SHAH ALAM: The procurement division of the Defence Ministry has issued a tender for the delivery and supply of 227,271 combat boots, all-leather for a three-year period. The estimated cost for the combat boots is RM50 million which means each pair will cost some RM219.98.
Pretty cheap considering that the pistols bought for the Army recently cost RM10,000 each. A few years ago, the Army bought 1111 pair of digital boots for RM450 per pair plus change. Two years ago, the Army bought 500 Haix boots for around RM998 each.
So how much should a pair of combat boots cost then? Perhaps, the government should get a pair of boots costing around RM500 each, so our soldiers get – hopefully – better combat footwear. RM500 per pair of boots means that the cost for some 227,271 pairs is around RM114 million, almost triple the amount of the budget allocated for the tender, though.
With a higher cost per pair, the new boots could come with rubber or Vibram soles as used in many hiking boots nowadays instead of the specified PVC sole. It must be noted that apart from the paratrooper jumping boots, the Army also supplied various safety boots for its soldiers – for various usage from technicians to search and rescue operation – which cost at least RM1000 each.
Some of the specifications of the CBAL.
Pegawai dan anggota Lain-Lain Pangkat (LLP) Tentera
Darat memerlukan Combat Boot All Leather (CBAL) yang tidak
mudah rosak dan diperbuat daripada bahan yang dapat
memberikan keselesaan kepada pemakainya. Kasut ini juga
perlu mempunyai rekabentuk yang memenuhi keperluan
operasi serta ciri-ciri tempur.
4.1.1. Kasut 4.1.1.1. Rekabentuk dan Dimensi 4.1.1.1.1.
Rekabentuk kasut hendaklah jenis but calf-length. Bahagian
upper hendaklah dibuat sepenuhnya menggunakan kulit asli
dan tapak (sole) dari bahan Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Tapak
disuntik secara terus kepada bahagian badan menggunakan
kaedah direct injection moulding
It must be noted that the Joint Force Command bought 971 light weight boots in desert camo for some RM447,000 or RM460.35 a pair for Malbatt 850-12 from a tender published in July, last year.
The tender for the CBAL was published on February 21 and closes on April 29, a period of 66 days. As Malaysian Defence reported previously, the Army is slowly gearing up for uniform procurement and it is likely that a tender for the No 5 digital camouflage will be published soon. The Army has not issued a big tender for the No 5 camo since 2013. The last order for 2564 No 5 digital camo was issued in 2022 and each cost RM188 per pair. A contract for 800 No 5 digital camo for Maktab Putra DiRaja through a quotation notice early this year cost RM171 per pair. An order of 200,000 pairs of the No 5 camo will cost some RM37 million if assuming a pair cost RM185 each.
Another uniform tender was published on January 10 and closes on March 18. The tender is for 42,000 tunics with 15 buttons, or the No 1 uniform. The estimated cost for the tunics is RM18 million which means that each No 1 Uniform should cost around RM428 each.
–Malaysian Defence
If you like this post, buy me an espresso. Paypal Payment
Interesting take on digi camo uniform. We went that route since US & many others had switch to digi camo gear. Ever since then, US have largely been going back to an organic camo pattern, so I wonder if we will follow in its tail and switch back too or do we still see benefits of sticking to digi camo.
Recently there seems to be a change to the colour of the digital camo both in uniform n military vehicles. Previously there are light green n light brown patches. But now all became a darker shade with the brown bring like chocolate brown n greens dark green n olive green. If I am not mistaken
This boots sold by kulitkraft are just too old fashion.
The outsole can be improve with better threading for better traction in muddy areas.dont kulitkraft make a study on the outsole threading?
The frontal lips of the outsole can partially cover the toecap just like any latest safety boots.
The syntethic leather can be thinner to reduce weight.
Where are the fast lacing eyelets?
Must the boots be that high? It will be better to cut short 2 or 3 eyelet from above.
If china can produce cheap and super light safety boots why cant kulitkraft follow suit?
@joe
The current digital pattern is very effective in breaking the shape of a soldier,with more disruprive sand color,compared to the earlier digital pattern.
If right now if you feel dizzy looking at ATM digital pattwrn,that shows that the pattern is irritating to look at amd enemy might not even givebit a second glance.
Place it in vegitation background the camo is totally absorbed by the vegitation.
The dark hue of all the color compared to the previous batches is the manufacturer take into consideration of fading thru time and washing.
Unless these leather boots are for the parade grounds, they should not be bought. In the wet, humid, and hot climate that Malaysia has, these boots are not durable. They are hot, and will get feet sweaty. Better to go with a modern version of the Vietnam War style jungle boot. They dry out faster, are breathable, and are easier to waterproof. IMHO, they would be a better match to the Malaysian climate, and be more durable.
@RedSot
While the original study postulated that digi pattern have that effect (hence why the USA switchover to digi camo), later field study put doubts into the actual effectiveness hence why their switching back to more organic camo pattern. If we had looked at other examples when switching to digi camo back then, then its also time to take heed the USA direction and relook the digi camo pattern as well.
Not sure where I picked that up, but I recall a reason we dropped dark tone on our digi camo pattern was due to it being more highly detectable in IR spectrum.
Hi joe,
Must we follow what the mat saleh doing?U.S military research dept have very deep pocket,ATM pocket is shallow.Dont forget joe US army,navy,marines have been changing their camo many times with different coloe scheme and lastly they stick with copycat scorpion camo pattern.
If you study the scopion camo pattern,what make it effective is because the background camo runs vertically,while blotches of white n brown runs horizontally.
Joe have you see ATM digi camo in action?it blends really well with the vegetation,the trooper almost “invisible”from the naked eye,from 50mtr distance.
Regarding being seen by IR bino,all uniform uses anti IR ink,but these ink wont last for ever,it worn off after many washing.
And black color is the most prominent thru an IR bino,and thats the reason many armies prevent black color to be applied in their uniform.