THE 2024 ALLEN EDMONDS (AE) APPRECIATION THREAD

[madhat]

Alright alright…I’ll post today. Black suede Higgins Mill.

 

[capablebedroom]

I love seeing the MacNeils. I really wish they would bring them back.

 

[Neo1]

All the usual staples aside, if I had my way I'd be happy with loafers plus laceless boots and nothing else. I have a set of chelseas, a LOT of loafers, 2 western boots but no engineer boots. That was sort of where I started with this.

I was surprised how hard it was to find a decent option. Years ago I tried (and passed on) the Redwing Engineer boots - they were ok, sort of on the stiff side but I really couldn't deal with breaking in another pair of RedWings after my horrific experience with the Beckman. Plus I didn't love the bulky look. I tried on the "iconic" Frye boot which was not only a piece of crap, but also sloppy wide. (Both 7D, my most typical size).

I read horror story after horror story about Whites "bite" and the arch thing. When an opportunity to get a black Cykel came up I grabbed it, also 7D. I have a skinny low volume foot, HTT 7.5C and HTB about an 8.5-9B. My biggest factor is my high right instep. For those unaware, instep can be a make it or break it with pull-on (high shaft) boots. Turns out the Cykel fit fine and the break-in was minimal. I think the whole arch deal is very much dependent upon your actual arch. My hunch is flat-footed people would be in pain but I honestly barely even noticed it. They use an oil-tanned black leather that feels like chromepak like AE's northland. All in all a pretty good boot. But...if you guys can beleive this, they feel like 4x the weight of the Higgins and 2x the weight of a Grant Stone diesel (!). Plus the shafts are SUPER wide and don't fit under most pant legs. They're not comfortable to wear just sitting down at a desk for a long period, too much heat.

Ok. So when a pair of MP-lasted Wesco Boss boots popped on Wesco's 2nds page, had to try that too. This time in burgundy domaine. The MP last is strange - I was advised to go with a 7E and I think I'm glad I did. The Whites Cykel fits like a Redwing boot, kind of boxy up front, standard everywhere else. The MP Boss is more like an oddball square toe cowboy boot, wide-ish in the heel and narrow in the front. Instep is similar to the Whites, better in some ways. While both boots are unlined, the Wesco's softer, flexible leather just makes them fit more comfortable. The Wesco's arch was noticably less pronounced than the Whites but because they use a V100 outsole (as opposed to the V430), it almost balances out. Needless to say, I like this pair a lot and started wearing in constantly but again it is heavy, heavier than GS even.

Tbh I was beyond pissed when AE released the Austin. I spent hours researching and studying Whites & Wesco's lasts to figure out sizing and had the Austin been around I probably would have just got that and been one and done. But...ok, had to have 1 more. So picked up the Austin in black right before the new year ended. The Austin uses a last that feels much more like a dress shoe than a boot. It fits snug in the waist, like a Park or a Leeds. The heel is definitely wider than average but not what I would call wide. The instep is quite snug, much more than I expected but ok and getting better with time. The toebox is also quite narrow - again, not narrow narrow but narrower than any other boots (maybe narrow than even a Park). The leather is like dress-shoe leather, and they appeared to use a form of a v-tread.

What does the AE offer that the others don't. These fit much more "precise" and less "clumsy" than the others. They fit more like shoes. The black leather is sharp and pairs easily with everything. I like the fact they used rubber over the outsole. I will say I'm glad to have the zipper. Based on the shape of this last, I think I can confidently say the cowboy roper wouldn't work for me - I don't think i could get them on.

I briefly looked at the "Husk" but passed. Artistically it's a masterpiece but I think the longevity isn't there. The shaft is distressed unlined suede that resembles a sweater piling. The vamp of the boot feels like quilted leather to the touch but looks like my brown crackle McTavish. It feels soft, like a sherpa jacket.

I think for the right price this is a good boot. Prior to this release, I found that there was really sort of two extremes. With the Redwing discontinued, it left basically the Frye which was garbage...plus this abomination from "Brothers and Son's" sold by the Boot Barn / Sheplers stores that felt like it was made by an injection-mold action figure factory out of Hasbro on the low end. Then a jump over to either expensive options (Whites, Wesco, Nick's) which have their own plusses and minuses (notably the humungous build times)...or the very expensive options like John Lofgren and Clinch, which, not sure about you guys but I would definitely not be up for paying 1000+ for a boot with which I have zero fit experience or any kind of frame of reference to compare it with, not to mention the advice of sizing down typically puts me into the range of 6.5 which isn't even stocked.

