Brown Corcoran Jump Boots (WWII Style)

[Tobus]

I bought these to wear with trousers, but I think they make fantastic kilt boots. In a contemporary kilt outfit, anyway. These are Corcoran's 10" historic brown jump boots, made the same as in WWII. They are made on the "Garrison Army Munson" last, which is about the most comfortable last that I've found for boots. After breaking them in, they are like old friends to my feet.

I was not too thrilled with the original colour. It was a sort of purple-brown. So I took rubbing alcohol on cotton balls and rubbed the original glaze off the leather. I went a little too far in a couple of places, taking some of the colour out. But it gives them a worn look. Then I did several applications of mink oil, followed by Neatsfoot oil to soften and darken the leather. Finally I did a few coats of Kiwi brown parade gloss wax, then wore them a few times and waxed them again.

The sides of the soles came with brown edge-coating which I thought was cheesy. So I took that off with alcohol too, and applied black edge-coat, followed by black Kiwi wax.

Finally, they look like I want. In normal light or shade, they are a nice dark brown. In the sun, they are a rich brown. I will wear them plain, or with my WWII canvas leggings, as shown below.

I love cap-toe boots anyway, but these are a great style. The plain soles (no tread) keep them from going overboard with the "combat boot" look.

What do you think? Good kilt boot for contemporary wear? Or too much?

[Elf]

Good work and very creative altering the color. Every indication here that you will be happy for a long time. I will have to remember the process. Looking forward to a photo with kilt.

[Profane James]

Great looking boots! The gaiters/spats/whatever will probably send the military vibe, but the colors are really good together. I think I would find a way to wear them if were fortunate enough to have them.

[Liam]

I'm not a fan of high boots with tartan kilts, but I sure like the job you have done with yours, and agree, they would be great with a modern kilt.

[McKenzieMorgan]

hi
Love the look of the boots but think personally it depends on the tartan you'd wear them with, being brown, i don't think they'd go with mine , a blue McKay

I do love your balmoral tho, where did you get it ?

[Cavalry Scout]

Corcoran also makes tanker boots. They're black and have straps instead of laces to secure the boots. They lok awesome with a kilt.

-Mark-

[Benning Boy]

I've put about a gillion miles on many pairs of Corcoran jump boots. They were and are still very well made. I, too, bought a pair of brown ones to wear mostly with kilts, but with modern solid colored ones.

As always, I found the boots hard to break in, especially as I don't wear them every day as I did in the army. Boots never fit anyone right until they've gotten wet and worn 'til dry, and I still haven't gotten mine wet. When it gets warmer I'll douse them and wear them 'til dry. My boots are a very acceptable shade of brown, so I guess you can expect variations.


Ordinarily I have to buy American size 13EE shoes to fit, especially if I buy New Balance trainers. So, I ordered my Corcrans in that size and they were way, way too big. I sent them back and replaced them with 12Ds, which fit just right. (Russell Moccasin tells me I'm a size 11.) You might want to try a size smaller than your regular shoe size.


As with any boot, it's best to take your time when lacing them the first time. Slowly snug the laces as you use the handle of a butter knife, or something similarly smooth and sized and carefully tuck the tongue in as you go so that it lays smooth under the laces, without any wrinkles. However the tongue is under the laces the first time worn is the way it will remain the rest of the boot's life. If the tongue is just wadded up under the laces it will not only look bad, it will cause blisters in top of your foot. We used to always expect blisters and callouses where the foot curves up into the ankle when breaking in new Corcorans -- and blisters and callouses on the back of the heal as well. Of course, that was back when boots were put on a 0530 and worn until 2100hrs. We just learned to live with the pain until or feet toughened up. It's best to ladder lace the boots the first time as it really helps to conform the ankle and upper portion of the boot to the foot. Also If you plan to do a lot of parachute jumping, or rough work in the field ladder lacing really makes the boots provide more ankle support.

I'm OK with boots being worn with solid color modern kilts. But I'm warming to the idea of wearing them with tartan. think

[Tobus]

Benning Boy, I agree - breaking them in is a bit of a chore. They are definitely not the boot you want to just take out of the box and wear for a full day without a backup pair in case of blisters or discomfort. I thought real hard about doing the complete soak-and-wear-until-dry routine, but opted against it. My feet, just like my hands, sweat all day long and I fight with moisture in my boots anyway. I'd never be able to really wear them dry, and having wet feet makes me grumpy. So I have taken a slower break-in approach. I wore them the first few times just for an hour or two around the house, with thick socks, to identify pressure points and get those first few creases in the leather.

