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Corps buys mid-range boots

The Corps is set for its first widespread distribution of the Marine Temperate Boot.

The Defense Department has signed a $3.2 million contract with boot maker Danner for 23,000 pairs, which the company intends to supply this fall.

The temperate boot is an in-between option for Marines, bridging the Mountain Cold Weather Boot’s warmth and the Marine Hot Boot’s lightweight design. It has a waterproof Gore-Tex liner like the mountain boot, but is not designed specifically for extreme mountain conditions, said Erin Patterson, a Danner spokeswoman.

The boot retails for about $200, putting it in the same price range as the hot- and cold-weather options.

“Our boots are designed for extreme performance, so it’s extremely comfortable and durable for long humps through water and mountains,” said Joseph Schneider, president and CEO of LaCrosse Footwear, N.C., Danner’s Portland-Ore.-based parent company.

LaCrosse announced the contract Aug. 27. Previously, the boot had been ordered only in smaller quantities, Schneider said.

Marine Corps Systems Command referred questions about the contract to the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia. Officials there could not be reached for comment, so it is not yet clear when or where the Corps will begin fielding the new boots.

This is at least the third major boots purchase for Marines this year. In February, Danner said it was shipping 5,320 pairs of the hot-weather boot and 3,334 pairs of the cold-weather boot as part of a $1.3 million order. That came in addition to another $900,000 order.

Last August, the Corps awarded Danner a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract worth up to $6 million to produce up to 40,000 cold-weather boots.

Marine officials said in December that they were considering an all-climate, all-weather boot that would have a removable insulating liner. That’s an Army project, Systems Command spokeswoman Capt. Geraldine Carey said Aug. 27. Army officials could not be reached for comment.