should have made that more clear, probably.
I agree with the hobnails - I don't want to take my shoes off whenever I walk over some nice flooring while I'm traveling. So, any more experiences with the U.S. Roughouts? Double Buckles are fine, too, as I think they are basically the same shoe.

Well, you've already committed but if you go for another pair sometime, SM Wholesale, on line and on ebay, are the best, and I've owned the ones from ATF. The double buckles are EXACT copies in every way and just one coat of SnoSeal will bring them to a lovely russet brown. Nice boots.

Random PS: the WPG leftover boondockers from The Pacific, which I think were also SMW, are ('were', I guess since only size 12 are left) outstanding.

 

[J.W.]

So, here's the picture: