Well I got my latest acquisition in the mail today. Something totally history-geek worthy and practical. A pair of reproduction Ho Chi Minh sandals made of tires and rubber straps from a company called Vietnam-Surplus. Shipping was a bit slow, nearly a month and a half, but the company made it a point to keep me up to date when I emailed them about my concerns.
Opened up the package and there were straps and tire flapping everywhere. It took me about an hour or so of tugging and trimming to get the straps (actually placed THROUGH the tire sole) sized to fit me comfortably.
Overall I'm happy. Debating ordering the full uniform.
11 comments:
Am I understanding correctly, that these were designed to fit Viet Cong personnel?
Unless you have midget sized feet, I can't imagine you actually had to trim down rubber from a sandal designed for a small frame Vietnamese.
Yeah, they'ld be a lot smaller for them. I got them in size 11 since I'm between a 10 1/2 and 11. This is what came.
Cool!
That is really cool. Vietnam is my geek on history time period. I'd always heard of those, didn't know they did reproductions. A friend always used to say "She was uglier than home-made shoes." Funny, those aren't as bad as I thought they'd be.
I've been thinkin' about making a pair of those just because, for a long time...
They look MUCH more comfortable than most flip-flops I've tried.
The straps are just held into slits in the sole by friction, then cut off flush when you've got the fit right?
I ask because these look like a pretty good deal for some very durable sandals, And at that price I'd buy some in a second, but they don't seem to make any in size Yeti extra-wide. So, worthwhile making up a pair if I can find a suitable tire.
Friction and lots of it.
Great post! Big fan of tire sandals here, always wondered why folks in SE Asia didn't capitalise more on the mystique of them in the West. A bit of possibly-useful trivia: use a split stick (such as a bamboo lathe or similar) to pull the straps through. Make the split end pointy, then poke it through the slit in the sole. Wedge the strap-end in the split, and pull the strap through with it.
That's how they do it in Vietnam. Much easier than trying to force it through with a screwdriver or something. ;-)
Thanks for the pictures, too!
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit
Where did you purchase them?
Vietnam-Surplus. Follow the link.
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