@@joeybaseball7352 you’re off on this one, there is a detailed “audience retention” graph that helps us creators see what parts of the video people watch. TH-cam doesn’t talk much about it so most people haven’t heard of it.
The officers had leather jack boots. Kirza boots were for the lower ranks. Either kind of these boots were worn without socks. Instead of socks each foot would be wrapped with a strip of linen or cotton fabric in a such way that would make these boots quite comfortable to wear. When part of the fabric strip gets wet from sweat, the foot gets rewrapped so the dry end wraps around the foot while the wet end is wrapped around the crus to dry out. Due to water resistance, these boots could also be used as a vessel.
@Kelly Harbeson носки у нас умели шить, даже при советах, просто это настолько плохая обувь, что если носить её с носками вместо портянок, ноги превратятся в фарш, это такая советская магия
I collect Soviet stuff and do reenactment, the foot wraps are more of a thick flannel material and make these boots actually pretty comfortable to wear, in fact I’ll use these when shoving snow in the winter and with wool socks and foot wraps theses stay nice and warm and work great
When I was a soldier in 1987 - 1989, I wore such boots. At first they seemed uncomfortable to me and rubbed my feets. Around the spring of 1988, we were given high-laced boots. Having tried all the options, we returned to the old boots. These boots are not hot in summer and not cold in winter, they do not get wet in the rain. Until now, somewhere on the balcony I have a pair of such boots.
@@user-px1ml2og8u как-то некрасиво называть свою страну улусом, Володимир, но на вопрос-то вы так i не ответили? если вдруг? то какие планы на 24й-то?
@@sjoormen1they are good boots, and last a long time. It takes feet time to get used to them. When starting military service, sudden everyday use the city boys that never wore boots would have finger nails come off, pieces of skin rub off, bloody feet and was a nightmare. This was the boot of the villages and a lot of people working dirty jobs.
I used those Kirza boots in the Army in early 90s. We had plenty of modern boots, but used Kirza for some daily work and duty in the fields. To say the least, I was amazed how comfortable and practical they were when you work in trenches, dirt, high grass and similar environments. Especially when you know how to use it with footcloth. Also, despite simplicity, those boots had a lot of killer features - they were light, reliable, easy to maintain, protected and stabilized the foot and it was super-easy to keep your feet dry. Only best tactical boots with modern lacing and Goretex can compete with them. So I understand why Kirza boots were used for more than a century.
Мне тоже довелось носить кирзу с портянкой после берцев и носков, и честно говоря, возвращаться к берцам после этого не хотелось совершенно, а особенно возвращаться к вонючим носкам) В кирзу можно быстро вкинуться и быстро их снять при необходимости ( что не раз пригождалось в наряде)). Единственный минус у кирзы, что я выявил - в них неудобно бегать и маневрировать, они тяжелее берцев. Во всем остальном - одни плюсы
looks like he completley skipped part where russia with germany attack poland and russia with germany were allies with plan to split lands called ribbetropp molotow. And then they occupied my country to 1993 where for rest of the world war end in 1945.
My father was an officer in the Soviet army in 1980-s, he said that although officers were issued cooler full-leather boots, many of them would still prefer kirza boots for being lighter. He brought a few pairs home, I would occasionally wear them when doing chores around our village house - didn't like them much, mostly because the "shoe" part was completely stiff, and putting them on was giving me some kind of "foot claustrophobia" (e. g. the feeling that I maybe shouldn't put my foot into that, because it's unclear whether I will be able to get it back out). I didn't bother with footwraps, would just put several cotton socks on each foot, and then a thick wool sock on top of that if the weather was cold.
I have 2 different versions? One pair looks just like the ones in the video, the other are not "flat" over the toes but has more space over them. Use them in the winter driving my tractor and when driving motorcycles. I fixed the "nail problem" with a pair of thick wool soles. You are right. The rubber gets a bit stiff and slippery after a couple of decades.
I heard a story of a Soviet soldier who got boots two sizes too big. His comrades thought he was mad, and a pain in the *** in the rain when he would get stuck in the mud. However, come the winter, he stuffed his boots with newspaper and had the warmest feet in the regiment.
Yep, I have a pair of 80s model officer boots, one and a half size bigger, i put height insoles, plus thicker socks. So warm and comfier and easier to walk on.
This was very interesting to me. My mother was employed by The Florsheim Shoe Company in Chicago, Illinois when WWII ended, and she told me that on the day they were informed that the war in Europe was over, that the manager of the factory was upset that his contracts would be canceled. He was not too popular with the ladies working there who had family members fighting in that war.
That's just the nature of war under capitalism, it's not about survival (most of the times), it's all about supplying the government and leeching away the tax money from everyone else, even the guys getting killed out there to keep you safe.
No kidding....now of the war production factories where my mother worked she never mentioned that one. Just Motorola and we'll Precious Metal? Or something where she made machine gun mounts for bombers. And she had three brothers in the service. In WW-2.
I served in 2010, in the military registration and enlistment office we were given military boots along with a uniform. During the first week of the "young fighter course" in the military unit, some guys wore their legs very badly, and then we were given kirza boots with footcloths, my legs felt so blissful then that I still remember it, how great it was compared to high-top boots and socks = )
I wore those boots during my militeraized service (emercom) in years 2002-2005, as an old colleague gave me his old style boots which were too small for him and told me not to wear the new-style boots with laces. I was very satisfied, as I could put them on in a second during the night shifts and could come into rather deep water or mud with them. I used to climb, jog and jump in these boots without any problems. do not see any problems in using these boot with the tissue instead of socks. cheers from Russia!
Здравия желаю товарищу по службе в мчс :) Месяц назад дмб из ногинска. Сейчас выдают берцы фарадей / парижская комунна удивительная обувь которая согревает ногу в 30 градусную жару и охлаждает зимой помимо того что модели которые выдают ещё и самые дешёвые и неудобные в которых ходишь скрипя как сквидварт и при скользишь на любом льду.
I remember wearing one of these in 2011, while serving in the army. Mine hade a glued on sole, and most of the guys from my squad changed their combat boots for this type of footwear, as it fits better for the hot climate. Also, you can easily take them off while having a break on a speed march, what made them really popular among soldiers. Thanks for the video!
I was in the British military in the 1980s and 1990s our military and our boots were pretty good. I married an Estonian woman and used to do work at their country house on the property in Tabasalu, Estonia. I used a pair of those Russian boots and they were really quality items hard wearing and superbly comfortable. The quality of the leather and lining was just excellent. I totally understand why they would have kept them that style and for so long.
It was reported that when Russia switched from the Kirza jackboot to the low lace-up boots the General officers were quoted as saying, "Wait until the spring floods come the soldiers will wish they had Kirza boots".
It might be on the lower side of reliability and quality, but if they really are lighter and more waterproof than the other boots, I'd take them. Having wet feet at war times, especially in the Russian winter, is life threatening. And having to walk with heavy boots packed with snow or mud is extremely fatiguing, considering the huge distances the soldier had to walk during the later stages of the war.
Tend to agree. The comments section reveals they were worn with footwraps and not socks and so I presume that helped solve the insulation issue to an extent as well.
@@jackmacfakie1387 портянки носили вместо носков как более надежное средство, так как носки в таких сапогах, да и вообще в сапогах снашиваются буквально за 2 часа. Занимался в свое время военно исторической реконструкцией РККА, ходил и в ботинках кожаных с обмотками и сапогах кожаных и кирзовых, кирзовые сапоги наиболее универсальны.
I owned the East German copies (basically the same boots issued to East Germany from the 50's to the 80's). They were fairly indestructible, hard on your feet with or without socks, waterproof. Very plain outside of them being high boots.
The East German Army , the NVA used Leather boots for the conscripts that were essentially copies of the March Jackboots for the lower enlisted personnel and the cadre NCO's and Officers had slightly taller leather boots.
@@MrHrKaidoOjamaaVKJV The ones from Sportsman's Guide East German Surplus boots were identical to the Russian boots with the cotton canvas coated type material.
@exexpat11 Those from the Sportsman's Guide were not genuine, not the real deal. I know I wore the real deal in the Estonian Defense Forces in the early 1990's
As a person that has 3 pairs of these boots. They are very durable all weather boots, and great for outdoors and even horse riding. Down side, they do take very long to break in and can be very uncomfortable at first. But with proper boot socks and time it becomes very comfortable. The water proof quality of the boot is what is the most important factor to me. And light weight. Weight equals lbs, lbs quality pain. Having a water proof boot is far better to have in Eastern Europe too as most of eastern Europe is a bog, swamp and hill grassland. So I wouldn't say it is a bad boot, it is a great boot for the area it is designed. You want a light boot in a bog and swamp as it is easier to get out of mud versus a heavy boot.
I do wwii soviet reenacting and i can guarantee these boots are quite comfortable and versatile. With footwraps they fit quite snug and are easy to repair as im a cobbler and have torn a few open
As reenactor who got his hands on british, american and russian kits i can tell with full confidence - boots from all sides have their own strenghs and weaknesses. Soviet jackboots so far lightests and waterproof. American - most comfortable. British - you can go on any dangerous and slippery surface and not fall - nails will chew into anything.
These boots, at least for me, make for encredably good work and walking boots particularly for the price. There aren't many places where you can get knee high boots with durable soles in for $80. They are also encredably comfortably when you use footwraps with them since in my experience they fill out the boot better and allow sweat to wick away alot easier.
@@lazzie7495 I got mine from a Russian military surplus site. It's one of the first results you get when you type it Google. They use European sizing rather than the Soviet one to be clear.
@@Timsturbs indeed, although linen works very well too for more tropical environments. I use the German method that is cotton footwraps with wool socks for most conditions. The wool sock providing warmth and the foot wraps for durability.
@@petesheppard1709 Yeah. Portyanki are awesome. I've been hiking and bushcrafting in these boots for a few years, i definitely see the Kirza above the leather tearing at some point but they've been amazing boots. If they break I'll just get another pair. They don't feel cheap or poorly made, but easily replacing them if they were damaged was part of the whole reason why they were designed the way they were to be mass produced. They're great boots. They fill the role well and if they break, replace them and keep going lol I'd rather wear these over riding boots or muck boots any day. They're too much fun. They feel really nice too. And I've jogged in them before and they don't feel bad at all. They're just different.
My father served in the Yugoslav Army in the early 1950s. He told me they were issued socks and foot-wraps. They used the socks while on base but when they were out in the field they used the foot-wraps. My father claimed that when foot-wraps were properly used you could march for miles and never get a blister.
I wore those shoes in Soviet Army at the end of 1980's. It is not just a boot. IT is the whole system of tightly wrapped around a foot piece of cloth, called Portianka. If your foot gets wet or sweaty you can wrap your foot with the another side, while wet part dries as you continue walking. When you sleep, you wrap the cloth around the boot and let it and the boot dry up. Becides the lighter weight, you don't have to worry about socks to carry spares. As per fire resistance, It never even crossed my mind, as it never been a problem. Last, these boots saved lots of lives, as it takes split second to put them on, no shoe laces to worry, no socks to put, just put a cloth over the boot and slide the foot into the boot. Cheap and light does not mean it is bad, it did the job it was designed for. And I completely disagree with western and German propaganda that Soviet leaders just threw the bodies at any problem. It is especially very visible when Soviet union started war against Japan. With relatively few troops Red Army was way more successful in destroying Japanese Imperial Army that was occupying China, Korea, Sakhalin and Kurils
Respect to you, my friend. The USSR steamedrolled the Japanese in Manchuria while the US were struggling with their island hop. The west tends to attribute "throwing bodies" to anyone they don't like.
@@borghorsa1902 Until you look at the details and compare apples to apples. Against Japan Americans lost way more troops while fighting for just a few islands in Pacific. uSSR defeated largest, industrial area in Manchuria which had largest Japanese Force. USSR Red Army lost most troops in 1941-1942. At the time when German Army was the strongest and most capable. Yes lots of losses killed, taken POWs. The largest losses were due to criminal treatment of Soviet POWs. It is the established fact that for German troops Eastern front was the same thing Bakhmut was to Ukranian troops
I love looking at historical trade offs like this. Seeing what decisions were made and why, and ultimately the outcomes of those choices. We can learn so much from seeing what has already been tried. Thank you for doing these sorts of videos.
the Kirza is great because you can make a bigass jack boot which is perfect for the deep snow and mud you will often run into in Russia, but it's not excessively heavy.
My first pair of kirza boots was with LEATHER heel. It was 1987 BTW. After initial break-in period they were quite comfortable, if heavy, and careful wrapping of the foot was not necessary - simply place foot wrap on top and push your foot in (socks are necessary for this trick). After 4 months in boot camp and training center I upgraded them to officer version (all-leather, shorter, lighter, rubber sole) and woolen socks since it was far North and we were Navy after all :). Logically working boots (called gady) should be issued to sailors instead of jackboots but I newer got mine. Instead I purchased extra pair of dress boots and was wearing them with socks when on shore. On board everybody was wearing legendary perforated submarine slippers :)
Is it true that those perforated submarine slippers were introduced in the navy only after an admiral visited a ship, promptly slipped and cracked his head open?
Thank you. I used to wear KIRza combat boots when I was I kid, it is very bad in the cold weather. But they were nearly indestructible. Also you the army “became” red only after 1017 revolution, befor that it was just a Russian army :) thumbs up!
My greatgrandfather wore his own, self made leather boots in ww2 and this situation was quite common.Soviet people in this days make many things by they own hands. If they need something on the front, and army have no suplies, they made it! If the take bad items they make them beter, upgrade it. Greatgrandfather can make boots, horse harness, even wooden house, etc etc
I do little bit of "airsoft reenactment" and I wore these during the 5 hour game in melting snow and ankle deep mud, a lot of running, jumping around, in total I ran 7km with it. I had telogrejka- watnik uniform, socks and footwraps( the footwraps were too small so I had to wear socks also) and I was amazed how waterproof they are. Normaly during games I wear modern combat boots, but these are in fact very light weight which made running feel better. On the downside, I would not like to have anything heavy fall on my foot because the leather is quite thin. My feet were completely dry and if I know how to wrap the footwraps better, not like a halfwit my feet would feel little bit less sore. I plan to buy proper footwraps and test it for some 10+ km march in summer to see if my fingers would fall off or not :D
I have been loving these videos on military boots. You should take a look at some Servis Cheetahs they are infamous for their use by the Taliban, Mujahideen, and even the Afghan security force over the last 40 years.
Worst boot? I've worn out at least two pairs of them. I love them. I've worn them with both socks and footwraps. Because they (or the footwraps) are not tight, they don't restrict blood flow to the feet, meaning your feet don't get so cold in cold weather, and in the heat, your feet don't sweat so bad, because they are loose enough for sweat to more easily escape. Easy to get on and off - you can't say that about the WWII US Army lace up boot with those blasted gaiters.
I find your historical analysis of boots of WWII an amazing analysis! It is such an important piece of kit that just gets overlooked by so many fanboys. If you've ever had to do a road march with your rucksack you are INTIMATELY aware of how good or bad your boots are! Thanks for your efforts to bring light to such a cool part of our history!
Sore feet, the nightmare of infantrymen . Those boots adresses two of the most important issues of walking miles over miles : weight and dryness . Lesson learned from my time in the French marine infantry (2ème RIMA regiment)
The kirza boots are also very easy and quick to put on. Also in around a month of wearing they change their shape exactly to your feet and become quite comfortable. I never had any problems with nails when I was in Soviet army, like feeling them. And especially during the WW2 russian soldiers had to walk enormous distanses, when the roads turn to mud, and that is what thouse boots are really made for.
me too. had to learn about one of the world wars at school and how the allies would cut the frozen legs off german corpses, throw them in an oven for 20 minutes to thaw out, then wear their boots because their own were giving them trenchfoot. I do wonder what were the brand of those boots that made them so valuable.
I’m really glad you added the stats about views versus museum visits. I work in museums. It’s a perpetual problem. And then does anyone actually pay attention when they are there….I’m so pleased to see videos like this reaching so people who are just sat at home and haven’t had to even travel and negotiate the terrible cafe! It’s a great way of getting meaningful history to people, and telling a story and interacting with an object is much more accessible than sticking something in a case and having a label next to it. We are so restricted by how much information we can get across. I work with the objects but the visitors never get to see what I see. They see two lines on a label, and no context. This is far more useful. Thank you. Try and get your hands on straw insulated winter army boots - massive things. It would be interesting to freeze them too and compare their performance.
Another massive advantage of this construction method, especially given the circumstances: they don't require any industrial machines or electricity. The nailed construction is all handmade and construction could continue even in awful conditions, unlike boots that were made with goodyear welt stitching machines.
@@jackmacfakie1387 Cope. They went from a backwards agrarian state to parity with the US, the most powerful empire in history, while victims of the holocaust. China has now surpassed you.
in 1984, I was a teenager in the USSR, and I lived in a military town, my parents bought me children's kirza boots in a military store, at first I didn't like them because they were too simple, but after wearing them I got great pleasure from their patency everywhere and superiority in fights with peers. I think the big mistake was the refusal of the army from kirza boots, modern tactical shoes are just a shame.
@@Grisuu Superiority is when you have two blacksmith's hammers on your feet, one blow with a cast-iron boot - the opponent is disabled. Still impenetrable shin protection. Also, when walking through the forest, there is a feeling that the tracks from the t-34 tank are on their feet. At the same time, the boots are light, warm in winter, cool to the foot and dry in summer. For reliability-ideal. The most important thing is that the child has such an opinion! And also, perhaps you didn't know - in the browser from the Yandex search engine, all videos are translated by voice!!! online in your native language, it is extremely convenient. Try.
Cheap waterproof boot that just worked. Might not be the most comfortable but it was the best boot that the USSR needed at the time. Could have made something fancy but you would have ended up with dudes fighting barefoot. Tall boots are also great in the wet muddy conditions that the Eastern Front was infamous for, a conventional boot would have been pretty horrible in comaprison considering the depth of the mud would have meant mud in you're boots.
Love the history: military, materials, etc. I think that you have shown that the RIGHT answer for combat boots in WWII might depend on the country and its circumstances. Kind of like tactics and armament. Oh, and rage, rage, ragedy, rage-a-licious, rage-a-mungous. For the al-go-rythm.
During my service in the army 2007-2009, we were given these boots for the first time. We wore them either with party girls or with socks. It was more comfortable in party girls only because of the soft material that was pleasant to the foot and the shoes sat tighter to the foot. We were lucky to find boots from the 40s and 50s. They were very beautiful and virtually immortal. Then everyone finally changed their shoes into shoes, but that's another story ....
The author constantly says that the Russians threw bodies at the enemies. This indicates a low level of knowledge about the war on the Eastern Front. It is enough to study the proportions of Russian losses in that war - of the 27 million dead, 17 million were civilians killed during the German genocide. The ratio of Soviet and German military losses is about 1:1.3, which does not look like "they filled up enemies with corpses."
The Soviet army sent people into battle without weapons only in call of duty and bad films. At the beginning of the war, the USSR had more self-loading rifles than the Nazis.
English calls them both boots but one has laces and the other one is a solid impregnable tube. The latter is far far superior in some cases. The issue on the Eastern Front was not so much fire and snake bites but getting across vast swaths of mud and snow and keeping the foot dry and not frostbitten. That is the main task that is why water resistance is paramount.
Wow! I love how you took the time to dive into the history of Russia and how the boot played a role!! It would be cool to own a pair someday! Great video!👏👏
Two issues: It was not the Russian army in WWII, it was the Red Army or Soviet Army. The Soviet Union was a multiethnic state! These boots are postwar production. They're very close to wartime, but it's not a proper comparison IMO
Russia pre revolution was a multiethnic state and it remains one today. The Soviet Union was an empire, whose interests included violently suppressing the social and democratic agency of the people within (and often without) the empire
The one you cut was a nice pair, the one I got was a cold war variant, cardboard inner soles so the first time I wore them melted the inner soles, dont use socks on them, they will chew through socks within a day, if you wanna make it work with socks replace the inner soles, other than that its waterproof and will do as advertised.
Typical for USSR: Cheap, easy and quick to build. Also no laces: Muddy terrain is a nightmare for laced boots. But the downside is that there isn't much ankle support
@@wecx2375 Kilties are good but unfortunately they don't protect the laces or eyelets. And when everything is covered in mud, it takes a long time to take off your shoes and clean it.
I've got a pair of those, purchased from old Soviet stocks. I use them as my "burner" boots, for gardening, garage work, and everything muddy and wet when the comfort of my normal more modern boots isn't mandatory (swamp trekking, offroading in deep mud etc). They're indeed unimaginably durable, because they're oversized and I wear them with double woolen socks (originally footwraps would be used) they're comfortable even when full of water after a thigh-deep water crossing, they also dry very fast for a leather boot and protect you from creepy crawlies etc because of their height. The only downside is because the soles are so damn f*cking hard, almost inflexible, you absolutely need some cushioning insoles, and even then your back and ass will suffer on the pavement. This is why I don't wear these daily. Thank you for these amazing videos, history of military footwear is very important yet often neglected
I think the light weight and water proofness would be a larger benefit than flame resistance and puncture resistance (of the shaft). It'd be nice if they could be laced though, because I doubt these properly fitted many soldiers.
They are supposed to be worn with footwraps - you can google the word "портянки" and see what I mean - that solve the fitting (and hygiene) problem. Variations for paratroopers had laces on top of the shaft so that boots don't fly off though
Lower part is most important and it is leather + rubber, upper only keep water out and for that purpose works. Boots are light what is another plus if you wear them almost all the time. In short, perfect war boots.
@@Totemparadox What exactly is bad or poor or not functional in those boots? Leather part, synthetic waterproof part, rubber part, nailed together part, light weight part? Or is it maybe"commie" part that bothers you? Hm, expert?
@@danijel3227 By all records these are some of the most uncomfortable boots according to people who have used them either in service or civilian life. Also the fact that they're pull ons means they slide on your feet needing extra steps to not get blisters. Also being totally waterproof means your feet become like a swamp.
For Russian winters spent in the trenches with minimal access to supplies, I think I'd take these over the other WW2 boots. Especially with linen foot wraps instead of wool socks.
There was two types of that what you call linen foot wraps: regular, for spring and summer and winter ones, for cold part of the year. Winter wraps was made from much more thiker and warmer material. We call them portyankee))).
My father is a dirt poor peasant's son, he was actually born in the mountains while his family was running from SS division murdering a whole region, he spent his whole childhood wearing basic leather moccasin-like shoes in winter only, the rest of the year walking bare footed, and he absolutely hated those army foot wraps during his conscription. He said he would "cheat" and wear wool socks his mother hand-made instead.
Two thumbs up for detailed and balanced review! This boots really saved USSR and was widely used in army and as a regular working boots. Footcloth need to be highlited as well, because it is part of the system, keeping foot farm in cool season and cool in warm season. You just easy re-roll it and change: feet end (sweaty) to knee end (dry). Easy, cheap, genius and working, like all real russian stuff
Служил с 1986 по 88 года, Кирзачи -самая лучшая обувь!!! Находились в тундре - носили при температуре до -50 градусов! Сапоги и две пары портянок и все окей! Потом были в Казахстане при +45 -50 градусов тепла ,одна пара тонких портянок и все окей! КаКИЕ БОТИНКИ? Все они не удобны их надо разнашивать,у кого-то стопа широкая, у кого-то подьем стопы высокий и все этого дико не удобно, отсюда мозоли, натертости и тд ... А Кирзачи одел с портянками и лепота!!! Попробуйте в своих ботинках одеться за 45 секунд!!! Есть у меня сейчас ботиночки от фирмы 5.11 и, что вы думаете? Ну супер просто тащусь - две стельки ,одна пласмассовая другая мягкая ,повторяе форму ноги - ну супер! Одел,был таким довольным пока через час ходьбы не натер на одной ноге мозоль на пятке!!! Сначало не мог понять причину, а потом увидел,что на пядке обуви где проходит шов ниток - получился бугорок из ниток и теперь что не делал все за зря, трет ногу и все! Вот вам и крутая обувь - 150 евро на ветер !!!
Today's military footwear is designed for mechanized troops, those of that period were for long marches, for walking in snow and mud I would have preferred these boots, I think the evaluation should consider the environment of use, In this case, for example compared to the boots of the Germans, the Soviet ones were lighter, waterproof, cheap to produce and a little higher, it seems difficult to argue that they were worse.
Nail down is superior, that is why the OLD Viberg logging corks were nail down. Also in 1991 I won a bet with a Soviet officer & was going to get a pair of these for me, but my CO said "NO".
Most of the rural Russian soldiers had home knitted thick woolen socks in addition to the foot wrappings. The wool socks prevented their feet from freezing in the cold Russian winters and did not cause sweating like other materials.
Kirza boots are like T 34 tanks, unrefined, quick to produce, innovative, and easy to repair. I really liked this video because it gives a historical perspective of the problem of equipping what at that time was the population of entire countries with footwear. Even the very fact that Soviet soldiers were not given socks, but two pieces of cloth with which they wrapped their feet and which in summer allowed ventilation and prevented the foot from cooking and in winter created pockets of hot air for avoid frostbite of the feet. . Not to mention avoiding abrasions from both the lining material and the nails with which the boot was built. Plus they look great. YuoTube comrades return the money, respect the rules of capitalism
On my book you have permission to cut ANYTHING footwear related in half, this channel is history itself being preserved! And it's a way to celebrate every single shoe that comes to your hands as well! Ive been here since your Vans video, and got instantly addicted! I hope to see some more vans models overtime as well (I really wanna see what they've done different in some shoes like the Wayvees and the Knu Skools)
I’d like to see you examine a pair of British Army DMS (Directly Moulded Sole) boots that were used from the 1950s to the 80s and were hated as far as I know, they’re cheap and easy to find. I own a pair from 1980, they’re not the worst things I’ve ever worn but certainly not the best, either.
You obviously never had to slog around Scottish mountains in British army boots. I think those Russian boots kept the wet out and dry feet are very important, particularly in winter.
As a person who served in Russian army I can totally say that this shoe is perfect example of whole Russian system and goods production. Quantity over quality
10:43 As someone living in a country that had been under Japanese occupation (arguably the four worst years in four centuries of occupation by various foreign powers here; the garden across the road from the house I grew up was used as an execution ground), I'm not sure how I'd feel about walking around in replicas of Japanese WWII boots. Cool project I guess...
kirza is conscript boot. leather is much more prevalent . But it's russian leather (юфть, хромовая кожа), so there is a catch... also, americans supplied 10 millions pairs of boots for russian army, and kirza had been rolled out in relatively late stage of war. so saying it saved the war to even some extent is kinda wrong.
I visited Eastern Europe in 1990 and bought a pair of these Russian Boots at a flea market - in the box NEW . I took them back home and proceeded to go to my small 10 acre farm in the Brazos Valley outside of Hearne , Tx . I put the boots on and went for a walk in the tall grass with a heavy dew - the moisture went thru the leather like a sieve my socks were wet and feet were cold. I can't imagine wearing these things in the winter.
It is very good that historical context is included in this video. 👍 I have worn kirza boots in the past. My takes ... 1. As mentioned in this video, kirza is better than leather against water which I concur. 2. Nails sticking out? I had to install a pair of moderately thick insoles to cover them. However, soldiers who actually wore kirza boots wrapped their feet with portyanki (footwrap) which could take care of the sticking nail problem if they are wrapped around a few times. If the footwraps are large enough, one can wrap them around thick enough to wear oversized boots. (Footwraps can be more advantageous than socks at times.) Socks were not issued until more modern combat boots started to replace kirza boots. 3a. Kirza is not as flexible as leather which could eventually result in the lower port of the shaft getting torn due to wear and tear. 3b. I ended up throwing away my pair of kirza boots because one of the rubber soles cracked due to wear and tear. The rubber soles and heels wore out fairly fast in urban environment. 4. Kirza boots are not exactly the most comfortable choice of footwear. If one is doing a lot of marching and especially along rugged terrain, modern ankle-high combat boots or hiking boots are a better bet. 5. No shoelaces ...... hooray!!! (I do not like having to bend over to tie shoelaces.) 6. If you have the money to spare, you could go for the officers' issue boots (sapogi with rugger or leather heels and soles with leather shaft and shoes) and parade boots (the same kind of boots issued to the Kremlin Guards).
it is also necessary to take into account the fact that Russia abandoned the kirza boots only in 2013. due to the fact that we mainly have taiga, forests, swamps, and rivers, and in boots you will not be able to walk through the swamps for a long time, or in the dew in the early morning, cross the river into the ford, or walk through deep snow, footcloths are still worn for boots for the place of socks, which in fact is just a piece of rag, and in combat conditions, any piece of cloth
I do really appreciate what you do and also quite surprised with the well-studied and neutral presentation of the historical facts. That's rare on TH-cam! Thank you! Because of this I thought you might be interested in this comment on the statement from the end of the video: about throwing bodies at troubles. I can totally agree, that in many, maybe in most cases, Russians face troubles not properly prepared, wrong place, wrong time. But. If study history of conflicts, in which Russia took part, compare numbers thoughtfully, then one can find that Russians usually succeed fighting with the skill not with the mass. There's a lot written about Alexander Suvorov, as brilliant example of such a general. If we talk about WWII, then it's necessary to consider following facts: a) USSR faced WW2 in a rush for recovery after WWI, revolutions, civil war and internal political crisis, being far back in development compared to the western countries; b) USSR was fighting against the most advanced army of the time, powered by economics of united Europe; c) major part of losses are civilians (more people were murdered than killed in battles), what was the planned genocide by Nazi, many battles were won in minority, with less losses (but not all, of course, especially at the first stage of the war). Thus being said, I admit, that USSR lost more people during WWII and also more soldiers than Germany, but the statistics and it's dynamics does not show violent "trowing of bodies", as it is common to present these days. Thank you so much for attention! I should notice that I'm not a professional historian, and don't know reputable sources in English to point to, so, please, excuse me and take the above as an inspiration for a search, not asking me for solid proofs.
if soldiers fought in isolation from supplies, they always chose such boots. The fact is that shoes should not have socks, but pieces of soft fabric that wrap around the legs in a special way. In the forest, the problem is drying socks, the fabric was simply unwrapped and thrown into the fire for a second, and immediately removed from the fire, so that the fabric dried out literally in seconds. Such a fabric did not tear like a sock, it could be unfolded when wound on the legs by any side. And if the fabric got wet on the insole, the soldier unfolded the fabric with the dry side down. and in the boot top, the fabric dried quickly from the movement of the boot top. Also, kirza boots are really lighter in weight. And kira does not require lubrication with shoe polish, which is also important in the forest.
The same reason we Marines in the Vietnam era wore the worst excuses for a boot ever made. Wore out at an alarming rate, the soles wore down and the boot became useless. Why? It was cheap.
These are one of the worst variants of this type of boots. I am quite fond of soviet footwear, I own several pairs of jackboots “Sapogi” (kirza and leather ones for soldiers and a really nice pair for officers/parades) and low work boots. They fascinate me in a way (I appreciate the cheapness, simplicity and nastiness) I find them to be one of the worst well made (built to last) shoes. I also frequently wear a pair of leather “soldier” sapogi (with leather soles) and a pair of already mentioned low boots (with rubber soles). The jackboots I wear are actually quite nice, they were made in the 60s/70s by Ромны, the shaft and vamp is lined with nice pig skin (the ankle area is left unlined so it can fold around your foot while the shaft stays straight), the soles, heels and half soles are made entirely from leather and nailed on using brass nails. I’d also say that the uppers are made from thicker leather than those in the video ( plus they’re all grain out) and they also have a toe stiffener. I installed a thin leather insole to protect myself from the nails and the boots are quite comfortable in the end, the layers of leather mold to your feet overtime and the nails are none issue. The low work boots are on the other hand, as nasty as it gets. They’re much cheaper the stitching is not straight at all, the eyelets are sharp and the last is quite weird there were also lasting tacks sticking through the vamp that were left there by the workers who made them. But surprisingly, they’re also relatively comfortable after a few months of wear. I think it would be really interesting to compare these horrible work boots that were used in the Soviet Union at the same time you were using the red wing moc toes with cristy soles in America. Thank you for the great video.
@@axeavier you’re right, it’s mostly a thing of habit for me. I have it from a Russian cobbler who worked on these boots, he always referred to the jack boots as “sapogi” and to the low work boots as “botinki” (ботинки) even though it both means just boots/shoes. These boots are also often referend to by their materials (yuft, kirzachi etc).
@@axeavier "sapogi" term does not directly translate into English. Boots with laces are called "botinki" in Russia regardless of the height. The "sapogi" term is only used for high boots without laces. So the subject of the video is a boot, but for Russian speaker it is not "botinok" but "sapog". All boots used in video for comparison's sake (except German one) are not "sapogi" but "botinki".
You should keep a angle grinder with a cuttoff wheel on hand for when you hit nails/shanks. Have you tried a carbide tooth bandsaw blade? That might work good as long as you keep it cool.
Спасибо за обзор! Служил в 1991-93 годах и у нас они ещё были. Не сразу к ним привыкаешь.Из недостатков, подошва быстро стиралась,а так довольно крепкие сапоги.
I love the cutting side of your story! I finally found out what was inside))) Thank you. They dead cheap boots, and yes they will kill your feet no matter the socks or footwraps... Avoid at any costs...
Was the new Kirza material that much better then the old one that cracked and didn't insulate? I'm wondering if there was a breakthrough or desperation made them accept whatever they could get.
They actually managed to change the material compsition so it would stay flexible in sub zero temperatures, if memory serves me. Even though the soviets liked things on the cheap, it had to last.
One of the most important features omitted here is that these boots were designed to be combined with foot wraps instead of socks. Wraps suffer no holes (one of the worst feet killers are wet socks with holes) and are far cheaper and easier to produce, and have advantages against most socks (greater heat insulation etc.). Only best tactical boots with modern membrane and lacing can compete with them. This is why a modern equivalent costs tenfold more with minimal advantages over kirza boots.
First vid I've seen of yours. Nice points you put towards the to justify the experiment. I think these equally apply to MRE reviews (Steve1989 being the master, of course.) It's a great middle ground between documentation of primary sources and experimental archaeology.
you need to wear Protyanki. wrap your feet with special cloth. by using different ways to wrap your feet you can get extra comfort, warmth or even cooling your feet. and you can change them pretty fast if your feet sweat.. btw. you can also roll the top down so the boot will became shorter and more ventilated.
Служил в них в 90х годах, в пограничных войсках. Ходили очень много, по пересечённой местности. Из-за этих поганых сапог заработал варикоз. Это самая плохая обувь, которую я носил. Единственный их плюс - надёжность.
ну в 90х уже можно было горные боты надыбать если постараться, или яловые сапоги.. А так - портянки нужно мотать правильно, с разной толщиной на стопе для продольной и поперечной поддержки. Научиться можно за пару недель, но если не получится - писос ногам, это да.
@@M0n01it , где это на заставе в 90-е горные ботинки надыбать? Там новые сапоги хрен найдёшь. И куда там в горных ботах идти в лесу и по болотам!? А портянки хороши тем, что можно использовать 2 конца, да и то не всегда. Иногда портянки выдавали меньшего размера и дырявые. Приходилось простынь рвать. Оружия и патронов было дохрена, а остального нет. Или думаете у нас за 2 года портянки не научились мотать!? Если обувь гавно, то остальное не сильно поможет. А кирзовые сапоги полное Говнище, знаю по своему опыту. А тем, кто утверждает обратное, желаю и на том свете в них ходить. Ещё добавлю: зимой у нас кирзачам альтернативы не было, а вот по теплу там очень подошли бы Джангл Бутсы со времён Вьетнама.
shitty translation. "He served in them in the 90s, in the border troops. We walked a lot, over rough terrain. Because of these filthy boots, varicose veins have earned. These are the worst shoes I've worn. Their only advantage is reliability."
So like a Vostok amphibia watch then? As robust, reliable and waterproof as a Rolex but not as pretty and you have to regulate it yourself if you want Rolex levels of accuracy.
In the 80s those boots were popular with Soviet civilians for some outdoor activities (in Russian it's "Kirzachi"). Although you couldn't buy them - they were army issue. You do have to wear them with foot wraps ("portianky") if you intend to march for any amount of time. I overall think that they do the job. Laced boots take a lot more engineering going into them and pretty much nobody can get it right. And you need gaiters, rubber bands on the bottom of the pants, really good fit, proper lacing techniques etc... Depending where you serve. Remember you need to put them on and take them off really fast. I'm used to the old school Israeli boots from the 80's and now I like Lowa combat boots (goretex and all), but for their time the venerable Kirsachi were nothing to fuck with.
Dear TH-cam, Please stop demonetizing Historical content. I love history and I watch many youtube channels about historical events. Many of the channels complain about you ( TH-cam) sucking donkey balls. You make money, so pay the peeps that make you money. Also, Great Job Mr. Anvil! I hope you and your wife Mrs. Anvil have many little Iron Rangers running around.
I would like to personally thank you for the deepness of your research. If I had to do it I wouldn't have reached this level of detail that you put. Bravo, Bravo!
You didn't throw these boots away, you dissected them. It's not a horrible waste. It just is what it is. The knowledge gained out of this video/task, pays back in spades...
Great video! I'm surprised they added latex/rubber material to the outside material. I would think it would crack over time, but I guess not. I'm totally on-board witht he Japanese boot repro, so long as they're less than $300 per pair...
Once again, thank you for doing this. It's one thing to see the boot whole and understand what it's made of and how, but deconstructing it shows it, it's valuable because this video will last forever but all of these boots will eventually deteriorate and disappear
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Props to them for willing to be at the end of the video. That face lotion sounds nice
@@joeybaseball7352 It's shown in the statistics
You're not looking at why they needed a light water proof boot, the kind of muddy wet ground that the Soviets were fighting demanded those specs
@@joeybaseball7352 well, i see somewhere. Maybe its in the TH-cam studio application
@@joeybaseball7352 you’re off on this one, there is a detailed “audience retention” graph that helps us creators see what parts of the video people watch. TH-cam doesn’t talk much about it so most people haven’t heard of it.
The officers had leather jack boots. Kirza boots were for the lower ranks. Either kind of these boots were worn without socks. Instead of socks each foot would be wrapped with a strip of linen or cotton fabric in a such way that would make these boots quite comfortable to wear. When part of the fabric strip gets wet from sweat, the foot gets rewrapped so the dry end wraps around the foot while the wet end is wrapped around the crus to dry out. Due to water resistance, these boots could also be used as a vessel.
@Kelly Harbeson носки у нас умели шить, даже при советах, просто это настолько плохая обувь, что если носить её с носками вместо портянок, ноги превратятся в фарш, это такая советская магия
Can only imagine what those rags smelled like after being pinned down in Stalingrad for a month or two.
@@juslitor oof
I collect Soviet stuff and do reenactment, the foot wraps are more of a thick flannel material and make these boots actually pretty comfortable to wear, in fact I’ll use these when shoving snow in the winter and with wool socks and foot wraps theses stay nice and warm and work great
@@juslitor they can be washed and dry in 15 minutes if you know how.
When I was a soldier in 1987 - 1989, I wore such boots. At first they seemed uncomfortable to me and rubbed my feets. Around the spring of 1988, we were given high-laced boots. Having tried all the options, we returned to the old boots. These boots are not hot in summer and not cold in winter, they do not get wet in the rain. Until now, somewhere on the balcony I have a pair of such boots.
Взадницу кирзу, служил в тоже время, испортилсебе ступни.
@@user-px1ml2og8u а если Залужный перемогу не организует, то какие планы на 24й? Просто радi любопытства.
@@user-px1ml2og8u как-то некрасиво называть свою страну улусом, Володимир, но на вопрос-то вы так i не ответили? если вдруг? то какие планы на 24й-то?
how are they on hard surface, rocks,.. etc?
@@sjoormen1they are good boots, and last a long time. It takes feet time to get used to them. When starting military service, sudden everyday use the city boys that never wore boots would have finger nails come off, pieces of skin rub off, bloody feet and was a nightmare. This was the boot of the villages and a lot of people working dirty jobs.
I used those Kirza boots in the Army in early 90s. We had plenty of modern boots, but used Kirza for some daily work and duty in the fields. To say the least, I was amazed how comfortable and practical they were when you work in trenches, dirt, high grass and similar environments. Especially when you know how to use it with footcloth. Also, despite simplicity, those boots had a lot of killer features - they were light, reliable, easy to maintain, protected and stabilized the foot and it was super-easy to keep your feet dry. Only best tactical boots with modern lacing and Goretex can compete with them.
So I understand why Kirza boots were used for more than a century.
Мне тоже довелось носить кирзу с портянкой после берцев и носков, и честно говоря, возвращаться к берцам после этого не хотелось совершенно, а особенно возвращаться к вонючим носкам) В кирзу можно быстро вкинуться и быстро их снять при необходимости ( что не раз пригождалось в наряде)). Единственный минус у кирзы, что я выявил - в них неудобно бегать и маневрировать, они тяжелее берцев. Во всем остальном - одни плюсы
I love how he adds the entire history around the boots. Makes me super interested in history!
As someone who knows quite a bit about WW2 and really enjoy reading about it. The boots is something I never thought about learning about.
@@Plague_Doc22 The focus is usually on the footwraps, so the boots are easy to overlook.
@TastingHistory is a good channel here on TH-cam
looks like he completley skipped part where russia with germany attack poland and russia with germany were allies with plan to split lands called ribbetropp molotow. And then they occupied my country to 1993 where for rest of the world war end in 1945.
@@will-o-the-wisp-witch And everyone's favorite: Weird History
My father was an officer in the Soviet army in 1980-s, he said that although officers were issued cooler full-leather boots, many of them would still prefer kirza boots for being lighter. He brought a few pairs home, I would occasionally wear them when doing chores around our village house - didn't like them much, mostly because the "shoe" part was completely stiff, and putting them on was giving me some kind of "foot claustrophobia" (e. g. the feeling that I maybe shouldn't put my foot into that, because it's unclear whether I will be able to get it back out). I didn't bother with footwraps, would just put several cotton socks on each foot, and then a thick wool sock on top of that if the weather was cold.
Do they smell like eggs?
@@Eduardo_Espinoza This version did not contain egg so why would it smell like egg?
@@Eduardo_Espinoza No, not at all.
I have 2 different versions? One pair looks just like the ones in the video, the other are not "flat" over the toes but has more space over them. Use them in the winter driving my tractor and when driving motorcycles. I fixed the "nail problem" with a pair of thick wool soles. You are right. The rubber gets a bit stiff and slippery after a couple of decades.
I heard a story of a Soviet soldier who got boots two sizes too big. His comrades thought he was mad, and a pain in the *** in the rain when he would get stuck in the mud. However, come the winter, he stuffed his boots with newspaper and had the warmest feet in the regiment.
Normal practice. Usually they took a size larger, not two. If the boots are two sizes too big, then you will knock your legs off.
Yep, I have a pair of 80s model officer boots, one and a half size bigger, i put height insoles, plus thicker socks. So warm and comfier and easier to walk on.
This was very interesting to me. My mother was employed by The Florsheim Shoe Company in Chicago, Illinois when WWII ended, and she told me that on the day they were informed that the war in Europe was over, that the manager of the factory was upset that his contracts would be canceled. He was not too popular with the ladies working there who had family members fighting in that war.
That's just the nature of war under capitalism, it's not about survival (most of the times), it's all about supplying the government and leeching away the tax money from everyone else, even the guys getting killed out there to keep you safe.
No kidding....now of the war production factories where my mother worked she never mentioned that one. Just Motorola and we'll Precious Metal? Or something where she made machine gun mounts for bombers. And she had three brothers in the service. In WW-2.
I served in 2010, in the military registration and enlistment office we were given military boots along with a uniform. During the first week of the "young fighter course" in the military unit, some guys wore their legs very badly, and then we were given kirza boots with footcloths, my legs felt so blissful then that I still remember it, how great it was compared to high-top boots and socks = )
В керзовом сапоге у тебя бы давно стерлась нога
I wore those boots during my militeraized service (emercom) in years 2002-2005, as an old colleague gave me his old style boots which were too small for him and told me not to wear the new-style boots with laces. I was very satisfied, as I could put them on in a second during the night shifts and could come into rather deep water or mud with them. I used to climb, jog and jump in these boots without any problems. do not see any problems in using these boot with the tissue instead of socks. cheers from Russia!
Здравия желаю товарищу по службе в мчс :) Месяц назад дмб из ногинска. Сейчас выдают берцы фарадей / парижская комунна удивительная обувь которая согревает ногу в 30 градусную жару и охлаждает зимой помимо того что модели которые выдают ещё и самые дешёвые и неудобные в которых ходишь скрипя как сквидварт и при скользишь на любом льду.
I remember wearing one of these in 2011, while serving in the army.
Mine hade a glued on sole, and most of the guys from my squad changed their combat boots for this type of footwear, as it fits better for the hot climate.
Also, you can easily take them off while having a break on a speed march, what made them really popular among soldiers.
Thanks for the video!
are you out now?
@@MsZsc yes, I was out almost a decade ago.
@@Nikita_Random that's good
I was in the British military in the 1980s and 1990s our military and our boots were pretty good. I married an Estonian woman and used to do work at their country house on the property in Tabasalu, Estonia. I used a pair of those Russian boots and they were really quality items hard wearing and superbly comfortable. The quality of the leather and lining was just excellent. I totally understand why they would have kept them that style and for so long.
It was reported that when Russia switched from the Kirza jackboot to the low lace-up boots the General officers were quoted as saying, "Wait until the spring floods come the soldiers will wish they had Kirza boots".
It might be on the lower side of reliability and quality, but if they really are lighter and more waterproof than the other boots, I'd take them.
Having wet feet at war times, especially in the Russian winter, is life threatening. And having to walk with heavy boots packed with snow or mud is extremely fatiguing, considering the huge distances the soldier had to walk during the later stages of the war.
Tend to agree. The comments section reveals they were worn with footwraps and not socks and so I presume that helped solve the insulation issue to an extent as well.
@@jackmacfakie1387 портянки носили вместо носков как более надежное средство, так как носки в таких сапогах, да и вообще в сапогах снашиваются буквально за 2 часа. Занимался в свое время военно исторической реконструкцией РККА, ходил и в ботинках кожаных с обмотками и сапогах кожаных и кирзовых, кирзовые сапоги наиболее универсальны.
In the Soviet Army frostbite was a criminal offence in WWII, it meant being derelict in following ones training
I owned the East German copies (basically the same boots issued to East Germany from the 50's to the 80's). They were fairly indestructible, hard on your feet with or without socks, waterproof. Very plain outside of them being high boots.
the standart is footcloths, not socks )) . Try it, it is far better.
@@vasiliypoopkeen7954 I actually tried the wrap and socks and bare feet. Socks and the wrap was similar.
The East German Army , the NVA used Leather boots for the conscripts that were essentially copies of the March Jackboots for the lower enlisted personnel and the cadre NCO's and Officers had slightly taller leather boots.
@@MrHrKaidoOjamaaVKJV The ones from Sportsman's Guide East German Surplus boots were identical to the Russian boots with the cotton canvas coated type material.
@exexpat11
Those from the Sportsman's Guide were not genuine, not the real deal.
I know I wore the real deal in the Estonian Defense Forces in the early 1990's
As a person that has 3 pairs of these boots.
They are very durable all weather boots, and great for outdoors and even horse riding. Down side, they do take very long to break in and can be very uncomfortable at first. But with proper boot socks and time it becomes very comfortable.
The water proof quality of the boot is what is the most important factor to me. And light weight.
Weight equals lbs, lbs quality pain.
Having a water proof boot is far better to have in Eastern Europe too as most of eastern Europe is a bog, swamp and hill grassland.
So I wouldn't say it is a bad boot, it is a great boot for the area it is designed. You want a light boot in a bog and swamp as it is easier to get out of mud versus a heavy boot.
I think they work great when riding motorcycles. And, as you say, they keep water away for a long time. They are easy to dry too!
You wear them with socks, not foot wraps as is proper?! You /heretic/!
Что ты такое несёшь, чёрт возьми !? "Большая часть это болото и трясина" процентов 20 это большая часть !?
I do wwii soviet reenacting and i can guarantee these boots are quite comfortable and versatile.
With footwraps they fit quite snug and are easy to repair as im a cobbler and have torn a few open
same here, one event i was stuck in a stream for 10-15 mins. my feet stayed bone dry. much better than my usgi boots lol
As reenactor who got his hands on british, american and russian kits i can tell with full confidence - boots from all sides have their own strenghs and weaknesses. Soviet jackboots so far lightests and waterproof. American - most comfortable. British - you can go on any dangerous and slippery surface and not fall - nails will chew into anything.
These boots, at least for me, make for encredably good work and walking boots particularly for the price.
There aren't many places where you can get knee high boots with durable soles in for $80.
They are also encredably comfortably when you use footwraps with them since in my experience they fill out the boot better and allow sweat to wick away alot easier.
right you are
Where do you get these kinds of boots?
@@lazzie7495 I got mine from a Russian military surplus site. It's one of the first results you get when you type it Google.
They use European sizing rather than the Soviet one to be clear.
want to add footwrap material plays a big role, it should be thick soft cotton preferably with wool, like flannel
@@Timsturbs indeed, although linen works very well too for more tropical environments. I use the German method that is cotton footwraps with wool socks for most conditions.
The wool sock providing warmth and the foot wraps for durability.
I remember my military training - one of our guys got a foot blister, whose old school boots were the only thing which could help him stay mobile
I wish you would have elaborated more on Portyanki. Theyre a really important part of the usage and identity of these boots.
Lars (Survival Russia) has some good videos, where he points out how they can be better than socks!
@@petesheppard1709 Yeah. Portyanki are awesome. I've been hiking and bushcrafting in these boots for a few years, i definitely see the Kirza above the leather tearing at some point but they've been amazing boots. If they break I'll just get another pair. They don't feel cheap or poorly made, but easily replacing them if they were damaged was part of the whole reason why they were designed the way they were to be mass produced. They're great boots. They fill the role well and if they break, replace them and keep going lol
I'd rather wear these over riding boots or muck boots any day. They're too much fun. They feel really nice too. And I've jogged in them before and they don't feel bad at all. They're just different.
The German soldiers preferrred "Fußlappen" over socks too.
@@adumbratus4148 Yeah. Fußlappen are awesome
My father served in the Yugoslav Army in the early 1950s. He told me they were issued socks and foot-wraps. They used the socks while on base but when they were out in the field they used the foot-wraps. My father claimed that when foot-wraps were properly used you could march for miles and never get a blister.
I wore those shoes in Soviet Army at the end of 1980's. It is not just a boot. IT is the whole system of tightly wrapped around a foot piece of cloth, called Portianka. If your foot gets wet or sweaty you can wrap your foot with the another side, while wet part dries as you continue walking. When you sleep, you wrap the cloth around the boot and let it and the boot dry up.
Becides the lighter weight, you don't have to worry about socks to carry spares. As per fire resistance, It never even crossed my mind, as it never been a problem.
Last, these boots saved lots of lives, as it takes split second to put them on, no shoe laces to worry, no socks to put, just put a cloth over the boot and slide the foot into the boot. Cheap and light does not mean it is bad, it did the job it was designed for. And I completely disagree with western and German propaganda that Soviet leaders just threw the bodies at any problem. It is especially very visible when Soviet union started war against Japan. With relatively few troops Red Army was way more successful in destroying Japanese Imperial Army that was occupying China, Korea, Sakhalin and Kurils
Respect to you, my friend. The USSR steamedrolled the Japanese in Manchuria while the US were struggling with their island hop.
