Low Quarters

etaylor2013

etaylor2013

10-Year Member
5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
57
is it absolutely necessary to purchase low quarters before r-day? and do you necessarily have to purchase them on a military base? is there any other convenient place to purchase them besides offline? thanks!
 
Do your directions say to show up wearing dark socks and low quarters? If so, and you choose to ignore that direction, do you want to be known from day 1 as the cadet who couldn't follow simple directions?

You might have to go to several bases before you find them. You can purchase them online as well. My son went to the closest bases, which didn't have the right shoe, but had a similar one so he could try it on and know the size. Then he ordered them and they arrived a week later. Get them soon!!! You need to break them in!!!!

:bang:
 
Point made :) did your son order his offline or from the base itself? if online, do you have any recommendations?
 
My son ordered his by calling the number listed on the shoe letter for AAFES -- it took a long call to explain that he had an appointment and was required by buy the shoes -- we also scanned the boot letter and his appointment letter to verify that he was entitled to purchase the shoes -- they arrived a few days later..definitely easier than driving three hours to the nearest base that would have had them... Good luck!
 
The Army base in our town only had the shiny ones. We were given the impression that Air Force bases carried the all-leather ones. So we called the closest AF base and they overnighted a couple of sizes to our base. We paid the overnight charges ($10) but it was worth it. Easy and quick. :biggrin:
 
Personally I would recommend going to an Army Post or and Air Force Base and getting them from the AAFES store there. The lady I worked with when I picked up mine was sooooooooooo helpful, and made sure I got exactly what I needed and that everything fit perfectly.
 
Son tried them on at the AAFES at the AF base; they were the shiny ones. He then called the # on the card provided by the lady at the store to order the size he needed in the correct shoe. If you randomly order them from someplace online, you won't get the discount you are entitled to.
 
etaylor2013 -
here is a suggestion if you can't get to a base that has them.
Go to a shoe store and try on a pair of dress shoes, or if the base only has the Corfam (shiny) low quarters try them on for size. This will give you a good indicator of your shoe size - the order them by mail. Just like mom3boys said above.

It is important that you get low quarters or at least a sturdy oxford shoe - you need to break in your feet. The shoes don't really need to be broken in but your feet do. Wearing them while walking before R-Day will strengthen the muscles in your feet and allow them to get used to being in a shoe (as opposed to a sneaker). You will be wearing low quarters all day on R-Day (and for many days after), you will be walking and standing a lot. It's a very long and tiring day and this is a way you can make it a little easier.
Don't forget to wear black socks on R-Day as well!
Definitely order them from AAFES - you will get a much cheaper price.

If for some reason you don't get them or can only get the shiny ones - they won't turn you away on R-Day they will fit you and issue you shoes that day.

If you look carefully at this photo:
http://www.usma.edu/class/2012/rday/pages/026.html
in the lower left corner you can see black shoes and socks. This is a New Cadet waiting in line, in shorts, a T-shirt, her low quarters and black socks. :wink:
 
Low quarter instructions 2013

The instructions say:

"Candidates should wear one pair of comfortable, well-fitting, inexpensive, black leather laced shoes with plain toe and rubber heel when reporting to West Point. You will wear these until you are issued the regulation cadet shoe (military low quarter) from Logistics Support Services Organization."​
Later, the information also says:
"Cadet Candidates will receive letters authorizing the purchase of...,one pair of low quarters, and one pair of women's pumps from Army Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) Military Clothing Sales Stores. This will allow prospective cadets to properly prepare and break-in their footwear for the upcoming Cadet Basic Training beginning 29 June."​
The two pieces of info don't match exactly. After reading numerous bits and pieces about this on plebe-net and the boards, it sounds to me like the first part is a requirement and the second part an option. You can buy/use the first shoe described for the first day. If it is not exactly what they want you to use, you will put it away for the academic year once you are issued the regulation shoe. OR you could just buy the regulation shoe from AAFES to begin with and know that that pair would work from the start.

We have not yet purchased the cadet shoe from AAFES for the following reasons: my son has plain-toed leather upper Ecco black tie shoes with rubber sole already; it is not easy to get to a base from here and apparently the shoe is hard to find; I don't trust the fit he would get via mail-order; everyone says it is the FOOT that needs to be broken in not the shoe; I know he will be issued the exact correct shoe when he gets there...
...still I'm not sure about this...what am I missing?:scratch:
 
Please know, the "oldies" on this site can only advise based on what happened on "our" year. The info you posted is not the same as what we were required to do. I would call WP for clarification. They really are there to help and do not want miscommunication or confusion. They will not bite, nor will they recind an appointment if they are asked a "dumb" question.

A little extra info on the shoes: you are not breaking in the shoes as much as you are breaking in your feet. Most students wear tennis shoes, flip flops, and other soft-soled shoes. They do not often wear dress shoes. This is to get your feet used to something different. You will spend a good amount of time in these shoes the first few days at WP...so you want to minimize discomfort. My son wore his to school one day (that was all he'd do!), around the block a few times, to all the WP functions (senator reception, governor reception), and all the graduation functions. Maybe he had them on a total of 15-20 hours before R day, and he was fine.
 
mom3boys- thanks for the info. I think that is about all the time my s will spend in dress shoes as well...if that...good to know that maybe that will suffice. He IS running though and has been well fitted with good running shoes.:thumb:
 
luv2swim - I think you are on target.
There is some confusion this year about the boot/shoe letter and I am not sure what you are authorized to purchase.

If you can't get the Official Low Quarter - then what they put in the first instruction will be fine.

FWIW - females should not bother buying the pumps in advance. they won't be needed right away and you will just end up carrying them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top