*** Visvim thread: Dissertation on a Japanese Holy Spirit ***

[g transistor]



****, that's a pleasant thing for me to look forwards to. Is the Vibram part of the sole separating from the leather part?

Yep. On the 73s there's small portions separating from the leather and bigger portions separating the from the midsole. I had to use contact cement once already which was a pain, and it looks like I'll have to do it again. I think this was a problem for a lot of the old models. All three of my boots are from 2011. Whympers and 73s purchased as new old stock.

Commando soles are generally stitched on.  If they are just glued on, you are probably going to run into the problem unless you baby your shoes.  I don't know exactly why this is, but from what cobblers have told me, foam and crepe soles are very porous, and the glue really permeates into the sole, so that there is a lot more "stick" - aklso a reason wedge soles are a complete ***** to take off for the cobbler.  A commando sole, however, is not very porous at all, and so the glue is purely on the surface.  When a resoling is needed, I've seen a cobbler cut the remaining stitching, and take off the outsole sole with one quick "woosh".

This is interesting. The lug/commando soles are just glued on. I feel kinda cheated. I wear my boots pretty damn hard and the reason I bought more visvims was because the Virgils took pretty much everything I could throw at them and are still going strong. It is unfortunate that my more recent purchases haven't held up to that.

 

[LA Guy]

This is interesting. The lug/commando soles are just glued on. I feel kinda cheated. I wear my boots pretty damn hard and the reason I bought more visvims was because the Virgils took pretty much everything I could throw at them and are still going strong. It is unfortunate that my more recent purchases haven't held up to that.

I really like Visvim sneakers, and buy them just slightly big so that they are super comfortably for schlepping around in. However, if you are looking for a boot that is going to take some haaaard wear and still keep rolling, Visvim is really the wrong company for that. The boots look cool, and "sometimes" function well, but they are not made for heavy use. I you care about the fashion aspect of boots, but want them to stand up to heavy use, a company like Viberg or some of the Japanese workboot brands are going to do much better.

 

[g transistor]

Yeah I don't expect them to be indestructible, and i like the designs quite a bit too. It just kind of makes me sad. I really should just get a pair of vibergs for my heavy everyday stuff, but the Virgils are so perfect that I was just hoping (wishing) the rest of the Visvim boots would hold up similarly.

 

[g transistor]

I Will say though, when buying outdoors/military/workwear inspired boots, there is definitely an expectation of them lasting. I wouldn't really say much if I was treating MMM side zips the way I do my Visvim and the side zips fall apart, but there's just a different expectation to the type of brand EG, Visvim, et al hold up to.

But you are definitely right, they are fashion brands first and foremost. Brands with really good marketing.

 

[Blackmaged]



Yeah I don't expect them to be indestructible, and i like the designs quite a bit too. It just kind of makes me sad. I really should just get a pair of vibergs for my heavy everyday stuff, but the Virgils are so perfect that I was just hoping (wishing) the rest of the Visvim boots would hold up similarly.

Share a lot of these thoughts, too bad it's practically impossible to get anyone in the viberg Group MTO thread to vote on a model that isn't #r/malefashionadvice...

Still waiting for a model in the vein of the Virgils or 73's.

 

[LA Guy]

I Will say though, when buying outdoors/military/workwear inspired boots, there is definitely an expectation of them lasting. I wouldn't really say much if I was treating MMM side zips the way I do my Visvim and the side zips fall apart, but there's just a different expectation to the type of brand EG, Visvim, et al hold up to.

But you are definitely right, they are fashion brands first and foremost. Brands with really good marketing.

Some of the "features" are stupid on some models, they just happen to look cool. For example, I am wearing my Gris Mocs today (they rereleased the exact model on the sa,e sole for this SS, which is cool, but these are the OG ones), and they have a TPU stabilizer, which is completely useless and extraneous on a soft mod with zero heel structure otherwise. Looks cool. Absolutely useless.

