French FELIN Combat Boots, Black, Surplus

What a strike of luck! Hailing from the land of good accordion music and shitty beer*, we are proud to introduce the FELIN temperate full leather Gore-Tex boots in unissued condition. Give us your money and go marching with a smile! As the regular retail price for a non-surplus item would probably be double as much, you can spend the amount you save on something nice.

Features

• Full leather, three-season GTX boot
• Shock-absorbing sole with a coarse tread pattern
• Stiffness around "3" in the scale of 1 to 4, so these are pretty stiff
• D-loop lacing with lace locks

Finding a pair of no-frills full leather Gore-Tex boots is usually needlessly difficult. Unless you look in the direction of the French army. However, it seems they gave the production to the Germans, as is evident from the "Meindl" text in the footbed below the removable insole. Or at least this was the only hint of manufacturer we found from one pair. There are probably other manufacturers as well. There also might be small model variations depending on the manufacturer, mainly some slightly differing sole tread pattern or other minor details.

Those who know their boots probably see pretty fast what these are all about. The lack of fancy stuff is a good thing, so it's just the basics: shock-absorbing sole construction, metal D-loops for laces, bellowed tongue, and the leather takes in polish and spray solutions well. On the shaft, you'll find some padding, and the GTX membrane is sandwiched between the leather and inner protective lining. There's some kind of a ventilation system built into the boot, similar to those in Haix boots and German Bundeswehr current issue stuff, for example.

A little bit more about the lacing. It's a standard military type, so there are lace locks halfway up the boot. With these you can adjust the ball of the foot and ankle support separately - a welcome feature in long-distance walking! If you don't need the locks and would prefer to enjoy a "true" speed lacing, just don't run the laces through them.

Use

These are very nice three-season all-purpose outdoor boots. We as Finns are quite thrilled about these, as the forests are almost always wet around here, no matter what season. In cities, these could be used as winter boots as well.

We do not know how slippery the sole is during the winter season. It probably is, as the rubber traction sole is pretty stiff. This also means it has a long service life.

Care

Good boots are something you must care for regularly. After use, clean the boots with a moist rag and brush, then put them to dry in room temperature and keep them away from heat sources to prevent the leather from drying up and cracking. Treat with shoe polish. Brush them nice and shiny.

Boots with membrane have their own little special features, like the fact that if you treat them with regular shoe polish and grease, you'll risk blocking the membrane, making it as breathable as a plastic bag. So, only use care products meant for Gore-Tex footwear! You can also use spray-on waterproofing solutions, but do treat these with polish to nourish the leather.

Size info

Sizes are in the regular EU system. Unlike most other French boots, the sizes run kinda true on these, so 42 is 42 and not 40. If you are unsure or plan on using double-triple-dubledoble socks, size up. The last is at least "Regular" maybe even "Wide". Fits most people.

Condition

Unissued French army surplus from the 2000s! These are totally unused, most of them in original boxes. At best they've been tried on. We have no idea how long these will be available so act fast.

The fluctuation in price isn't because of the condition but because of the laws of supply and demand.

*) In reality, there are many good French beers, but you didn't hear this from us.