AE "evolves" its products this is an evolution, in a good way. The Bowery was really crappy. The Discovery wasn't much of an improvement. This is a big step in the right direction. Kudos to them on this one.

Final Note: Wide width people and super high instep people might have trouble here.

 

[JFWR]

Does anyone else find it kind of laughable that the Austin, which is a brand new style, is already on sale for 284 when it is listed at a 595 (?!) dollar boot?

Like, can you please stop lying about your prices, AE?

Also, what's the deal with no new models in larger widths? Isn't that half of the appeal of AE that they cater to us men with fat and skinny feet?

 

[Genericuser1]

Happy 2024 fellas. I took off last week and while I did wear some AE's I don't think I took any photos.

Took a look at AE's site today to see if anything new caught my eye. I like the color on these two.

 

[JFWR]

Happy 2024 fellas. I took off last week and while I did wear some AE's I don't think I took any photos.

Took a look at AE's site today to see if anything new caught my eye. I like the color on these two.
View attachment 2102483 View attachment 2102485

What's the name of the colour on the strandmok? That's a nice blue shoe.

Also, despite my immediately previous post, I am glad my 6000th post was in the AE thread.

 

[Peitron]

Happy 2024 fellas. I took off last week and while I did wear some AE's I don't think I took any photos.

Took a look at AE's site today to see if anything new caught my eye. I like the color on these two.
View attachment 2102483 View attachment 2102485

And I thought I wasn't buying shoes this year...

 

[Vincent George]

And I thought I wasn't buying shoes this year...

View attachment 2102603

I mean, we haven’t yet. 2 days is a good record.

 

[madhat]

All the usual staples aside, if I had my way I'd be happy with loafers plus laceless boots and nothing else. I have a set of chelseas, a LOT of loafers, 2 western boots but no engineer boots. That was sort of where I started with this.

I was surprised how hard it was to find a decent option. Years ago I tried (and passed on) the Redwing Engineer boots - they were ok, sort of on the stiff side but I really couldn't deal with breaking in another pair of RedWings after my horrific experience with the Beckman. Plus I didn't love the bulky look. I tried on the "iconic" Frye boot which was not only a piece of crap, but also sloppy wide. (Both 7D, my most typical size).

I read horror story after horror story about Whites "bite" and the arch thing. When an opportunity to get a black Cykel came up I grabbed it, also 7D. I have a skinny low volume foot, HTT 7.5C and HTB about an 8.5-9B. My biggest factor is my high right instep. For those unaware, instep can be a make it or break it with pull-on (high shaft) boots. Turns out the Cykel fit fine and the break-in was minimal. I think the whole arch deal is very much dependent upon your actual arch. My hunch is flat-footed people would be in pain but I honestly barely even noticed it. They use an oil-tanned black leather that feels like chromepak like AE's northland. All in all a pretty good boot. But...if you guys can beleive this, they feel like 4x the weight of the Higgins and 2x the weight of a Grant Stone diesel (!). Plus the shafts are SUPER wide and don't fit under most pant legs. They're not comfortable to wear just sitting down at a desk for a long period, too much heat.

Ok. So when a pair of MP-lasted Wesco Boss boots popped on Wesco's 2nds page, had to try that too. This time in burgundy domaine. The MP last is strange - I was advised to go with a 7E and I think I'm glad I did. The Whites Cykel fits like a Redwing boot, kind of boxy up front, standard everywhere else. The MP Boss is more like an oddball square toe cowboy boot, wide-ish in the heel and narrow in the front. Instep is similar to the Whites, better in some ways. While both boots are unlined, the Wesco's softer, flexible leather just makes them fit more comfortable. The Wesco's arch was noticably less pronounced than the Whites but because they use a V100 outsole (as opposed to the V430), it almost balances out. Needless to say, I like this pair a lot and started wearing in constantly but again it is heavy, heavier than GS even.

Tbh I was beyond pissed when AE released the Austin. I spent hours researching and studying Whites & Wesco's lasts to figure out sizing and had the Austin been around I probably would have just got that and been one and done. But...ok, had to have 1 more. So picked up the Austin in black right before the new year ended. The Austin uses a last that feels much more like a dress shoe than a boot. It fits snug in the waist, like a Park or a Leeds. The heel is definitely wider than average but not what I would call wide. The instep is quite snug, much more than I expected but ok and getting better with time. The toebox is also quite narrow - again, not narrow narrow but narrower than any other boots (maybe narrow than even a Park). The leather is like dress-shoe leather, and they appeared to use a form of a v-tread.

