I am mean to my Mindbenders.
Since getting them in February, I have asked them to slog through shin-deep mud and skitter over ice. I’ve splashed through knee-deep, near-freezing streams and over miles and miles of rocks and wintery slop.
While an obnoxious IT band injury kept me sidelined for a few frustrating weeks, I was still able to pound through 4 trail races (three of them 50ks) in these kicks for over 100 test miles. And the Mindbenders? They take it — and ask for more.
Read MoreSix months ago I received a call from a friend in the outerwear industry. He let me know that Scarpa had sold 3,000 of their Kailash GTX to the Army, with the bulk going to Rangers and SF guys, and asked if I was interested in reviewing a pair. Not a hard question for me to answer, I was more than a little interested.
I set the parameters for this review to cover a few different things. They needed to be comfortable under heavy loads, while crossing streams, in the snow, in sand under long hikes and while being worn for extended periods. Unlike boots that people pick up to look good, those of us who live and fight in boots have a different appreciation for footwear. With that in mind, the review got started. We also wore this boot while doing lots of shooting, it wouldn’t be much of a Military Times review if we left that out.
Click the picture for our 6 month review, and of course, lots of pictures.
Exum Mountain Guides wanted a fully supported hiking boot they could use to get from the mountain base well up into the vertical. The trick was finding a beefy approach shoe that performed like a hiking boot down low, but could stick and smear on the big scramble and rock faces up high. Most approach shoes are like climbing sneakers, they aren’t made to support a guy wearing a big pack. Exum ended up going to Scarpa for some help and the Dharma Pro was born.
Scarpa makes some great mountaineering footwear; you may have a pair of their popular Kailash hiking boots from your last deployment. Exum is the county’s oldest climbing instruction organization and even has a military program called XMS3.
Scarpa’s upcoming Dharma Pro takes the approach shoe concept a step further by adding sticky dot climbing rubber under the forefoot and giving it a mid-top for more support and protection. The shoe itself is a modified version of their Zen approach shoe. Scarpa replaces the hiking tread with sticky dot climbing rubber and ads extra height to help keep scree out of the boot when moving through talus. The fully board lasted construction in the Dharma Pro is straight out of the old school rock climbing playbook.
Read MoreBeside the socks we had a chance to evaluate, we thought our readers would appreciate reading a little about some other socks we heard about. This list is not exhaustive, but just meant to give you a place to start your sock quest. These were either pointed out as worthy footwear by our Grunt network or are new socks with promising features. Either way, we hope to get some miles in each and give you a non-blistering report on each. Click through for a rundown on another six socks:
Read MoreOver the past few months, GearScout has been looking at what’s new in socks, trying socks out and gathering sock recommendations from the infantry. We’ve noted where we’ve tried a sock and will report back with the results after getting foot time in on the rest of the sample group. Click through for a rundown on six socks we gave the boot:
Read MoreDropping $15-$20 for a pair of socks can be a traumatic experience, but not as traumatic as a foot full of blisters. When tube socks come by the dozen at big-box stores for a fraction of that, what makes a pair of high-end socks so expensive?
The modern hiking sock’s duties are threefold — to eliminate friction, move moisture away from the foot and provide cushioning. Friction between your foot and your boot’s interior causes blisters; moisture trapped against the foot softens skin and increases friction; and cushioning absorbs the impact of footfalls and can improve the fit of a boot.
Hosiers knit socks from only a few yarn materials. The primary yarns define the sock’s overall performance, while the secondary yarns add strength and elasticity, but also can impart features such as odor control, added warmth or faster drying. Grab a pair of socks off the rack, and you’ll see the yarn materials listed as percentages right on the label. The amount of each of yarn material gives an idea what you can expect from a sock.
Click through for the full rundown on what to look for in a sock.
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Afghanistan’s topology is a rocky challenge for traditional combat boots. From the lowland’s rock strewn wadis to the boulder and scree covered valley walls in the north, the only unifying features are the dry, rocky soil and crazy elevation changes. Sticky rubber soles, lighter materials and updated midsole designs have units switching from traditional combat boots to technical hiking boots despite the increased cost.
Hikers offer more stability and comfort with less weight which translate into increased endurance over broken, hilly or outright mountainous terrain. If you’re thinking of going off the deployment packing list, be prepared to shell out 2-3 times as much for a hiking boot and make sure your command is going to allow it.
Get a little smarter on boots after the break:
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Mountain Masochist says all you need to know about Montrail’s rugged, and aptly named, trail shoes. They’re fierce, and I love them more with every mile.
Runners are picky about their running shoes, so much so that I’ve heard runners quibbling about proper post-run footwear. We’re talking flip flops versus Crocs here, folks. I wasn’t wild about trying a non-neutral sneaker, but I wanted to give these a shot.
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Oakley is jumping into the maritime ops footwear pool with their newest boot. We got a look at it recently and it looks like a winner for hot weather, jungle and over-the-beach missions. We didn’t get much in the way of details, mostly because it’s still a work in progress.
The large screened holes pass water and sweat while the siping (razor-thin slits in the sole) improve traction in wet conditions. The upper is made from Cordura and a Teflon impregnated leather; and, no, Oakley wouldn’t tell us who the father is. You can ask them at Shot Show later this month when they may bring the shoe out from behind the curtain.
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