Early Engineered Garments (up to about 2008, which hewed closely to workwear garments, and used heavy fabrics, were very useful for actual outdoor activities. The stuff now? Not so much. I understand the move away from workwear, but I wish that they still used those heavy materials for their winter collections, something they seem to have more or less abandoned. 12 ounce anything is not heavy...

 

[LA Guy]

Share a lot of these thoughts, too bad it's practically impossible to get anyone in the viberg Group MTO thread to vote on a model that isn't #r/malefashionadvice...

Still waiting for a model in the vein of the Virgils or 73's.

Well, I did do a pair of tan bison boots on a ripple sole...

You know, if you you all band together, you can get something on a cool wedge sole made. I'd support it. All the Vibergs I own have a wedge sole or a ripple sole (also technically a wedge and are decidedly street friendly. My MTO Vibergs, which sport a double leather midsole and then a vibram wedge sole (so, super chunky sole) is an homage to a pair of Virgils from a while back...

 

[Emixam]

this has been discussed multiple times, but I think Visvim manage to combine the best design/materials with the right construction/comfort. Yes they wont last as long as Viberg or White`s but they are so much lighter and comfy. They are definitely designed for city boys, When I got my the 1st iteration of the Grizzly I was quite disappointed because they really didnt feel like undestuctible, but at the same time they are so light and comfy....

Vis as a fashion brand focuses first on the design and comfort and they managed to blend these 2 element with a good quality level like no any other brands on the market at the moment in my opinion.

 

[alex99]



Vis as a fashion brand focuses first on the design and comfort and they managed to blend these 2 element with a good quality level like no any other brands on the market at the moment in my opinion.

I generally agree with this, though my sturgis sweater from FW 13 is one of the itchiest sweaters I have ever owned. The tees are comfy though.

On a shoe related side note, does Visvim make every shoe in size 7 mens, or only a few? For a long time I thought they did not make *any* shoes in size 7, but on mrporter.com, 5/11 of the shoes show an option int the dropdown for size 7 (all sold out). Would love to get confirmation of this, and especially if Virgils come in size 7.

 

[JL77]



On a shoe related side note, does Visvim make every shoe in size 7 mens, or only a few? For a long time I thought they did not make *any* shoes in size 7, but on mrporter.com, 5/11 of the shoes show an option int the dropdown for size 7 (all sold out). Would love to get confirmation of this, and especially if Virgils come in size 7.

The smallest size in the AW15 catalog for all the footwear is a men's 8.

 

[Lorcan7]

I always get a kick out of stumbling on the inspiration for something.

French late 19th Century(1880s-90s) Fireman's jackets







and...

Visvim Lugli



Might as well throw in some pics of my ICT Linen version:

 

[chiggah]

What size should i get in Visvim Virgils if i wear Nike US 9.5-10 ?

 

[Emixam]

size 9 should be fine

@Lorcan7 this vintage jacket looks fantastic, where do you get it ?

 

[Lorcan7]

@Emixam

Only the grey ICT lugli is mine. Found it on yahoo Japan.

The top vintage jacket I saw on a blog http://thevintagecatalogue.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/19th-century-french-fireman-black.html?m=1 should have credited in my original post.

There was one of the vintage jackets on eBay recently (with matching trouser set-up) was tempted to bid.

Edit: Sasaki-yohinten (Japanese etsy store) has one of the vintage jackets for sale right now... not cheap tho, could buy the Visvim version for less lolz

 

[Dbear]

Um. Just a PSA. So summer-store has a few of more of the suede brigadiers for an ungodly price. Seriously was debating on getting the brown suede brigadiers from theNextdoor.fr for a ridiculously low price, but then found them miraculously from summer-store for much cheaper(!). I mean, they even took it even lower bc of VAT. Maybe I'm missing something or that'll be dinged for customs but it came out to be under $350. I have the lt. brown suede ones and it might be my favorite shoe/boot.

edit: it looks like they shipped express in their local postal service, which will be handed off to USPS...which means that i dont think you have to worry about customs.