Boots Boots Boots - For Boot Guys Only

[Betelgeuse]

John Doe Hartford boots and our new puppy, we named her Carmina.

 

[TheForeigner]

Lots of beautiful boots here!

It would be great if anyone could recommend some great oxford/balmoral boots or other formal boots. I am looking for a pair to wear with suits.

 

[Jazzmenco]

Great name for that cute puppy @Betelgeuse

 

[Betelgeuse]

Great name for that cute puppy @Betelgeuse

Thanks Jazz!

 

[Zapasman]

 

[Schweino]

Loake hyde in dark brown

 

[BagleyBrown]

Have been cruising and perusing this thread, so many congratulations, so little time!

AE Brown CXL Bayfields
(deleted all but toe brogue, like the calf Loakes above)

AE Bayfields in brown calf in fall

 

[Dusty Heaters]

G&G Thrope’s (less that weird side swoop stitching) in Japanese Shark.

 

[Jazzmenco]

Pure class

 

[mr monty]

good deal at $167 (40% code is WOW40 and use SHIP99 for free shipping)
https://www.gilt.com/brand/antonio-...io-maurizi-leather-chukka-boot?origin=cat|nav

 

[Schweino]

Loake hyde again, this time in brown grain

 

[mrjamescost]

View attachment 890881

Loake hyde again, this time in brown grain

Hello. Nice pic. How would you compare Loake to other brands in terms of quality and comfort? Say compared with other Northampton footwear you own. Thanks.

 

[Schweino]

Hello. Nice pic. How would you compare Loake to other brands in terms of quality and comfort? Say compared with other Northampton footwear you own. Thanks.

I would say they are on the lower end of the Northampton makers. But offer great value. At least if you stick with the 1880 range, I would avoid anything below the 1880 range.

Quality is okay: I haven't come across any flaws or finishing issues Comfort out of the box is not as great: They are quite stiff and require some breaking in. But all well within what you would expect in the price range.

I use them as bad weather boots, I buy other brands for my everyday rotation (Alfred Sargent, C&J, Grenson G zero, Cheaney and Carmina).

 

[dfwcowboy]

I'm crossposting this from the AE appreciation thread as it might be of some interest here.

The boots are from top clockwise, J-Crew Alden Indy, Higgins Mill, and RedWing 8146. All of these boots are made in USA, which is important to me. The first two are the most similar and fulfill similar roles of mostly indoor wear. The 8146 is for more outdoor adventures and foul weather. I think I paid around $400 for the Indy's after J-Crew mistakenly marked them down for a couple of days and a few of us pounced. Naturally they are almost always 5.5 Benjamins. I think I paid less than $100 for the HMs, but this was after a refund from AE and they were seconds and on-sale. I think I paid about $130 for the 8146s on Amazon. Normally these boots are around twice that, but it just so happened Amazon had a great deal on my size.

During the cooler months I've been wearing each of these boots about once a week. All of them could use a good rubdown but I kinda wanted to show them in their natural state compared to brand new for the first two.

First up is the Alden and this is really more of a comparison between it and the HM as both are quite similar. I don't really like the laces all that much. They aren't intolerable, but they haven't worn all that well as they are getting quite limp and have many nicks on them from the speed lacers. The speed lacers themselves work well although I'm not a big fan of any of them as I prefer eyelets all the way up. Although most consider this boot a moc toe, it's really more of a faux moc toe as it's really just stitching that runs around the vamp, compared to the 8146 which is a true moc toe. I do prefer this look to the plain toe of the AE. As you can see from the picture there's some deep wrinkles in the vamp which seems to be par for the course with Indys. It looks worse in pictures than it does when you are actually wearing them. I wouldn't want this effect on dress shoes, but I think it adds character and comfort to the boots. Although the leather is basically the same as the HM from the same tannery, there's something different about it which is hard to explain. It has a glow about it which doesn't come out in pictures that I don't get from the HM. I'm not sure if this is unique to the J-Crew version. The leather also just feels slightly different. I'm not sure if it's because it's slightly thinner or there's other differences in the tanning, or perhaps it's the differences in the production runs. These are all minor differences as both perform pretty much the same.

The insole and midsole between the Indy and HM are very similar construction with a leather insole and a cork midsole. The Indy has a steel shank which I think the HM lacks. The break in for both was about the same and both formed nicely to my feet. For whatever reason the Indy boot is more comfortable and it's hard to describe why. I'm not sure if it's because of the steel shank or better construction or better fit, but the Indy just feels better. I feel like I could walk 20 miles in the Indys, but only maybe 19 in the HMs. Both are extremely comfortable.