The west tends to attribute "throwing bodies" to anyone they don't like.
Soviet losses and USA losses speak volume about two different battle philosophies - USSR lost 10x more
@@dxq3647 USSR lost 10x more. Look at Russian invasion into Ukraine, Russ fight like Russo-Finnish war
@@borghorsa1902 Until you look at the details and compare apples to apples. Against Japan Americans lost way more troops while fighting for just a few islands in Pacific. uSSR defeated largest, industrial area in Manchuria which had largest Japanese Force.
USSR Red Army lost most troops in 1941-1942. At the time when German Army was the strongest and most capable. Yes lots of losses killed, taken POWs. The largest losses were due to criminal treatment of Soviet POWs.
It is the established fact that for German troops Eastern front was the same thing Bakhmut was to Ukranian troops
Spot on about the propaganda narrative. The whole video reeks of historical illiteracy.
I love looking at historical trade offs like this. Seeing what decisions were made and why, and ultimately the outcomes of those choices. We can learn so much from seeing what has already been tried. Thank you for doing these sorts of videos.
He was wrong about the human wave tactics th-cam.com/video/_7BE8CsM9ds/w-d-xo.html
the Kirza is great because you can make a bigass jack boot which is perfect for the deep snow and mud you will often run into in Russia, but it's not excessively heavy.
My first pair of kirza boots was with LEATHER heel. It was 1987 BTW. After initial break-in period they were quite comfortable, if heavy, and careful wrapping of the foot was not necessary - simply place foot wrap on top and push your foot in (socks are necessary for this trick). After 4 months in boot camp and training center I upgraded them to officer version (all-leather, shorter, lighter, rubber sole) and woolen socks since it was far North and we were Navy after all :). Logically working boots (called gady) should be issued to sailors instead of jackboots but I newer got mine. Instead I purchased extra pair of dress boots and was wearing them with socks when on shore. On board everybody was wearing legendary perforated submarine slippers :)
Is it true that those perforated submarine slippers were introduced in the navy only after an admiral visited a ship, promptly slipped and cracked his head open?
Thank you. I used to wear KIRza combat boots when I was I kid, it is very bad in the cold weather. But they were nearly indestructible. Also you the army “became” red only after 1017 revolution, befor that it was just a Russian army :) thumbs up!
In a cold weather you need to replace footwraps with a warm ones
My greatgrandfather wore his own, self made leather boots in ww2 and this situation was quite common.Soviet people in this days make many things by they own hands. If they need something on the front, and army have no suplies, they made it! If the take bad items they make them beter, upgrade it. Greatgrandfather can make boots, horse harness, even wooden house, etc etc
I do little bit of "airsoft reenactment" and I wore these during the 5 hour game in melting snow and ankle deep mud, a lot of running, jumping around, in total I ran 7km with it.
I had telogrejka- watnik uniform, socks and footwraps( the footwraps were too small so I had to wear socks also) and I was amazed how waterproof they are.
Normaly during games I wear modern combat boots, but these are in fact very light weight which made running feel better.
On the downside, I would not like to have anything heavy fall on my foot because the leather is quite thin.
My feet were completely dry and if I know how to wrap the footwraps better, not like a halfwit my feet would feel little bit less sore.
I plan to buy proper footwraps and test it for some 10+ km march in summer to see if my fingers would fall off or not :D
I have been loving these videos on military boots. You should take a look at some Servis Cheetahs they are infamous for their use by the Taliban, Mujahideen, and even the Afghan security force over the last 40 years.
just googled this. sorry but the taliban has no business walking around with that much drip
@@b.e.e.l.i Inshallah Brother.
Worst boot? I've worn out at least two pairs of them. I love them. I've worn them with both socks and footwraps. Because they (or the footwraps) are not tight, they don't restrict blood flow to the feet, meaning your feet don't get so cold in cold weather, and in the heat, your feet don't sweat so bad, because they are loose enough for sweat to more easily escape. Easy to get on and off - you can't say that about the WWII US Army lace up boot with those blasted gaiters.
I absolutely love these kind of videos Weston. Please keep doing these more historical boots. They're super fun.
I'm surprised that you never mentioned the footwraps and how socks weren't used with kirza boots!
I find your historical analysis of boots of WWII an amazing analysis! It is such an important piece of kit that just gets overlooked by so many fanboys. If you've ever had to do a road march with your rucksack you are INTIMATELY aware of how good or bad your boots are! Thanks for your efforts to bring light to such a cool part of our history!
Sore feet, the nightmare of infantrymen . Those boots adresses two of the most important issues of walking miles over miles : weight and dryness .
Lesson learned from my time in the French marine infantry (2ème RIMA regiment)
The kirza boots are also very easy and quick to put on. Also in around a month of wearing they change their shape exactly to your feet and become quite comfortable. I never had any problems with nails when I was in Soviet army, like feeling them. And especially during the WW2 russian soldiers had to walk enormous distanses, when the roads turn to mud, and that is what thouse boots are really made for.
You can still buy new ones in Russia, they are very often bought by workers to work at a construction site
Waterproof, light and cheap I'd wear them.
@@jackmacfakie1387I prefer a steel toe in construction .
I love the historical boot series! It’s awesome getting to learn and see these little thought items that were insanely important but often overlooked.
me too. had to learn about one of the world wars at school and how the allies would cut the frozen legs off german corpses, throw them in an oven for 20 minutes to thaw out, then wear their boots because their own were giving them trenchfoot. I do wonder what were the brand of those boots that made them so valuable.
It’s also important to mention that it’s worn with foot wraps and not socks, it makes a huge difference
I’m really glad you added the stats about views versus museum visits. I work in museums. It’s a perpetual problem. And then does anyone actually pay attention when they are there….I’m so pleased to see videos like this reaching so people who are just sat at home and haven’t had to even travel and negotiate the terrible cafe! It’s a great way of getting meaningful history to people, and telling a story and interacting with an object is much more accessible than sticking something in a case and having a label next to it. We are so restricted by how much information we can get across. I work with the objects but the visitors never get to see what I see. They see two lines on a label, and no context. This is far more useful. Thank you.
Try and get your hands on straw insulated winter army boots - massive things. It would be interesting to freeze them too and compare their performance.
Another massive advantage of this construction method, especially given the circumstances: they don't require any industrial machines or electricity. The nailed construction is all handmade and construction could continue even in awful conditions, unlike boots that were made with goodyear welt stitching machines.
Low tech mass produced - yep, sounds like Soviet Russia.
@@jackmacfakie1387 Cope. They went from a backwards agrarian state to parity with the US, the most powerful empire in history, while victims of the holocaust. China has now surpassed you.
in 1984, I was a teenager in the USSR, and I lived in a military town, my parents bought me children's kirza boots in a military store, at first I didn't like them because they were too simple, but after wearing them I got great pleasure from their patency everywhere and superiority in fights with peers. I think the big mistake was the refusal of the army from kirza boots, modern tactical shoes are just a shame.
@@Grisuu Superiority is when you have two blacksmith's hammers on your feet, one blow with a cast-iron boot - the opponent is disabled. Still impenetrable shin protection. Also, when walking through the forest, there is a feeling that the tracks from the t-34 tank are on their feet. At the same time, the boots are light, warm in winter, cool to the foot and dry in summer. For reliability-ideal. The most important thing is that the child has such an opinion! And also, perhaps you didn't know - in the browser from the Yandex search engine, all videos are translated by voice!!! online in your native language, it is extremely convenient. Try.
In the west, we’d call those shit kickers.
Cheap waterproof boot that just worked. Might not be the most comfortable but it was the best boot that the USSR needed at the time. Could have made something fancy but you would have ended up with dudes fighting barefoot. Tall boots are also great in the wet muddy conditions that the Eastern Front was infamous for, a conventional boot would have been pretty horrible in comaprison considering the depth of the mud would have meant mud in you're boots.
Love the history: military, materials, etc. I think that you have shown that the RIGHT answer for combat boots in WWII might depend on the country and its circumstances. Kind of like tactics and armament. Oh, and rage, rage, ragedy, rage-a-licious, rage-a-mungous. For the al-go-rythm.
Hi there! Im russian and i was in army in 2005-2006 and yes, i was wearing kirza boots with portyanki))).
During my service in the army 2007-2009, we were given these boots for the first time. We wore them either with party girls or with socks. It was more comfortable in party girls only because of the soft material that was pleasant to the foot and the shoes sat tighter to the foot. We were lucky to find boots from the 40s and 50s. They were very beautiful and virtually immortal. Then everyone finally changed their shoes into shoes, but that's another story ....
What are party girls?
@@elFulberto bad yandex translate probably. He meant portianka.
The author constantly says that the Russians threw bodies at the enemies. This indicates a low level of knowledge about the war on the Eastern Front. It is enough to study the proportions of Russian losses in that war - of the 27 million dead, 17 million were civilians killed during the German genocide. The ratio of Soviet and German military losses is about 1:1.3, which does not look like "they filled up enemies with corpses."
I realize this wasn't the norm, but they did send men into battle without rifles. Hard to see that as anything but throwing bodies at the enemy.
The Soviet army sent people into battle without weapons only in call of duty and bad films. At the beginning of the war, the USSR had more self-loading rifles than the Nazis.
@@user-me8ds1wy1l just read up more on this. Yeah I was wrong. Sorry about that. Thanks for the info.
English calls them both boots but one has laces and the other one is a solid impregnable tube. The latter is far far superior in some cases. The issue on the Eastern Front was not so much fire and snake bites but getting across vast swaths of mud and snow and keeping the foot dry and not frostbitten. That is the main task that is why water resistance is paramount.
Wow! I love how you took the time to dive into the history of Russia and how the boot played a role!! It would be cool to own a pair someday! Great video!👏👏
In Finnish army we using almost same two types high boots as part of combat equipment for summer and winter forest.
Two issues:
It was not the Russian army in WWII, it was the Red Army or Soviet Army. The Soviet Union was a multiethnic state!
These boots are postwar production. They're very close to wartime, but it's not a proper comparison IMO
Point is you knew exactly what he meant
The Russian army also had various ethnicities in it
Russia pre revolution was a multiethnic state and it remains one today. The Soviet Union was an empire, whose interests included violently suppressing the social and democratic agency of the people within (and often without) the empire
He was not saying Russian army because he did not know they were Soviet Union.
@@willieclark2256There was a Russian Empire before the Soviet Union also. Even proclaimed itself as such.
