Roughly ten years ago, ex-special forces soldier Jason McCarthy founded GORUCK with the simple conviction that he could build a backpack unlike any that existed at the time, a backpack that would work for soldiers fighting overseas and commuters navigating through the city. He came up with the GR1 and due to its success, continued to build a bag brand based on the concept of go-anywhere carry. Now GORUCK is taking McCarthy’s idea to footwear with the Special Forces-compliant MACV-1 boot.
The MACV-1 is inspired by the Vietnam-era Special Forces jungle boots and uses up-to-date materials that focus on lightness and durability. Those ingredients include a premium full-grain leather and Cordura upper, an EVA midsole and GORUCK’s Workhorse Insert, which is designed to considerably improve upon the typical throw-away insoles found in most boots.
To create the MACV-1, McCarthy assembled a three-man team that included himself, footwear designer and inventor of the Reebok Pump Paul Litchfield, and Richard Rice, a 30-year Special Forces veteran. Rice’s military experience includes time served in Vietnam as a member of MACV-SOG, a classified special ops unit charged with undertaking many of the war’s most sensitive and dangerous missions.
The combined efforts of this group brought the MACV-1 to life over the course of four years. That time was essential in bringing the boot up to GORUCK standards, which demand that a product be just as suitable to everyday life as it is to use in the jungles, deserts and mountains that Special Ops soldiers might find themselves in. McCarthy himself staked his confidence in the MACV-1 in a recent comment on Reddit: “I would bet the entire company on this one product. They’re another level.”
The MACV-1 boots are currently available for pre-order with an estimated ship date of October 2018.