SGU listener Justin, Former US Army Paratrooper, 173rd Airborne Brigade emailed us the other day …
With the amount of money being spent by government and individual soldiers on new and better gear, it’s not surprising that it’s going to attract bottom feeding scam artists. The following link is to a pair of magnetic combat boots. The inventor of the boots claims that by placing magnets in the heels of combat boots he can reduce heel strike by 68%. I maintain the only help on long marches these boots will provide a service member is by reducing the weight of their wallet. The thing that makes me so mad, is that the inventor knows he isn’t going to get a government contract out of this. What he’s going to do is make some special BS insole, and sell it to young, gullible soldiers, or their family members who will send it to their deployed family members thinking they are providing them some comfort. Just thought I’d share.
Very glad that you did share, Justin. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Thank you for your continuing service.
It’s madness. no soldier should ever have to buy freakin boots out of his or her own pocket.
Even in the day of the buffalo soldier, the army supplied shoes. (poorly made army-contract brogans, but still… shoes.)
Please, nobody buy this product.
I actually got a response from Mr Brown after I posted a blog on the military kit site. What he has done is lace two neodynium magnets with like poles face to face separated by 5/8″ of air. When the upper (inner?) is pressed down the magnets ‘push back’ which is fine. This acts like a shock absorber, which is fine. I posted him back saying that we carried out a test using two 1.2Tesla in an aluminium jig. The jig broke, so we fashioned another set up with angle iron and stands and clamps. We were still suffering from shear forces and the magnets were twisting. Now these magnets can lift 100 lbs but they are 2″ in diameter and 2″ deep. When asked what the flux was for the ones he is using………I am still waiting.