BW Boots

[Gene T]

Bergschuh/ Bergstiefel

Exactly how many different types of mountain boots did the Bundeswehr field in the last decade or so?

I was looking to add those Haix boots to my shoe rack and ordered a pair from an eBay surplus vendor who offered a big selection of BW mountain boots at a good price. What I received were these:



They were made by Meindl, presumably in 1999(?), and are clearly of German surplus origin (having those small holes punched through the tongue). Their construction is a bit different from that of the Haix boots shown earlier in this thread, notably with the presence of an extra strip of suede reinforcement above the rubber rand. These boots have 'Davos' soles.

A search for "Bundeswehr Bergschuh" or "BW Bergstiefel" on amazon.de turned up quite a few models from several well-known manufacturers (Meindl, Voelkl, Lowa, etc.), with some subtle differences between the various offerings.

Clearly these are popular boots that have a commercial following, but which ones were actually issued to the troops? Did the specs evolve over time or did the manufacturers have a lot of freedom in their interpretation of the same? I assume some of what's being offered on amazon.de today are knock-offs?


Gene T

[Gordon Craig]

Gene T,

That is a very good question. Kunstwadl says that "bergshu leicht" were intorduced in the late 50s but doesn't show pictures of them. He shows brown GJ boots he says were introduced in 1974 and black GJ boots, like yours, that were introduced in 1977. My boots seem to date from the 1960/early 70s and are different from yours. That would seem to indicate at least 4 different style of boots since the BW came into being and now. That there were a number of slight variations between the different manufacturers boots that you have seen on line is probably not that unusual. Whether they are all really BW issue or not is difficult to tell.
FYI my boots do not have any holes punched in them.

Regards,

Gordon

[Asbjoern]

Gene, the problem with the last years is the complete change in the procurement of the personal equipment for the BW. Until the end of the 90ies all this stuff was purchased by the BWB in Koblenz as central purchasing agency - in the same way as any equipment up to MBTs or aircrafts. Each item underwent the whole process incl. long trials etc and if there was demand of more boots they had to produced exactely after this specific speciem. So there was only a little change as any new type had to run through tis process. Then the ppp idea rose and the procurment of personal equipment went from the BWB to the semi private LHD firm. By this time the long term storage of new stuff, the return- and repairprocess etc of used stuff ended, anything is now purchased on demand. If there is a need of mountain boots they where purchased on the market ... if next time another company wins the another type is bought and so on... there is a constant change in material nowadays...

Jens

[Gene T]

Very interesting info, Jens. Thanks for sharing them. I had no clue!

Gordon, I finally got a copy of the Hormann book that you referred to so often; it is indeed quite comprehensive. However, for the material not covered by Hormann, it sure looks like I will have to add the Kunstwadl book to my library as well.

Still, nothing beats coming to this forum to learn about things that aren't covered in any existing books.

Gene T

[Gordon Craig]

Gene T,

Congratulations on getting Horman's book. They are scarcer than a lot of the militaria we collect! Yes you will need to add Kunswadl's book as well. There things in one book that are not covered in the other and Horman has older pictures which really come in handy when compared with Kunswadl's which are more modern.
In the end, as you say, neither one covers everything and we need this forum, and especially our ex BW members, to help us fill in the blanks.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Jeff Mack]

These were my BW boots that I wore back in about 1980/81..

http://www.pbase.com/202mpco/image/39421558

JM

[Proud Kraut]

Were these posted before? HAIX boots, worn in AFG.

http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...3136316237.jpg

[Gordon Craig]

Thanks fro posting the boots worn in the sandbox. They were not posted yet.

Regards,

Gordon

[Proud Kraut]

Some more unspectacular footwear.
a. Sportschuhe
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6433643666.jpg
b. Kampfschuhe (made by "Metzler")
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6430333863.jpg
c. Gummi-Überstiefel (rubber boots for wear over the combat boots)
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6337633161.jpg
d. label of rubber boots
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...3962613132.jpg

Lars

[Sebastian S N]

Hey!
I just got these BW boots and they are something in between the brown 1960-70s and the black 1980s.
Can you tell me anything about them? are they from the early 80s or what?
they're marked:
285 104
028370

Also - is it safe to use these boots if they seem to hold up fine? They are quite well worn after all

Thank you very much!

[allen]

Black BW Boots

These are the boots that replaced the brown ones, circa '79 or '80(?). The later Eighties boots had a double rivet on the middle barrel lace. As far as their present utility, the only issue I'm aware of with these old boots is the sole coming unglued - not from personal experience, i read about it on a German surplus site. These are great boots.

[TheStig]

Some more unspectacular footwear.
a. Sportschuhe
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6433643666.jpg
b. Kampfschuhe (made by "Metzler")
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6430333863.jpg
c. Gummi-Überstiefel (rubber boots for wear over the combat boots)
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...6337633161.jpg
d. label of rubber boots
http://foto.arcor-online.net/palb/al...3962613132.jpg

Lars

Metzeler is a tire company. I have a set on my KTM motorcycle, excellent tires too. Didn't know they made boot soles.

[jonni]

Metzeler is a tire company. I have a set on my KTM motorcycle, excellent tires too. Didn't know they made boot soles.

Metzeler is a very old company, founded in 1863. In Germany they are a well known manufacturer for all kinds of rubber products - tires, shoe soles, rubber boats, rubber gaskets...

[glaser]

German Federal Army Navy boots

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[ATTACH]2499334[/ATTACH]

[glaser]

[ATTACH]2499336[/ATTACH]