The one you cut was a nice pair, the one I got was a cold war variant, cardboard inner soles so the first time I wore them melted the inner soles, dont use socks on them, they will chew through socks within a day, if you wanna make it work with socks replace the inner soles, other than that its waterproof and will do as advertised.
Typical for USSR: Cheap, easy and quick to build.
Also no laces: Muddy terrain is a nightmare for laced boots. But the downside is that there isn't much ankle support
Gotta have kilties
@@wecx2375 Kilties are good but unfortunately they don't protect the laces or eyelets.
And when everything is covered in mud, it takes a long time to take off your shoes and clean it.
Сапоги носили поверх портянок. Сапоги сидели на ноге очень плотно.
I've got a pair of those, purchased from old Soviet stocks. I use them as my "burner" boots, for gardening, garage work, and everything muddy and wet when the comfort of my normal more modern boots isn't mandatory (swamp trekking, offroading in deep mud etc). They're indeed unimaginably durable, because they're oversized and I wear them with double woolen socks (originally footwraps would be used) they're comfortable even when full of water after a thigh-deep water crossing, they also dry very fast for a leather boot and protect you from creepy crawlies etc because of their height. The only downside is because the soles are so damn f*cking hard, almost inflexible, you absolutely need some cushioning insoles, and even then your back and ass will suffer on the pavement. This is why I don't wear these daily.
Thank you for these amazing videos, history of military footwear is very important yet often neglected
I think the light weight and water proofness would be a larger benefit than flame resistance and puncture resistance (of the shaft). It'd be nice if they could be laced though, because I doubt these properly fitted many soldiers.
They are supposed to be worn with footwraps - you can google the word "портянки" and see what I mean - that solve the fitting (and hygiene) problem. Variations for paratroopers had laces on top of the shaft so that boots don't fly off though
Lower part is most important and it is leather + rubber, upper only keep water out and for that purpose works.
Boots are light what is another plus if you wear them almost all the time.
In short, perfect war boots.
Perfect war boots for a poor nation with massive army. Bad boots for the soldiers.
@@Totemparadox No.
@@danijel3227 Yes
@@Totemparadox What exactly is bad or poor or not functional in those boots?
Leather part, synthetic waterproof part, rubber part, nailed together part, light weight part?
Or is it maybe"commie" part that bothers you?
Hm, expert?
@@danijel3227 By all records these are some of the most uncomfortable boots according to people who have used them either in service or civilian life. Also the fact that they're pull ons means they slide on your feet needing extra steps to not get blisters. Also being totally waterproof means your feet become like a swamp.
For Russian winters spent in the trenches with minimal access to supplies, I think I'd take these over the other WW2 boots. Especially with linen foot wraps instead of wool socks.
There was two types of that what you call linen foot wraps: regular, for spring and summer and winter ones, for cold part of the year. Winter wraps was made from much more thiker and warmer material.
We call them portyankee))).
For russian winter in trenches you should get wool valenki. If you can wear boots in trenches - that's spring or autumn ))
My father is a dirt poor peasant's son, he was actually born in the mountains while his family was running from SS division murdering a whole region, he spent his whole childhood wearing basic leather moccasin-like shoes in winter only, the rest of the year walking bare footed, and he absolutely hated those army foot wraps during his conscription. He said he would "cheat" and wear wool socks his mother hand-made instead.
Linen is well known for not holding heat, hence why it is prized in warmer climates.
Two thumbs up for detailed and balanced review!
This boots really saved USSR and was widely used in army and as a regular working boots.
Footcloth need to be highlited as well, because it is part of the system, keeping foot farm in cool season and cool in warm season. You just easy re-roll it and change: feet end (sweaty) to knee end (dry).
Easy, cheap, genius and working, like all real russian stuff
Служил с 1986 по 88 года, Кирзачи -самая лучшая обувь!!! Находились в тундре - носили при температуре до -50 градусов! Сапоги и две пары портянок и все окей! Потом были в Казахстане при +45 -50 градусов тепла ,одна пара тонких портянок и все окей! КаКИЕ БОТИНКИ? Все они не удобны их надо разнашивать,у кого-то стопа широкая, у кого-то подьем стопы высокий и все этого дико не удобно, отсюда мозоли, натертости и тд ... А Кирзачи одел с портянками и лепота!!! Попробуйте в своих ботинках одеться за 45 секунд!!! Есть у меня сейчас ботиночки от фирмы 5.11 и, что вы думаете? Ну супер просто тащусь - две стельки ,одна пласмассовая другая мягкая ,повторяе форму ноги - ну супер! Одел,был таким довольным пока через час ходьбы не натер на одной ноге мозоль на пятке!!! Сначало не мог понять причину, а потом увидел,что на пядке обуви где проходит шов ниток - получился бугорок из ниток и теперь что не делал все за зря, трет ногу и все! Вот вам и крутая обувь - 150 евро на ветер !!!
Нам-то не гони! В -50 только валенки. В сапогах ноги отморозить недолгое дело.
Ah yes the famous myth of USSR, just throwing bodies at the enemy until victory. Truly the height of ww2 knowledge.
he’s a boot guy, not a historian
Today's military footwear is designed for mechanized troops, those of that period were for long marches, for walking in snow and mud I would have preferred these boots, I think the evaluation should consider the environment of use, In this case, for example compared to the boots of the Germans, the Soviet ones were lighter, waterproof, cheap to produce and a little higher, it seems difficult to argue that they were worse.
Happy to hear you are working on ww2 japanese repros. I definitely put myself on the mailing list for that.
I don't mind you cutting them in half, it's really the best way to SHOW how the boot was made.
So stoked for the Japanese boot... been saving up for the occasion. Can't wait.
Nail down is superior, that is why the OLD Viberg logging corks were nail down.
Also in 1991 I won a bet with a Soviet officer & was going to get a pair of these for me, but my CO said "NO".
Nailed down in conjunction with stitch is superior. Nailed down can hardly be repaired or resoled.
The name Kirza is an abbreviation of the name of the factory where they were made, KIRovsky ZAvod (Kirov Factory).
Most of the rural Russian soldiers had home knitted thick woolen socks in addition to the foot wrappings. The wool socks prevented their feet from freezing in the cold Russian winters and did not cause sweating like other materials.
Kirza boots are like T 34 tanks, unrefined, quick to produce, innovative, and easy to repair. I really liked this video because it gives a historical perspective of the problem of equipping what at that time was the population of entire countries with footwear. Even the very fact that Soviet soldiers were not given socks, but two pieces of cloth with which they wrapped their feet and which in summer allowed ventilation and prevented the foot from cooking and in winter created pockets of hot air for avoid frostbite of the feet. . Not to mention avoiding abrasions from both the lining material and the nails with which the boot was built. Plus they look great. YuoTube comrades return the money, respect the rules of capitalism
Easy to replace
soviets had the best technology but no money
But the man in the video said that those boots could not be repaired. And the T-34 tanks were not easy to repair at all.
On my book you have permission to cut ANYTHING footwear related in half, this channel is history itself being preserved! And it's a way to celebrate every single shoe that comes to your hands as well!
Ive been here since your Vans video, and got instantly addicted! I hope to see some more vans models overtime as well (I really wanna see what they've done different in some shoes like the Wayvees and the Knu Skools)
I’d like to see you examine a pair of British Army DMS (Directly Moulded Sole) boots that were used from the 1950s to the 80s and were hated as far as I know, they’re cheap and easy to find. I own a pair from 1980, they’re not the worst things I’ve ever worn but certainly not the best, either.
I have around 20 pairs of the NZ version.
@@ek-nz 20 pairs? What are you, a centipede?😂👍
@@numberstation And they’re all different sizes. Not a centipede, a CO. Sometimes the problems are similar.
@@ek-nzthat is a rather witty reply, I commend you.
You obviously never had to slog around Scottish mountains in British army boots. I think those Russian boots kept the wet out and dry feet are very important, particularly in winter.
As a person who served in Russian army I can totally say that this shoe is perfect example of whole Russian system and goods production. Quantity over quality
hater or trauma?
This is to motivate you to get an upgrade from an enemy you slay 🤣
I hope you escaped that hell hole.
10:43 As someone living in a country that had been under Japanese occupation (arguably the four worst years in four centuries of occupation by various foreign powers here; the garden across the road from the house I grew up was used as an execution ground), I'm not sure how I'd feel about walking around in replicas of Japanese WWII boots. Cool project I guess...
Отдельное спасибо за кирзовые сапоги!
Три лайка!
i know and appreciate the information your work brings, that said, it always PAINS ME to see historical boots being cut XD
kirza is conscript boot. leather is much more prevalent . But it's russian leather (юфть, хромовая кожа), so there is a catch...
also, americans supplied 10 millions pairs of boots for russian army, and kirza had been rolled out in relatively late stage of war. so saying it saved the war to even some extent is kinda wrong.
а чем юфть плоха? я без хейта, просто интересно.
@@fedorkuz637 водоустойчовость сильно ниже, чем у классического дубления.
I visited Eastern Europe in 1990 and bought a pair of these Russian Boots at a flea market - in the box NEW . I took them back home and proceeded to go to my small 10 acre farm in the Brazos Valley outside of Hearne , Tx . I put the boots on and went for a walk in the tall grass with a heavy dew - the moisture went thru the leather like a sieve my socks were wet and feet were cold. I can't imagine wearing these things in the winter.
Oh dear, didn't you know you had to wax and polish them?
@@andrewallen9993 no instructions to that purpose enclosed. However, I did consider spraying them with Varathane.
4:00 my G it's a map of Russia, not USSR
You're providing an education that helps me in my craft. I'm a novelist, and I never know what I will need to know, you know? Keep 'em coming!
It is very good that historical context is included in this video. 👍
I have worn kirza boots in the past. My takes ...
1. As mentioned in this video, kirza is better than leather against water which I concur.
2. Nails sticking out? I had to install a pair of moderately thick insoles to cover them. However, soldiers who actually wore kirza boots wrapped their feet with portyanki (footwrap) which could take care of the sticking nail problem if they are wrapped around a few times. If the footwraps are large enough, one can wrap them around thick enough to wear oversized boots. (Footwraps can be more advantageous than socks at times.) Socks were not issued until more modern combat boots started to replace kirza boots.
3a. Kirza is not as flexible as leather which could eventually result in the lower port of the shaft getting torn due to wear and tear.
3b. I ended up throwing away my pair of kirza boots because one of the rubber soles cracked due to wear and tear. The rubber soles and heels wore out fairly fast in urban environment.
4. Kirza boots are not exactly the most comfortable choice of footwear. If one is doing a lot of marching and especially along rugged terrain, modern ankle-high combat boots or hiking boots are a better bet.
