Monday, April 27, 2009

Spring Boot Blousers



For years in the Marine Corps I used those green elastic boot blousers to blouse my pants over the top of my boots. Years later I found these boot blousing springs. They do a much better job of blousing your pants.

For those that don't know, the BDU pants are designed to be bloused over the boots, not tucked in. When you tuck them in it's more likely that you'll get dirt, pebbles, and bugs down in the boot, as it will get in the creases of the pant legs where they're tucked in and then make their way into the boots. It's also been my experience that when the pants get very wet, like in a rain storm, the water will soak into the pant legs and make it's way into the boots. On top of that, it's more uncomfortable to have your pants tucked into your boots.

These boot springs may be tight on your leg when you first use them. You'll need to stretch them a little at a time until they fit right (like the ones in the picture). You also have to be careful when removing them. The ends connect together by creating "hooks" on the ends. These hooks can snag the pant leg and rip a small hole in them. So be careful when removing them.

Since using these boot bands I'll always prefer them over the older elastic style. They stay in place, stay bloused, last longer, and continue to provide a professional appearance.

Vanguard - $1.55 a pair

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, I have a pair of metal blousing bands and they're extremely tight on my leg, should I put them kinda on top of my boot a little to help with circulation, or should I somehow stretch them a little? Will they stretch while I force them on?

Jake said...

Definitely stretch them...just stretch a little at a time till they're snug but comfortable. then stretch the other one to that same length. It takes a little to stretch them...they won't stretch from use. You'll notice in the picture that mine are stretched quite a bit and I have smaller legs...

Unknown said...

Alright, thank you. I'll be stretching them tonight because I have to march tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I was issued the springs with my marine corp gear in 1969. The springs go about midway down around the boot; not directly on the leg. Pants legs are then tucked around the springs. We also used the "green slime" or legins that wrapped around the boots and laced up. Springs were much better.