Gear Review: Belleville boots

Anyone who is prior military has probably been issued a few pair of these Belleville boots.

When I first joined the Navy in 2002 I was issued a pair of generic, all black leather, steel toed boots.  They were extremely heavy and took weeks to break in properly.  Whenever we were issued new ones we would soak them in water and wear them that way, they broke in faster.  Once broken in they were usable but nothing special.

A couple years later they started issuing Belleville's and suddenly everyone was rushing to get new boots.  Most of them came in a mix of leather and canvas with thick soles and a steel toe.  Unlike most boots, they required very little breaking in were pretty much good to go straight out of the box.

In this picture you can see the Vibram soles and the mix of canvas and leather on the sides.

You can see a little bit of the wear on these boots.  They were worn during a detachment to Africa, despite the heat and prolific sweating I never had any blister issues.  The canvas sides seemed to breath pretty well and I was amazed at how light they felt on my feet after a day or two of wear.  These are not light weight boots but it took very little time to get used to them.

When I started getting back into outdoor activities and making a BOB I wondered what boots to use.  There are dozens of good brands out there but luckily, before I put any money into other boots, I saw these in my closet and pulled them out.  There might be lighter boots out there, there might be boots that breath better or cost less, but this brand has proven itself to me as dependable and comfortable.  Why buy others when I already have a good set of these?

Belleville's are available to the general public and can be purchased on multiple sites, prices ranging between 100-200 dollars depending on the type of boot.  However, this are also widely available used or in second hand stores.  A good pair of boots if you can get your hands on some.