(no subject)
FACT: Frenchmen have extremely skinny calves and no joints below the knee.
That's what these French army boots suggest, anyway. They're the only shoes ever in which I've been able to stand en pointe. Of course, I'm half-squatting at that point because the ankles don't bend either, but still. My point is that they don't flex AT ALL. I don't know how, since they're used -- quite obviously so; they were dirty as hell when we got them, almost white, with various streaks, dings, and assorted filth. Very little wear on the sole, though. Maybe they were somebody's spare boots and spent their entire service in a footlocker full of knives and leaky fountain pens in Algeria. And the footlocker was carried on the back of a mule up a mountain, then the mule fell down the other side. And landed in a pond polluted by camels.
Jeffie bought them for herself, but they didn't buckle around her calves; luckily, we wear the same shoe size, so I stole them for myself. I'll let her wear my jump boots in exchange, though.
I didn't think to take a "before" picture, but here they are after a couple hours of rubbing with saddle soap and floor wax:
They're pretty comfy in the foot, though, so if you have scrawny legs and need some hiking boots with hell of ankle support, they're not bad for $30.
That's what these French army boots suggest, anyway. They're the only shoes ever in which I've been able to stand en pointe. Of course, I'm half-squatting at that point because the ankles don't bend either, but still. My point is that they don't flex AT ALL. I don't know how, since they're used -- quite obviously so; they were dirty as hell when we got them, almost white, with various streaks, dings, and assorted filth. Very little wear on the sole, though. Maybe they were somebody's spare boots and spent their entire service in a footlocker full of knives and leaky fountain pens in Algeria. And the footlocker was carried on the back of a mule up a mountain, then the mule fell down the other side. And landed in a pond polluted by camels.
Jeffie bought them for herself, but they didn't buckle around her calves; luckily, we wear the same shoe size, so I stole them for myself. I'll let her wear my jump boots in exchange, though.
I didn't think to take a "before" picture, but here they are after a couple hours of rubbing with saddle soap and floor wax:
They're pretty comfy in the foot, though, so if you have scrawny legs and need some hiking boots with hell of ankle support, they're not bad for $30.