5. No shoelaces ...... hooray!!! (I do not like having to bend over to tie shoelaces.)
6. If you have the money to spare, you could go for the officers' issue boots (sapogi with rugger or leather heels and soles with leather shaft and shoes) and parade boots (the same kind of boots issued to the Kremlin Guards).
it is also necessary to take into account the fact that Russia abandoned the kirza boots only in 2013. due to the fact that we mainly have taiga, forests, swamps, and rivers, and in boots you will not be able to walk through the swamps for a long time, or in the dew in the early morning, cross the river into the ford, or walk through deep snow, footcloths are still worn for boots for the place of socks, which in fact is just a piece of rag, and in combat conditions, any piece of cloth
I do really appreciate what you do and also quite surprised with the well-studied and neutral presentation of the historical facts. That's rare on TH-cam! Thank you! Because of this I thought you might be interested in this comment on the statement from the end of the video: about throwing bodies at troubles. I can totally agree, that in many, maybe in most cases, Russians face troubles not properly prepared, wrong place, wrong time. But. If study history of conflicts, in which Russia took part, compare numbers thoughtfully, then one can find that Russians usually succeed fighting with the skill not with the mass. There's a lot written about Alexander Suvorov, as brilliant example of such a general. If we talk about WWII, then it's necessary to consider following facts: a) USSR faced WW2 in a rush for recovery after WWI, revolutions, civil war and internal political crisis, being far back in development compared to the western countries; b) USSR was fighting against the most advanced army of the time, powered by economics of united Europe; c) major part of losses are civilians (more people were murdered than killed in battles), what was the planned genocide by Nazi, many battles were won in minority, with less losses (but not all, of course, especially at the first stage of the war). Thus being said, I admit, that USSR lost more people during WWII and also more soldiers than Germany, but the statistics and it's dynamics does not show violent "trowing of bodies", as it is common to present these days. Thank you so much for attention! I should notice that I'm not a professional historian, and don't know reputable sources in English to point to, so, please, excuse me and take the above as an inspiration for a search, not asking me for solid proofs.
if soldiers fought in isolation from supplies, they always chose such boots. The fact is that shoes should not have socks, but pieces of soft fabric that wrap around the legs in a special way. In the forest, the problem is drying socks, the fabric was simply unwrapped and thrown into the fire for a second, and immediately removed from the fire, so that the fabric dried out literally in seconds. Such a fabric did not tear like a sock, it could be unfolded when wound on the legs by any side. And if the fabric got wet on the insole, the soldier unfolded the fabric with the dry side down. and in the boot top, the fabric dried quickly from the movement of the boot top. Also, kirza boots are really lighter in weight. And kira does not require lubrication with shoe polish, which is also important in the forest.
Love the historic boot videos! Its a shame TH-cam is demonetising historical content.
He is spreading yhr myth of human wave tactics th-cam.com/video/_7BE8CsM9ds/w-d-xo.html
The same reason we Marines in the Vietnam era wore the worst excuses for a boot ever made.
Wore out at an alarming rate, the soles wore down and the boot became useless.
Why?
It was cheap.
These are one of the worst variants of this type of boots. I am quite fond of soviet footwear, I own several pairs of jackboots “Sapogi” (kirza and leather ones for soldiers and a really nice pair for officers/parades) and low work boots. They fascinate me in a way (I appreciate the cheapness, simplicity and nastiness) I find them to be one of the worst well made (built to last) shoes. I also frequently wear a pair of leather “soldier” sapogi (with leather soles) and a pair of already mentioned low boots (with rubber soles). The jackboots I wear are actually quite nice, they were made in the 60s/70s by Ромны, the shaft and vamp is lined with nice pig skin (the ankle area is left unlined so it can fold around your foot while the shaft stays straight), the soles, heels and half soles are made entirely from leather and nailed on using brass nails. I’d also say that the uppers are made from thicker leather than those in the video ( plus they’re all grain out) and they also have a toe stiffener. I installed a thin leather insole to protect myself from the nails and the boots are quite comfortable in the end, the layers of leather mold to your feet overtime and the nails are none issue. The low work boots are on the other hand, as nasty as it gets. They’re much cheaper the stitching is not straight at all, the eyelets are sharp and the last is quite weird there were also lasting tacks sticking through the vamp that were left there by the workers who made them. But surprisingly, they’re also relatively comfortable after a few months of wear. I think it would be really interesting to compare these horrible work boots that were used in the Soviet Union at the same time you were using the red wing moc toes with cristy soles in America. Thank you for the great video.
I'm not sure why you write "sapogi" when it simply means boots
@@axeavier you’re right, it’s mostly a thing of habit for me. I have it from a Russian cobbler who worked on these boots, he always referred to the jack boots as “sapogi” and to the low work boots as “botinki” (ботинки) even though it both means just boots/shoes. These boots are also often referend to by their materials (yuft, kirzachi etc).
@@axeavier "sapogi" term does not directly translate into English. Boots with laces are called "botinki" in Russia regardless of the height. The "sapogi" term is only used for high boots without laces. So the subject of the video is a boot, but for Russian speaker it is not "botinok" but "sapog". All boots used in video for comparison's sake (except German one) are not "sapogi" but "botinki".
You should keep a angle grinder with a cuttoff wheel on hand for when you hit nails/shanks. Have you tried a carbide tooth bandsaw blade? That might work good as long as you keep it cool.
Спасибо за обзор! Служил в 1991-93 годах и у нас они ещё были. Не сразу к ним привыкаешь.Из недостатков, подошва быстро стиралась,а так довольно крепкие сапоги.
I love the cutting side of your story! I finally found out what was inside))) Thank you. They dead cheap boots, and yes they will kill your feet no matter the socks or footwraps... Avoid at any costs...
Was the new Kirza material that much better then the old one that cracked and didn't insulate? I'm wondering if there was a breakthrough or desperation made them accept whatever they could get.
They actually managed to change the material compsition so it would stay flexible in sub zero temperatures, if memory serves me. Even though the soviets liked things on the cheap, it had to last.
One of the most important features omitted here is that these boots were designed to be combined with foot wraps instead of socks. Wraps suffer no holes (one of the worst feet killers are wet socks with holes) and are far cheaper and easier to produce, and have advantages against most socks (greater heat insulation etc.). Only best tactical boots with modern membrane and lacing can compete with them.
This is why a modern equivalent costs tenfold more with minimal advantages over kirza boots.
First vid I've seen of yours. Nice points you put towards the to justify the experiment. I think these equally apply to MRE reviews (Steve1989 being the master, of course.) It's a great middle ground between documentation of primary sources and experimental archaeology.
you need to wear Protyanki. wrap your feet with special cloth. by using different ways to wrap your feet you can get extra comfort, warmth or even cooling your feet. and you can change them pretty fast if your feet sweat.. btw. you can also roll the top down so the boot will became shorter and more ventilated.
I had few pairs of those boots as civilian. Never felt the nails, boots was quite rigid, but very durable. Made a perfect working boots.
Служил в них в 90х годах, в пограничных войсках. Ходили очень много, по пересечённой местности. Из-за этих поганых сапог заработал варикоз. Это самая плохая обувь, которую я носил. Единственный их плюс - надёжность.
ну в 90х уже можно было горные боты надыбать если постараться, или яловые сапоги.. А так - портянки нужно мотать правильно, с разной толщиной на стопе для продольной и поперечной поддержки. Научиться можно за пару недель, но если не получится - писос ногам, это да.
@@M0n01it , где это на заставе в 90-е горные ботинки надыбать? Там новые сапоги хрен найдёшь. И куда там в горных ботах идти в лесу и по болотам!?
А портянки хороши тем, что можно использовать 2 конца, да и то не всегда. Иногда портянки выдавали меньшего размера и дырявые. Приходилось простынь рвать. Оружия и патронов было дохрена, а остального нет. Или думаете у нас за 2 года портянки не научились мотать!? Если обувь гавно, то остальное не сильно поможет. А кирзовые сапоги полное Говнище, знаю по своему опыту. А тем, кто утверждает обратное, желаю и на том свете в них ходить.
Ещё добавлю: зимой у нас кирзачам альтернативы не было, а вот по теплу там очень подошли бы Джангл Бутсы со времён Вьетнама.
shitty translation.
"He served in them in the 90s, in the border troops. We walked a lot, over rough terrain. Because of these filthy boots, varicose veins have earned. These are the worst shoes I've worn. Their only advantage is reliability."
So like a Vostok amphibia watch then? As robust, reliable and waterproof as a Rolex but not as pretty and you have to regulate it yourself if you want Rolex levels of accuracy.
@@andrewallen9993 Those watches were good by the time, and somehow decent now. Also require precise engineering.
But kirza boots always were shit.
In the 80s those boots were popular with Soviet civilians for some outdoor activities (in Russian it's "Kirzachi"). Although you couldn't buy them - they were army issue. You do have to wear them with foot wraps ("portianky") if you intend to march for any amount of time. I overall think that they do the job. Laced boots take a lot more engineering going into them and pretty much nobody can get it right. And you need gaiters, rubber bands on the bottom of the pants, really good fit, proper lacing techniques etc... Depending where you serve. Remember you need to put them on and take them off really fast. I'm used to the old school Israeli boots from the 80's and now I like Lowa combat boots (goretex and all), but for their time the venerable Kirsachi were nothing to fuck with.
Dear TH-cam, Please stop demonetizing Historical content. I love history and I watch many youtube channels about historical events. Many of the channels complain about you ( TH-cam) sucking donkey balls. You make money, so pay the peeps that make you money. Also, Great Job Mr. Anvil! I hope you and your wife Mrs. Anvil have many little Iron Rangers running around.
they demonitize quite a lot, for many many years they demonitized any lgtbq video
I would like to personally thank you for the deepness of your research. If I had to do it I wouldn't have reached this level of detail that you put. Bravo, Bravo!
You didn't throw these boots away, you dissected them. It's not a horrible waste. It just is what it is. The knowledge gained out of this video/task, pays back in spades...
Was literally about to close the video once the ad started lol but I watched it to the end. Here to support!
Great video!
I'm surprised they added latex/rubber material to the outside material. I would think it would crack over time, but I guess not.
I'm totally on-board witht he Japanese boot repro, so long as they're less than $300 per pair...
Once again, thank you for doing this. It's one thing to see the boot whole and understand what it's made of and how, but deconstructing it shows it, it's valuable because this video will last forever but all of these boots will eventually deteriorate and disappear