RM Williams Boots - Everything You Wanted to Know

[Snorpley]

Hi there Clay J,

Is made to order over? Where did you hear that?

That's terrible!

S.

 

[varsityreds0123]

Canadian guys, is there a better retailer to choose from between bootsonline and Nugar?

 

[drbones]

Signature Craftsman are now $1000.... I got in at the last moment and ordered a pair of veal calf craftsman from aussie bush hats for $431 delivered.

 

[costlysignal]

Hi there Clay J,

Is made to order over? Where did you hear that?

That's terrible!

S.

Pretty much. I'm trying to order a pair right now in an unusual size and brass screwed soles and was told no brass screwed soles because pretty much no more MTO. At this point, I'm just hopeful I can get the pair in the size I want.

 

[Dewey]

Dollar to AUD is strong. Where are we buying these now? My suede turnouts from 10/08 are still going strong. Need them in roo.

 

[kaspal]

Hey guys,
I've been trying on a few sizes of the Craftsman and am struggling to make a decision on width - my size is 5.5 - I've tried on G and it was a super comfortable fit, however the assistant told me it will loosen up and be too big. There was also a bit of leather you could pinch at the top. When I tried the narrow F fit, it fit well around my foot but the toe box was noticeably cramped.

Will this loosen up? I think it would be uncomfortable if the toebox remained the way it is. I did also try a half size up 6 in F but it was too big.

 

[accidentprone]

Here are some photos for folks considering Macquaries, which I think has the most refined toe shape of the RM Williams lineup.

I got my first pair, but goofed when reading the RM Williams chart that shows width dimensions by shoe size. As a result, I ended up with AU 10.5F when I needed AU 10.5G or even 11G for the Macquaries. Normally I wear US 11.5D in Allen Edmonds Park Ave. though some AE's in 11.5C fit me fine as well (I'm probably a C width at the midfoot but my toes spread to a D width). The Macquaries in 10.5F are a bit too tight in the toe box which apparently won't expand, so I'll have to sell them.

Below you can see how the toe of the Macquarie compares with that of the Turnouts. The Turnout appears to me more like a work boot while the Macquarie is dressier. Lower down you can see how the AU 10.5F Macquarie compares with the sole of an AE Park Ave in US size 11.5D. The Macquaries are slightly shorter as well as narrower at the toes than the Park Ave.

 

[richardwallace]

What the flaming heck is this?

Made in Romania, blake stitched, "skinny" boots that cost more than the made in Australia boots. Reginald Murray would be spinning in his grave.

 

[kaspal]

Here are some photos for folks considering Macquaries, which I think has the most refined toe shape of the RM Williams lineup.

Below you can see how the toe of the Macquarie compares with that of the Turnouts. The Turnout appears to me more like a work boot while the Macquarie is dressier. Lower down you can see how the AU 10.5F Macquarie compares with the sole of an AE Park Ave in US size 11.5D. The Macquaries are slightly shorter as well as narrower at the toes than the Park Ave.

Thanks for this. A few posts above I talked about my problem getting the right fit with the Craftsman due to a tight toe box. After some research it turns out that a rounded toe - the Turnout has more room in the toe box and might be a solution.

However I've been told that it might be too wide and that Macquarie might be better. Would a Macquarie in F still have more room in the toe box that the Craftsman?

It looks pretty narrow to me.

 

[Snorpley]

Stick with it, man. They might just need some encouragement.
You may be doing this already but if possible the phone is a thousand times better than getting answers via email.

I had a horrible time trying to get a MTO pair mid 2015 (the same suede turnouts I had MTO in 2014 but with a different colour). Originally they send me a pair that had construction dates in different months (a no-no even by their own admission) and were clearly made on different lasts. Then the re-makes were delayed time and time again due to 'failing QC checks'. I pulled the pin in the end, sadly, and had my money refunded.

I love the boots and I love the brand but I really struggled with the customer service experience. Communication was non-existent even after they'd muffed the original order. The service should be top-notch from a brand selling a $1k boot IMHO. On the phone they seemed more apologetic and helpful.

My foot doesn't fit the ready-to-wear sizing well, so I hope MTO isn't TOTALLY dead or I'll be wearing my current boots sparingly to get them through the next few decades.
Good luck and all the best!

 

[Snorpley]

Great photos by accidentprone.

I have trouble with Craftsman and the toe box is definitely a little tighter, because of the way it narrows in height as it approaches the tip of the boot. My 9s in the Craftsman don't give me as much room as my Turnout 9s, and the height provided by the rounded toe of the Turnout makes all the difference to me. Sizing up in a Craftsman was not an option for me unfortunately, as I would need a width slimmer than the F fitting, which is not available for a Craftsman boot.

I agree that Macquarie is dressier, but the Turnout suits my needs a little more.

 

[accidentprone]

Kaspal:

Snorpley touched on the height difference between the chisel toed Craftsman and the round toed Turnout. I don't have the Craftsman, but I do have a chisel-toed chelsea boot made by Mephisto (which is quite a bit inferior to RM Williams), and I found that the Macquarie has a nice amount of height in the toe box--almost as much as the turnouts. I like wiggling my toes up and down, and I thought the Macquaries allowed me to do this more than I expected they would. I suspect that as long as the boot is long enough so that the taper doesn't cut into your toes, you would find that the Macquaries offer a decent amount of wiggle room. From website photos and what Snorpley wrote, it looks like the Macquarie's toe box is higher than the Craftsman's, especially near the tip of the boot, but I don't know about width at a given point. If by cramped you felt that the sides were too narrow, then I'm not sure either would work well for you. But if you meant that the tops of your toes felt confined, then the Macquarie may be a good option, and the Turnouts would be foolproof if you don't mind the look. Some of this may also depend on the type of socks you like to wear. When I'm on my feet all day, I usually wear light to mid-weight wool socks, so the Turnouts in 11G work well for me. With thin dress socks, I could probably go down half a size.

 

[Snorpley]

Thanks accident-prone, you are correct I was talking more about height room in the toebox. I have quite narrow feet (unfortunately - damn you, Craftsman!) so I don't often feel jammed up in the toe area of my shoes/boots.

Great point about the socks as well. In the Sydney climate here I typically like wearing the thinner dress socks you mention.

 

[kaspal]

Thanks for your comments accidentprone and Snorpley. I'm in Australia (Perth) as well so I always wear thin socks.

I still haven't found a definitive answer to whether the toe boxes are different between the Craftsman and Macquarie - I've trawled through the entire internet. I called RM Williams themselves and they said the Macquarie is actually thinner (narrow-medium toe) as it's advertised, though I didn't have that much confidence in the rep I spoke too. Here are some images I've found in an earlier post and it's hard to tell - the Macquarie does look like it could be thinner but it's hard to tell.




I think I'm at the point where I'm happy to deal with the tightness when I tried the 5.5F Craftsman - if it softens up even a little I think it might be okay. Even if they fit the same I might get the Macquarie - but I need to be confident that the toebox isn't tighter. I have pretty small feet, it's the bane of my existence! I can also get the 5.5F Craftsman for $295 we have a factory outlet here in Perth, so it's either that or a MTO Macquarie 5.5F me thinks

 

[mathyoo]

I just tried to order MTO with an online re-seller. All MTOs have been denied. I complained to RM Williams customer service, and I recommend others do as well. The RM Williams online store has paltry offerings for leather colors.