Rubber slippers or jungle boots

[golok]

A friend who participated in a jungle survival course told me that his experienced jungle trainer and tracker told him that it's better to wear rubber slippers in the jungle.

Those fancy and expensive shoes or jungle boots are more of a hindrance than anything else.

The reason is rubber slippers allow the wearer to dry his feet easier and faster. It also helps to see if the leeches have climbed in between your toes.

Really, it's rubber slippers that take first prize in the jungle.

Who wants to dispute that?

 

[psy-ops]

I wonder what jeff randall would have to say?

I would opt for the rubber slips, the kyaking type!

 

[satin]

What would the V/C say about that? sandles with rubber soles arent much different from rubber slippers....seemed to work for them pretty good in the jungle.

I wasnt there, but from what I;ve heard it was our boots that were rotting off.


Mind you I'm still wearing my boots if I'm ever in the jungle

 

Actually it's cheap tennis shoes and bare feet that rule the jungles of Latin America...every so often you will see the knee high rubber boots. Also remember that a gringo's feet are much different than an indig's. Altamas with a Panama sole, Wonder Walker inserts, and brass drain ports work as well as anything I have used. Around camp it's sandals. Leeches are of no concern, but there's other things that are...such as Black Palm.

Jeff

 

[Ravenn]

Here is a vote for boots,and seal skinz socks. Remember, injuring your means of "mobility " in a jungle makes you a hinderance.
For the leach thing, and this is no joke....\
"panty hose" ask some of the guys that spent time with the 9th Inf Division in the Delta,or even some of the Seals. I heard about it from a LLDB (Luong Loc Dac Biet, Vietnamese SF) NCO.

 

[hannibal lecter spyderco]

Well, I think the instructor probably hasn't really spent lots of time in the jungle, in my book because if you walk in the jungle you will realize two important things how dense it is and how your feet can get cut up pretty badly if they aren't covered. The chances of leeeches getting into yoru boots are next to nothing if you wear jungle boots with the parpcord in them. Furthermore for long distances I suspect that rubber sandles would tear up your feet.

 

[DE-SO bloke]

"Actually it's cheap tennis shoes and bare feet that rule the jungles of Latin America...every so often you will see the knee high rubber boots." JeffRandall

Unfortunatelly, that is a reality. But the main reason for that, is economical. For the vast majority of latin americans who live in jungles, the use of cheap tennis shoes or bare feet do not come from option. If they could I'm very shure that would not be their first choice. And I'm shure that was also the main reason for the use of sandals by the VCs.
A jungle boot has proved to be the best shoe I have used so far, in the jungles of Brazil. It is light , confortable (the trick is to use two socks, a very thin, as for business shoes, and another thicker one on top), protective, dries fast and will have long life if cared properly. Leave the sandals to be used around camp.

 

[Qew71]

golok

realise that in our part of the world (i'm from singapore) you often find the indigenous people walking around barefoot thru the jungle too! doesn't mean that I'm willing to do the same.

these people grew up in that sort of environment. we would find walking barefoot thru the underbrush terrible.

trekking sandals though are another matter... if the vegetation isn't too heavy and the area really is too wet, a pair of TEVAs might do the trick... if you're not concerned with the bugs and the many times you could stump your toes... and the thorns... and all the little twigs that get in under your foot and poke as you step hard on the insole...

I for one am a clumsy kinda walker... I kick tree roots, rocks and whatever else that sticks out of the ground all the time. In a forest, my toes would be a mess if I walked around in just sandals... I'll opt for boots.

Sandals are "camp" wear for me... like when we've reached a nice spot where we might stay for a day or 2... I'll break out the sandals. But if it's just an overnight layover with more walking to be done the next morning, I wouldn't bother taking them out.

I'd also like to volunteer something else about rubber boots (galoshes, wellintons) or canvas shoes or thongs (rubber sandals, flip flops). As DE-SO mentioned, economic factors are often the driving force behind the choice of many locals when it comes to jungle footwear... Another factor is that for them the jungle is in their backyard. They (some of the malay villagers I have observed) go into the jungle to forage whatever they need, it's like going to work... they don't live for several days on end in those same rubber boots. If they did, their feet would rot just the same as the rest of the gringos' too!

I think the whole point is that if we're trekking/hiking in a jungle environment, you HAVE to take your shoes off at the end of the day and give them a chance to drain. You HAVE to take them off or your feet WILL rot!

Oh, and liberal applications of powder. I use the military surplus ones which are "supposed" to be anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. Powder before your put your boots on and powder after you take them off...

On a tangent, my army boots have a removeable plastic insole that seems to be made from several layers of fine plastic mesh. LOL if you hold them up to the light, you can see right thru the small holes. They really do not hold water at all... You could walk out of a swamp, unlace your boots and por the water our and fling the insole and it'd be dry (at least not soggy). The leather of the boot and your socks will of course drain water back into the boot as you walk... but you can repeat the exercise again later on! is anyone familiar with the name of these insoles??