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The Official Field Boot of WWII Returns, Better Than Ever

Viberg brings their convincingly accurate Boondocker boot, formerly exclusive to the Japanese market, to North America for the first time.

Viberg N1 BootViberg

By Jack Seemer

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During WWII, US soldiers needed durable, hardwearing footwear to traverse a variety of terrain. The Navy’s answer: the N-1 field shoes, aka “Boondockers” (military slang for describing a wooded, rural area), which found their way onto the feet of thousands of soldiers throughout the 1940s.

The N-1s had a couple signature traits — namely, roughout-leather uppers, dyed tan, and corded soles. Historically, the soles were crafted with repurposed car tires and leftover nylon to preserve materials during the war effort.

Since then, heritage-minded manufacturers like Oak Street Bootmakers and The Real McCoys have paid homage to the Boondocker, but few examples remain as faithful to the original as the Viberg N1 Boot, which just docked in the US after an exclusive run in Japan.

Roughout and ready

Viberg may be based in Canada but it tapped the legendary Horween Leather Co. (based in Chicago) for the main material of its N1 Boot.

The tannery was a storied supplier of materials during WWII and provided the US Armed Forces with as much leather as it could pump out in the first half of the 1940s.

Horween Leather Co. supplied various types of leather to the US Armed Forces during WWII, including a type of Chromexcel called Marine Field Shoe.
Horween Leather Co.

According to Horween, the leather in question was a type of Chromexcel (CXL) called Marine Field Shoe and it was designed to be used with the suede side out.

This wasn’t just for looks (though the roughout texture developed a beautiful patina over time). The smoother the interior of a boot, the tannery found, the easier it was to clean.

Viberg N1 Boot
Marine Field Shoe features of Viberg’s N1 Boot. It is characterized by its rough exterior and smooth interior.
Viberg

“This was particularly advantageous in North Africa, where the troops could up-end their boots to easily empty them of sand, thus greatly reducing blisters and increasing comfort,” Horween says.

Naturally, Viberg’s N1 Boots utilizes US-made Marine Field Shoe for the upper. The silhouette also boasts a historically accurate Chromexcel tongue, based off Viberg’s archive of WWII-era boots.

Kindred sole

More striking than the leather, however, is the N1 Boot’s speckled Dr. Sole Raw Cord Sole. Purists should know that it’s not made with nylon and old car tires but a nitrile rubber compound and hemp, which adds traction and durability.

Viberg N1 Boot
Though it looks the part, the soles on the the N1 Boot are upgraded with hemp cord for increased durability and traction.
Viberg

That said, any inaccuracies are counterbalanced by the fact that Viberg used its 1940 Last, which references those used by the US Navy during WWII. The result is a convincingly accurate homage that offers even better performance than that which came on a boot manufactured en masse during the war.

Pricing and availability

The Viberg N1 Boot is available now for $860. For those who want to wear a bit of history in a more summer-friendly silhouette, the shoe is joined by an Oxford crafted in Marine Field Shoe leather around Viberg’s formerly Japan-exclusive 110 Last. It costs $790.

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