GPB French Model Double Buckle Boots, Black, Surplus, new

If you gotta have buckles on your boots, now's your chance to get some. We got these from French army warehouses, but the quality is, well, shall we say "civilian standard". These are NOT the original BM65 double buckle boots but they have visited the French army, so they are "surplus". All clear?

Mystery stuff from the French army warehouses

There is this mystical thing about these particular boots. They came to us under the name of a well-known French military boot manufacturer Boche. However, even though the larger crates had the Boche name, the individual boots and their boxes don’t - instead they were marked as "GPB" and "YZ-1" on the tongue of the boots. Our intelligence ops didn’t provide us the absolute truth so the origin of these boots is a mystery. However, we strongly suspect that someone had these made for the French army outside Europe, for example, China.

Sometimes you get nice surprises with military surplus, sometimes not so nice. Because these aren’t what they were supposed to be, we sell them cheaper than what we originally intended.

Use and features

Even though these are French military surplus, their quality isn’t quite what you have come to expect from proper military gear. The leather is a bit thinner than in the original BM65 boots and the craftsmanship isn’t as neat. In comparison to the average footwear, it isn't particularly thin though. At this price, these are very nice boots for regular everyday use.

High enough bootleg and double buckles make these suitably punk - with or without steam. So, they are perfect for gigs and dirigible captains.

These combat boots seem to have a Goodyear welt construction, with a rubber Vibram-style sole sewn on, which you don't usually see on boots of this price category. They are made of black leather, and the cap is hardened but they aren’t safety boots, so don’t let a tank run over your toes.

History

During WWII, Americans came up with the cunning plan to marry gaiters and ankle boots and their offspring was a double buckle boot that was named M-1943. Many other countries, including France, copied this idea when designing their post-war boots.

The oldest French double buckle boot, "Mle 52", was created exactly this way. In the ‘60s, French designers realized that there are better ways to do this. The resulting one-piece solution was easier to manufacture, more comfortable, and more durable. After this, the biggest change has been the material that was changed from brown leather to black somewhere in the ‘70s. Nowadays even the French are unfortunately getting rid of their buckled boots.

Sizing

The sizes are in normal Euro sizes. However, the French sizes seem to have been designed for bare feet so you will be better off by taking one size bigger than you would usually do. Especially since you will get more out of these with double socks. Merino wool is the ideal material.

Surplus?

We do not want to lead you astray, so here it is again: These came to us from the French army warehouses so they are army surplus, but their manufacturer is unknown (GPB?) and the quality does not rise to that of usual military footwear so we suspect these are made in China. These are NOT orignal BM65 boots. These are unissued and come in the original box. However, remember that insoles aren’t necessarily included, at least not very good ones. So, you should buy a good pair, for example from us.