Yet Another Boot Question

A

anonagron

10-Year Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
48
Arrrgghhh!!! We have been trying to locate the correct Belleville Hot Weather Tan boot for over a month now. The first AAFES rep. that we contacted was not sure of the authorized boot as two of them kept coming up when she typed in the description... the 74.95 (price listed in the letter) boot comes up as "combat boot", while the "Tan Hot Weather" boot comes up as $94.95. The first sales rep did not want to steer us wrong, so I called the Catalog Order Point of Contact listed on the Authorization Letter and left messages. I guess they were very busy and we did not hear back. Then we got busy "getting graduated" and sort of forgot that we had never heard back on the boots. Called again yesterday, and late this afternoon, another rep returned my call. Now we find out they have no boots smaller than a 10 Narrow available anyway, so we will need to order from someone else. I found 2 sources on the internet which will ship quickly -but have also found these sources sell the Belleville hot weather tan boots that have Goretex liners as well as the ones listed as the $94.95 boots. An AROTC cadet friend of my son's highly suggested getting the Goretex, and they are only slightly more expensive.

Will these be acceptable at Beast, or should we stick to only the 390 DES Bellevilles?
 
Here is a boot opinion: these boots break in very quickly. My son has only had them on a couple times, and they feel great...it is possible you might be ok waiting til you get there on R day and get the right ones...the low quarters took a little more work to break in, but the boots were not bad at all.
 
I can't tell you anything about the Gortex boot but I can offer that my son bought his boots at the WP store and they sold him the 390 DES Bellevilles. You can try calling the WP store to order. If they can't do mail order then they can confirm the correct model and you can buy direct from belleville or another store. I had called the Belleville folks and they were very helpful about sizing the boots. They are a little more expensive buying direct though.

Good luck
 
It is my understanding that the correct price point is $74.95. If you get the gortex they will issue you the correct boot for Beast. You should be able to wear the gortex later though so all is not lost.
My daughter did not have any problem locating them at an Army post. They were in-stock - size 5.5.
 
I"ve been wearing the Belleville 390 DES in Iraq for a year now, including a trip to JRTC and 8 months in Baghdad, and they are simply a superb boot. I didnt do anything special to break them in and they never gave me problems. Gortex might not be a bad idea for the winters at USMA, but you hardly ever wear ACUs, and they suck during hot weather in my opinion. I would not want to wear gortex lined boots during beast, I find they dont let your feet breath and can lead to problems in hot weather, they are, however, great in cold or wet climates.
 
Belleville 390 DES

We just purchased these at West Point store over the weekend. This is what they sold son, we paid $94.95 - not the $74.95 indicated in the letter.
 
I don't know if those are allowed for Beast. The Authorization letter is confusing - it doesn't list a boot model just a price point.
My daughter got the Hot Weather Tan Belleville boots at the $74.95 price point but there really isn't a model number on the box.

It is my understanding that if they do not have the *correct* boot for BCT then the *correct* boots will be issued and they can save the other models for later.
 
Belleville Boots are the best!

"Belleville Tan Hot Weather Desert Boot
Price...$94.95 " Item Number: M472A aafes.com

I just bought these new pair at the PX. They are Army issue and are the best in the Army's inventory. I've been wearing them since the Army changed to ACU's. I highly recommend them. They can be broken-in in a few days (if not hours in my case). I just wish USMA will allow cadets wear "T8 Tactical Jungle Boot (Garmont)." They are the best of the best. I have so many pairs of them. Now I have to buy Bellevilles for WP. One more thing, I will never get Gortex boots during the summer. They are perfect for the winter, but that is it.
 
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Boot update: Last week we ordered the 390DES directly from the military clothing store on post at West Point. They sold us the $94 model and assured us these were the ones acceptable for Beast. The only problem is that the boots were HUGE on son's feet, even though they were the size recommended to us from telling them his low quarter shoe size. His big toe was just at about the place the toe reinforcement began on the toe of the boot!! He has small feet anyway, but one of the aafes reps just kept telling me that I was going to get them too small if we ordered the size we originally intended to order...ha! Wish there was some kind of a conversion chart saying if you wear "x-size" in Bates brand low quarters, order "x-size" hot weather tan boots.

Monday I called the Belleville people directly and ordered two additional sizes (1.5 and 1.0 size smaller than original pair we ordered) as they do not charge much if at all for shipping whereas the WP store charged $15 shipping for each pair of footwear ordered. Son should have the boots in the next day or two, so we are praying one of these pairs fits and we won't reorder for a third time. Then we'll send back the pairs that did not work.

Sure glad the break-in time for these boots is minimal!

Thanks to those with wonderful advice concerning the Goretex style. We will just wait on those and s can buy those this winter if he feels they are warranted. Then he can be personally fitted for the best fit, trying them on instead of ordering long-distance!
 
Boots are a whole different story when it comes to sizes. I am not too sure about low quarters. I am flying three days earlier to WP to get my low quarters.
 
Make sure your son tries the boots with the proper socks also. Boot socks are very thick.
 
Thanks for that reminder. We ordered "boot socks" from WP at the same time just to make sure he had the right thickness on when fitting the boots!
 
If the PX doesn't have the boot in your size, also check at the Cadet Store (aka C-Store). I think it's located in Thayer Hall, but not sure. When I took my daughter up for an overnight orientation, we tried to get the boots at the PX, but they didn't have her size, and we didn't know about the C-Store.

They will be issued on R-Day, but I don't know if/where there's access to that inventory.
 
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