The Converse Chuck Taylor holds the record of being the best selling shoe of all time. It also holds another enviable title - no other shoe has been produced in as many variants as the Converse Chuck Taylor. It has been done in zillions of different canvas prints, hundreds of different materials and colors. There are a few shoes like the Adidas Superstars and the Nike Air Force 1 which have been done in hundreds of iterations, but they are still many rungs below the mighty Chucks when it comes to matching the sheer number of avatars the latter have been done in. But here's what I think is the best part: in spite of the countless variations, at no point of time does it seem that the shoe has been done to death. Simply because the classic Chuck Taylor upper, with its large canvas panels, is a virtual playground of imagination, potentially alive with infinite possibilities of creative ideas. It is then not surprising that thousands of Chuck Taylors have been subjected to different levels of customization by their loving owners, in an attempt to make them unique pieces of art. This fact is not lost on the powers-that-are at Converse, and they make sure that each season overflows with hundreds of factory churned Chuck Taylor variants, each meant to appeal to varying tastes.

Military patchwork: This cut and paste Chuck Taylor is a new twist to the Camouflage theme.

The Military Patched Hi Chuck Taylor is one such shoe. Though to most it just seems like a pair of cool looking camouflage Chucks, it also hints at Converse's connection with the US armed forces. The most significant beginning of this connection started at the time of the World War II, when Chuck Taylor (the player, not the shoe) served as a fitness consultant to the US armed forces, and when Converse also designed and produced the A6 flying boot which was used by the USAF in WWII. Though they did not look like Chucks and were more of a strapped boot with a rubber sole, it is a milestone as far as Converse's history of association with the US military forces is concerned. The US military was not ungrateful; even today the Converse Chuck Taylor is a standard Military issue for the US Army, and is listed as a US military national stock item under the code "MIL-S-43961". And a size 12 Chuck Taylor is referred to as "8430-00-257-3759". Google it, if you so please.

Though the Chuck Taylor never made it as the official combat boot, it did not stop Converse from producing Military inspired versions for the Chuck Taylor loving populace, and you might have seen a few printed variants with a camouflage canvas upper. So far, I have come across Camo prints in hues of sand, grey, army green and blue, but the military patchwork was a new one for me. I bought this shoe from the US recently along with two more 'wishlist' shoes, the CT Sailor Jerry and the CT Sketched Hi. Yes, I am a sucker for printed Chucks, but I also love Chucks which takes a different route in the way the uppers are constructed. The Military Patch Chuck Taylor is a good example of that: though this shoe uses over two dozen panels of different sizes and textures in EACH half pair, it doesn't feel shoddy or patched up at all. As a matter of fact, the different materials used in the upper gives the silhouette a firm shape and structure, and somewhat lends an air of authority to the shoe. The upper uses materials like printed canvas (with the Camo and Jacquard print), Nylon Taffeta, thick twill, and the olive on the Martini is the 'Converse Chuck Taylor All Star' logo printed on a circular piece of black canvas in a militaryesque sort of way.

Stand like a soldier: Use of firmer materials makes sure the shoe stands straight, even when you step out of them.

The individual panels are stitched on top of adjacent ones, which means that the upper of the Chuck Taylor Military Patched Hi is rather thick skinned as compared to a pair of regular canvas Chucks. This extra thickness also prevents the top of the upper from flopping over to one side - if you own a pair of regular Chucks, you'll notice that the lightweight canvas upper tends to droop over to one side when you're not wearing them. When I wore them, the upper felt noticeably thicker and secure as compared to a classic Chuck Taylor. Crisp would be another adjective to describe the feel. The Military Patched Hi comes with frayed edges and panels to add a bit of the worn out flavor to the shoe, but I guess it will be a day or two before you completely feel at home in them. The patchwork adds an extra 20 grams to the upper, but it seems a small price to pay for wearing something this cool.

Somehow the angular fabric panels, the black contrast stitching and the black rubber toe and sole reminds me of an armored vehicle - iron plates riveted on top of one another, black thick tyres rolling and the scuffed look which comes after crunching many inhospitable miles. But even if imagination is not your stuff, you can still wear black socks with these Chucks, slip on a pair of camouflage cargo shorts and let the world know you've arrived. In style.

The Lowdown:

Shoe name: Converse Chuck Taylor Military Patch Hi

Color reviewed: Grey Camouflage

Retail price (India): Not available in India

Estimated US retail: $ 50

Available at: Overseas

Weight: 424 grams for a half pair of size US 10 / UK 9

Verdict: The ultimate combat inspired camouflage Chuck Taylor, with oodles of radical style.