Like the black boots described previously, these are actually 1930s or 1940s civilian ski boots. The seller, a noted American militaria dealer who described them as "WW2 mountain troop ski boots in very early style", has assumed that a brown ski boot with a smooth leather sole is a U.S. Army ski boot. That is akin to assuming that any bolt-action rifle is an '03 Springfield. As stated before, these boots have the external ankle support straps, a feature not found on Army ski boots, and they do not have rubber padded snow excluders, a feature found on all Army boots.

Another difference between these boots and the Army ski boots is the shape of the toe. These boots have a more rounded toe than the Army boots.

For information about the development of the U.S. Army ski boots and photographs of the different versions of the Army ski boots, see the Ski Boot History page.