What does the AE offer that the others don't. These fit much more "precise" and less "clumsy" than the others. They fit more like shoes. The black leather is sharp and pairs easily with everything. I like the fact they used rubber over the outsole. I will say I'm glad to have the zipper. Based on the shape of this last, I think I can confidently say the cowboy roper wouldn't work for me - I don't think i could get them on.

I briefly looked at the "Husk" but passed. Artistically it's a masterpiece but I think the longevity isn't there. The shaft is distressed unlined suede that resembles a sweater piling. The vamp of the boot feels like quilted leather to the touch but looks like my brown crackle McTavish. It feels soft, like a sherpa jacket.

I think for the right price this is a good boot. Prior to this release, I found that there was really sort of two extremes. With the Redwing discontinued, it left basically the Frye which was garbage...plus this abomination from "Brothers and Son's" sold by the Boot Barn / Sheplers stores that felt like it was made by an injection-mold action figure factory out of Hasbro on the low end. Then a jump over to either expensive options (Whites, Wesco, Nick's) which have their own plusses and minuses (notably the humungous build times)...or the very expensive options like John Lofgren and Clinch, which, not sure about you guys but I would definitely not be up for paying 1000+ for a boot with which I have zero fit experience or any kind of frame of reference to compare it with, not to mention the advice of sizing down typically puts me into the range of 6.5 which isn't even stocked.

AE "evolves" its products this is an evolution, in a good way. The Bowery was really crappy. The Discovery wasn't much of an improvement. This is a big step in the right direction. Kudos to them on this one.

Final Note: Wide width people and super high instep people might have trouble here.

Neo!!!!!!!!! I’m impressed you have good to say about current AE.

Too bad the new offerings are D only.

 

[Hisheirness23]

What's the name of the colour on the strandmok? That's a nice blue shoe.

Also, despite my immediately previous post, I am glad my 6000th post was in the AE thread.

 

[JFWR]

View attachment 2102675

This denim suede is nice.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

What was it that brought Neo out from hibernation? The Austin? I had to check that out. Sure enough, if Neo loves it, I don't. Neo also recommended the Alden plantation sole to me. Didn't love that either. Fool me twice, shame on me. Also, my soul was a bit crushed when you said you like the zip Higigns. But either way, I'm glad to see you back for now.

That new denim Strandmok looks like it might be fully lined, which would be nice. Anyone know?

 

[Neo1]

What was it that brought Neo out from hibernation? The Austin? I had to check that out. Sure enough, if Neo loves it, I don't. Neo also recommended the Alden plantation sole to me. Didn't love that either. Fool me twice, shame on me. Also, my soul was a bit crushed when you said you like the zip Higigns. But either way, I'm glad to see you back for now.

That new denim Strandmok looks like it might be fully lined, which would be nice. Anyone know?

The Austin is definitely not for everyone, lol. It's good for what it is. I said I was fine with the Alden plantation sole in a sense that I expected something terrible and it surpassed my expectations by far. I don't love it by any means but I think it's fine. I never commented on the zip higgins haha. Now that you mention it, I think having a lace up plus a zipper is pretty stupid overall, not something I'm a fan of in general.

 

[Neo1]

Neo!!!!!!!!! I’m impressed you have good to say about current AE.

Too bad the new offerings are D only.

There was a period of time when I thought I was done with AE. But with all the sales from AE & amazon it's hard to stay away. Right before the end of the year I picked up the black Austin, the tan suede denali chelsea and a black marbled shell Landon 2nd and I have to say, I'm happy with all 3.

 

[Neo1]

What was it that brought Neo out from hibernation? The Austin? I had to check that out. Sure enough, if Neo loves it, I don't. Neo also recommended the Alden plantation sole to me. Didn't love that either. Fool me twice, shame on me. Also, my soul was a bit crushed when you said you like the zip Higigns. But either way, I'm glad to see you back for now.

That new denim Strandmok looks like it might be fully lined, which would be nice. Anyone know?

Others....avert yee ears lol. Profila I read your comments about quoddy for the first time tonight hahaha. Hit the nail on the head. There's a reason Rancourt runs higher priced overall than Quoddys constant sales. Quoddy is good but it's gone WAY downhill lol.