The Great BOOT Debate

[dregeneau]

Thank you Matt for you response! I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion on the matter.

Eyey in the Sky - I swear by the Bates without the zipper as well. They can look a bit like a 'spaceboot' if you just pick them up in the store, but they provide great comfort and support for fieldwork. Although they can get to be quite warm in the summer due to the gore-tex lining, it's a small sacrifice.

 

[multihobbist]

What I mean by Captain's bars is
instead of tying the laces when you get to the top of the boots,
cross the laces to opposite eyelets and put two strands of laces on the last  two eyelets.
This way you get 2 bars over top of your entire lacing, and some people refer it as "captain's bars"

 

[Matt_Fisher]

What I mean by Captain's bars is
instead of tying the laces when you get to the top of the boots,
cross the laces to opposite eyelets and put two strands of laces on the last  two eyelets.
This way you get 2 bars over top of your entire lacing, and some people refer it as "captain's bars"

Captain's bars are usually done for inspection purposes so as to have a neat and tidy way to tuck away your excess boot laces.  In the 12 years I was in the military, I never saw anyone tying their boots using that method...I find it suspect that a 'Captain's bar' lacing arrangement would create enough tension to prevent the boot laces from not loosening up.  I always tied my boots with a simple reef knot and tucked the excess lacing up into the bloused portion of my trousers and found that worked well enough.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

What I mean by Captain's bars is
instead of tying the laces when you get to the top of the boots,
cross the laces to opposite eyelets and put two strands of laces on the last  two eyelets.
This way you get 2 bars over top of your entire lacing, and some people refer it as "captain's bars"

Captain's bars are usually done for inspection purposes so as to have a neat and tidy way to tuck away your excess boot laces.  In the 12 years I was in the military, I never saw anyone tying their boots using that method...I find it suspect that a 'Captain's bar' lacing arrangement would create enough tension to prevent the boot laces from not loosening up.  I always tied my boots with a simple reef knot and tucked the excess lacing up into the bloused portion of my trousers and found that worked well enough.

I use the same system as Matt, simple reef knot, and in 42 years have never seen someone do their boots up in Captain's bars, nor have I ever heard anyone use that term.

 

[Eye In The Sky]

I've heard (and used, only with Recruits though) the term Capt's bars for how to do up the top of combat/ankle boots, but for inspection purposes only.  Can't imagine trying to get that to work at 0-dark-stupid when you need to get your cadillacs on quick under light discipline conditions with cold fingers and hard timings to make.

 

[multihobbist]

Just my personal opinion for Captain's bars for lacing is great with the GP boots.
I can simply loosen the laces to take the boots off and tighten the laces to put them back on.
Nothing going through anything and all you need to do is just pull two loose laces if I can't see anything.
The best part of it for me though is that during BFT the lacing loosens a little bit just enough to be comfortable.
The only thing I could complain about GP boots yet is that it's not durable, I had the same 2 pairs for 2 years
and they are both falling apart.

 

[MikeL]

On BFTs I just don't lace up the top 2 eyelets. I've never seen anyone use "captain bars" on their boots while they wear them.. just when the boots are in the locker an/or on your bed for inspection.

For black boots I wear Original SWATs and desert boots I like the Belleville 390 Des, and I recently just got the Original SWAT Desert boots. Sometimes in the summer I wear jungle boots, just need to get them resoled with vibrams. For insoles I use the SOLE custom footbeds.

Haven't had any problems with the above boots.

 

[Old and Tired]

Bezt boots that I've ever had on my feet are mt Matterhorns.  Next best after that are the SWAT s that I have.  I must be out on the fringe of boot tying because I do the bars on boots as well.  Doesn't work on the Matterhorns b ut works well with the swats.  No knots to freeze in the winter or difficult when they're wet.

Just my view though.