Swedish Ankle Boots, Winter Model, Surplus

Extremely well made, tough ol' ankle boots. No GTX, no injection-molded soles, just extremely thick leather, roomy fit and to top it off, a Goodyear-welted leather & rubber sole. Swedish army surplus from the times when things like 'planned obsolescence' were not fashionable. Used and abused.

In the 80's the Swedish army still marched with essentially the same boots as they did decades ago, these "new" boots were just coloured black.

The leather used on these is at least 2 mm thick and of extremely high quality. As in, not fancy or exotic, but very very tough and hard wearing. A very nice detail is the bellowed tongue that won't let water seep in from the sides.

On the heel you'll find a ski groove, the kind that accommodates, say, the old Finnish ski bindings or just about any snow shoes. Couple that with the overall generous sizing for many pairs of socks and you have excellent, old school skiing boots!

A word of warning: the rubber of the soles is not as supple as it was when new. This means it's probably not as grippy as it was back then (if it ever was grippy at all...). It's still tough as nails. If absolutely necessary, a decent cobbler may even be able to change it to something modern.

Cobbler-friendly boots

These boots are generally in a bit scruffy condition and might require some touch-up especially concerning the usually oxidated eyelets. Fortunately almost everything in these boots is actually repairable, including the whole sole, unlike most boots made today.

Care

These work well with grease and regular polish. Remember to take care of the crevice between the upper and the sole. An old toothbrush is a good tool for this. We recommend cleaning and greasing the boots once you get them in your hands and decide you're satisfied with them.

Size info

Sizes in the EU/French system, with Mondopoint size in the brackets. The sizes run quite big. It's probably wise not to upsize if you are unsure.

Condition

In used and a bit scruffy condition. The metal eyelets may be oxidated from long storage, and may need replacing.