Why?
I wear them for everything. I have some altbergs for when I need an indoor and outdoor set but generally the AKUs do everything.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
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Lucky you - sadly I’ve seen (and not once or twice) cadets being pulled up by cretins for wearing brown leather hillwalking boots rather than the higher leg service boots.
Not that any normal person would either notice or care, but apparently the ACO has more than its fair share of not, or sub, normal people…
Considering AKU Pilgrims are now issued boots, they would need to be a proper moron!
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The last boots I was issued with from stores were YDS Kestrels which I have no problem with.
If I can get away with it though, I usually wear my desert boots which are Magnums.
AKU Pilgrims are high leg boots, they have a few different variants but I’m sure most buy the brown high leg variant so they look just like HAIX or other issue boots.:
https://www.trekitt.co.uk/13206/products/aku-pilgrim-hl-ds-mod-brown.aspx
Stores do like giving those and the bates boots out. Both are reasonable boots for most of the stuff we get up to.
I found putting sorbothane liners in made them much better.
Well, like I said - Kestrels are what I’ve been issued with from stores as a regular - I’m no expert but I haven’t had any issues and I do wear them a fair amount.
The best boots I’ve ever had were Magnums though.
i’ve only had Magnums and for what i use them for ideal (on my second pair)
they are reasonably priced, comfortable and wear well.
I am not a road marcher or into fieldcraft so they don’t see “heavy wear” except the usual trip to RIAT - apart from that it is the usual couple of shooting weekends and whatever “greens” nights on Squadron evenings…
i can’t justify the higher priced boot, not that i don’t blame those who do, but as an “average” user of “greens” I don’t feel I could benefit from the extra cost
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They’re OK, but I much prefer the Altbergs.
They are available in high leg yes, although the issue one isn’t. It is the mid boot:
https://www.trekitt.co.uk/35413/products/aku-pilgrim-fg-gtx-mod-brown.aspx
I appreciate that but that’s an issue boot so the stick swingers can’t argue about it and the high leg boot is a brown military style boot that fits with the uniform. What can they not like about that?
Nothing saying we can’t wear Pilgrims… or any other suede/non conventional leather types of boots
Although, suede being primarily only used on desert boots in the military might still bring any suede boot within the spirit of that restriction.
I used to wear Magnums. They always held up well and the soles lasted a long time through a LOT of road marching. I totted up over 1000 miles on the original sole before I binned my first pair.
The all leather were good in the wet - the Magnum Classics with fabric side panels were, understandably, no good in the wet whatsoever.
The only real problem I had with Magnums was the plastic toecap which would smash my little toes to buggery on road marches.
I’m now wearing Lowa Supercamp - terrible name, nice boot. I could have done with them being a half size smaller but they were a bargain half-price brand new so I took a punt and have stuck with them.
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A lot of the issue brown HAIX boots use suede now anyway.
Ah, that’s interesting. I’d have thought they’d have stayed away from suede for a general boot since it’s not so good in the wet.
Probably got 200,000 in stock because someone did not cancel the order after the drawn down from the sandpits…
Certainly a credible possibility! 