On one of my Indys the heel cap has a slight, but noticeable crack between it and the sole running down one side. It seems to be a defect in how the cap was formed to the sole. It's not really something I'd send back for warranty work as the cap is still well attached, but worries me just a bit on how long it will remain so. So not a big deal but worth mentioning as you'd expect better from a boot at this price range as their quality control should have caught it. Otherwise the sole is your basic smooth cork nitrile and my first experience with the material. I suspect the differences in the sole is what makes the Indy slightly more comfortable than the HM, but the tradeoffs are far less performance on slick surfaces. It's not a big deal as we don't get a lot of ice here in Texas, but definitely not a boot I'd want to wear while venturing into slick conditions.

As far as getting the boots on and off, the Indy is by far the superior of the three. I just undo the speed lacers, give the uppers a pull to the sides, and off they come. Getting them on is just as easy.

For what it's worth I get more complements from complete strangers on the Indys. I'm not sure if it's because people know what they are or they just like the look.

As far as the HMs go, I've already covered most of it above. As you can see I swapped the laces for the lighter colored version, provided free by AE. Otherwise they are the same as the original waxed version. The advantage over the Indy stock laces is they stay more snug, which is an advantage while wearing, but makes them just a bit harder to loosen and tighten, but with a bit of wear this isn't as noticeable. One thing I don't really like about the HM, is there's virtually no room between the top lacers and the rest of the upper. You can see the difference in the bottom picture. This means that when you lace them, you are usually snugging the knot against your leg instead of the upper. This isn't a big thing, but just one of the small things that endears me more to the Indys.

The sole is the big difference between the Indy. I really love the studded Dainite sole. It's just enough grip to give you confidence in slick conditions, but doesn't clog up badly with mud like the lugged Vibram the 8146 has.

Last and perhaps least is the 8146. That's not to say this isn't a great boot, but it's different in many ways. The boot is from their Heritage line, which tends to favor a more traditional look and construction.

I'm not sure what the laces are made from. If I had to guess I'd say it's maybe kevlar and poly. They don't look bad and are certainly acceptable, but they are stiff and are just more difficult to lace correctly and stay that way. The 8146 has eyelets all the way up, which I prefer to speed lacers. It does make them slightly more difficult to get in and out, but IMO peform better once laced as it more easily allows for tighter lacing around my ankles while speed lacers tend to loosen up as more slack works it's way up from the bottom.

The leather on the 8146 is quite different. It's an oil tanned leather from Red Wing's own tannery. I've been wearing Red Wing work boots for about 30 years now and I have a fair bit of experience as all of them have similar leather. The advantage to it is you can pretty much do nothing in the way of maintenance and the leather will last extremely well. The leather molds you your feet and ankles pretty readily. Over time it gets quite soft and pliable which adds comfort, but significantly reduces support. It does develop a very different patina which you can kinda see from the pictures. The color wears off in some areas which can be partially or fully restored with colored polishes.

The insole is leather like the other two. I'm fairly sure it uses a cork midsole. It has a steel shank. Of the three boots this one is the least comfortable, and is even less so than my Red Wing work boots which use synthetic insoles and midsoles. I suspect this has more to do with the way the last fits my feet. As you can see from the picture there's less room in the toe box and the thicker outsole gives it a higher center of gravity. I've still put a lot of miles on these boots and I wouldn't call them uncomfortable, but they just don't measure up to the aforementioned models. There are other selections in the Heritage line that I think would be more comfortable, but I primarily bought these boots because they give me an option for light hiking, foul weather, and off pavement use with the heavily lugged Vibram sole. For these purposes these are my go-to boots.

My overall impression hasn't changed from when the Indy and HM boots were new. I still consider the HM a much better value, especially when you consider there's more options for significant discounts. If you don't mind paying perhaps significantly more, the Indy boots are quite nice in terms of aesthetics and performance around town. The 8146 and most likely other options in the Red Wing Heritage line are great if you want a cheaper option that's going to take a lot of abuse and still be more versatile. I've seen a few examples where people have developed some interesting patina and customized them with different soles.

If you've gotten this far in my wordy review, I salute you!

 

[knezz]

good deal at $167 (40% code is WOW40 and use SHIP99 for free shipping)
https://www.gilt.com/brand/antonio-...io-maurizi-leather-chukka-boot?origin=cat|nav

WOW40 does not work with this shoe. You do get free shipping and if you use an American Express card you get $50.00 off.