After that, it was a series of wearing them for 4-5 hours on weekends when going somewhere that involved a little walking. In this stage, I would take a small hand towel soaked in warm water and press it on the inside of the boot around the ankle area where the pressure points were so that I could just soften up the leather in that one zone. Then lace them pretty snugly and wear them to let the leather form itself around my ankles as I drive and walk. They have come along nicely, to the point where the ankle area (which was the only area that really bothered me) has formed nicely to my leg shape on the inside. Enough to where it feels pretty uniform, anyway. I may do it a couple more times with a little more soaking.

I do think I will add some inserts with a little more arch support, though. I'm used to that in my actual hiking boots and other boots, and this pair makes me feel a little bit like I'm walking on the insides of my feet, or a bit knock-kneed. Probably not the boots so much as just what I'm used to with more modern ergonomic boots. But aside from that, the fit of these boots on my feet is great. I love the roomy toe box of the Munson last, and the shape of the foot bed actually feels right for the shape of my foot, unlike most other boots I wear.

The boots came with leather laces as well as newer woven round laces. I opted to go with the flat leather laces, as I think they tend to lay better, which can be really important under the canvas leggings to reduce bulk. But it took quite a bit of working them with Neatsfoot oil to get them pliable enough to be useful as laces. The leather laces also have enough friction at the eyelets that it's possible to ease the tension in one area while increasing it in others, and it will hold pretty well without resorting to any sort of lace-locking methods that I would use with round woven laces. I love the look of ladder-laces but that's pretty tough to get right with flat leather laces, so I'm just going with regular criss-cross lacing for now. I don't do a whole lot of jumping out of aeroplanes, so I'm not lacing them up super-tight anyway. I need the ankle flexibility for driving (the clutch in my car isn't very forgiving for an inflexible ankle).

Though I did say they make fantastic kilt boots for a contemporary kilt outfit, I haven't yet decided whether that means they're better suited to wearing with a contemporary kilt (like a Utilikilt) or a contemporary/casual wearing of a tartan kilt. Wearing them with scrunched-down socks wouldn't really be my style, but wearing them with kilt hose seems to demand a tartan kilt. And I think these boots would look pretty good with my re-bagged MoD brass cantle. I dunno, I'll have to think about that.

McKenzieMorgan, my Balmoral bonnet in my avatar is nothing special. It is a desert tan version from glengarryhats.com . It's nowhere near the quality of a Robert Mackie, but tends to suit my head size and face shape a bit better, since the crown is not as large.

[Dave5337]

Where did you get the WWII canvas leggings? Those are WAY cool!

[Tobus]

Where did you get the WWII canvas leggings? Those are WAY cool!

They are called M-1938 pattern leggings, and you can find these on eBay, as well as various other sources that would carry military surplus. Just search for US Army canvas leggings and you'll get a bunch of results. They generally cost around $15 to $30, depending on condition. These have been a favorite of mine for a number of years, as I use them for hiking here in Texas where cactus and other thorny plants are a nuisance to bare legs. I have 4 or 5 pairs of them.

If you click that last link I just posted, it will take you to a thread with some photos of me wearing the taller US Army pattern leggings. The ones shown above in this thread, as well as the ones I am wearing in this previous thread are the shorter US Marine pattern leggings.

Do pay attention to the sizing notes in that first link, if you're looking to buy a pair. And make sure you put them on the correct way, with the laces on the outside of your leg and the metal tabs pointing rearward. Bad things can happen if they're worn wrong. I've read horror stories of people who wore them with the laces on the insides of their legs, and they ended up getting them tangled up with the laces on one leg catching the hooks on the other, causing nasty falls and broken bones. If you do buy a pair and intend to wear them, you'll likely want to replace the original laces with new ones. I learned that lesson on the trail one day when the old lace broke. There just isn't any way to keep them on when that happens. Also, these leggings are not very forgiving for wearing over any kind of shoe or boot that has top padding around the edge. There's just too much bulk underneath.

They do take a few minutes to put on and get laced up comfortably, but I find them very comfortable, supportive, and protective for rigorous outdoor activity. And of course, I like the look.