The Bates boots came but they are a bust as well. Better than Altama, but they don’t fit right either. Too long but not wide enough. And, they’re out of the next size down, in wide.
I check a local army surplus store. They carry the cheapy versions (Rothco). Not in my size, of course, but they are willing to order them and keep them if I don’t want them. For good measure, I also try another army navy store near the beach in Rhode Island where we go every summer. They order a pair for me as well.
As I’m trying on the boots, each of the store owners asks me what I’m planning to use the boots for and how long. Both. In almost the same words. Should I be concerned? “These are more for fashion. They just don’t last very long.” Well, that’s not good! Given that neither of the ordered boots fit well, I decide that I have tried enough and need to just live with the fact that this isn’t going to be perfect. I’ll use my hiking boots! I talked to the Bushmasters guy and Ian says comfortable boots are more important by a million percent than the fact that they’re jungle boots.
Ok. Done.
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