Footwear to go with our jackets

[3.14nche]

Monkey Boot fans - which Indo maker should I go with?

I’m in the market for a pair of monkey boots and looking for brand recommendations. I like Sagara because they have a website so I can play with different specs and how that affects cost. Junkard also look nice though

Size 44 EE to EEE Norwegian 360 chain-stitching would be nice, as would a soft toe Leaning to Horween, Maryam or Shinki tanneries.

terima kasih!

I have a pair of Jakkrabbits and they also have a website that allows you to play with specs.
I like them but when you start customizing them and factor in taxes they really are not cheaper than a pair of Trickers (at least in EU) and don't feel as bombproof (comparing them to my Stow's).
The upside of course is that you get to spec them to your preferences.
The Cordmaster from Sagara in Maryam do look nice.
@X83 seems to have quite the collection maybe he's got more insight.

 

[CliffBar_no9]

Monkey Boot fans - which Indo maker should I go with?

I’m in the market for a pair of monkey boots and looking for brand recommendations. I like Sagara because they have a website so I can play with different specs and how that affects cost. Junkard also look nice though

Size 44 EE to EEE Norwegian 360 chain-stitching would be nice, as would a soft toe Leaning to Horween, Maryam or Shinki tanneries.

terima kasih!

It's hard to go wring with Sagara, they make some seriously good boots.

I have a pair of Fortis Monkeys that I really enjoy, dealing with Sany and the ordering process can be a little stressful but the boots are beautiful.

The leather here is black Maryam Horse.

 

[X83]

I have a pair of Jakkrabbits and they also have a website that allows you to play with specs.
I like them but when you start customizing them and factor in taxes they really are not cheaper than a pair of Trickers (at least in EU) and don't feel as bombproof (comparing them to my Stow's).
The upside of course is that you get to spec them to your preferences.
The Cordmaster from Sagara in Maryam do look nice.
@X83 seems to have quite the collection maybe he's got more insight.

Prof Barrents are incredible so are fortis boots i also0 own jack rabbit and they are incredible and there is also texture keep in mind lead time are different and i would say of these brands texture see the least robust but my god the comfort

 

[Edward]

Hmmmmm. Don’t know the term

Scots word in origin. Trews = Trousers.

 

[Bfd70]

Scots word in origin. Trews = Trousers.

Gotcha. Indigofera Swearengen pants. Great pattern.

 

[Edward]

Gotcha. Indigofera Swearengen pants. Great pattern.

They look superb. Impressive stuff looking around the web at them (though alas they appear uninterested in selling above a 38 waistband).

 

[MrProper]

After the first Chelseas from Waldviertler proved so successful, I had to get another colour.
The best Chelsea for me, having tried Redwing, Bluntstone, Timberland and a few others over the years. Incredibly comfortable and I like the look of them too. Sustainably produced, re-soleable, what more could you want

 

[DweezilMac]

Monkey Boot fans - which Indo maker should I go with?

I’m in the market for a pair of monkey boots and looking for brand recommendations. I like Sagara because they have a website so I can play with different specs and how that affects cost. Junkard also look nice though

Size 44 EE to EEE Norwegian 360 chain-stitching would be nice, as would a soft toe Leaning to Horween, Maryam or Shinki tanneries.

terima kasih!

I've a few pairs of Monkeys: Onderhoud (for sale, but too small for me and for you!) who is in my opinion the best Indo crasftsman, but for the leather's you mention will be pricey, if and when you can get on his wait-list. Well worth it though. Unlikely to go wrong with Sagara too. My experience of Prof Barnets wasn't quite up there with Onderhoud or Sagara, quality-wise but they were a little cheaper (at the time). Also had something from Imperium a while back, not sure they're still going, but I found their last too narrow in the toe-box for what it's worth.

If you don't mind picking things up 2nd hand, to reduce the pricing a bit, then John Lofgren, Flame Panda and Bad Hat Brother's all make great Monkey boot designs. Might find something here or possibly on Stichdown's Discord (but that requires membership).

 

[Pandemic]

Thanks @DweezilMac With extra wide feet, my RTW and used options are pretty limited. But not to worry - I placed an order with Sagara this morning for a pair in Badalassi Nemesis. The wait begins ….

 

[DweezilMac]

Thanks @DweezilMac With extra wide feet, my RTW and used options are pretty limited. But not to worry - I placed an order with Sagara this morning for a pair in Badalassi Nemesis. The wait begins ….

Sagara are a good choice, hope all goes well with the order & sizing!

 

[theeprimitivesound]

I was in Vancouver at the weekend, and i stopped in to say hi to TJ, I've been wanting a new pair of engineers for a while, Ive been waiting for the bilt buck lot 444 to grab, but TJ had the nicest brown Wesco Mr Lou's in stock, so I bought em, they got delivered yesterday, and I've had em on ever since (not in bed obviously)
Im really happy with em and can't wait till theyre fully bedded in.

 

[Drzdave58]

I was in Vancouver at the weekend, and i stopped in to say hi to TJ, I've been wanting a new pair of engineers for a while, Ive been waiting for the bilt buck lot 444 to grab, but TJ had the nicest brown Wesco Mr Lou's in stock, so I bought em, they got delivered yesterday, and I've had em on ever since (not in bed obviously)
Im really happy with em and can't wait till theyre fully bedded in. View attachment 730255 View attachment 730256 View attachment 730257 View attachment 730258 View attachment 730259 View attachment 730260

Nice boots! How was the sizing? Thx

 

[theeprimitivesound]

Nice boots! How was the sizing? Thx

Thanks, my redwing moc toes are 8.5, these wescos are an 8D and feel great.

 

[Zoro]

Lately I've been wearing these Nicks that I got in the Classifieds. They are The Robert but the previous owner had them resoled and changed to a logger heel, so basically they are Urban Loggers.

First time I wore them they wrecked my feet and I got a blister, but to be fair I wore them with regular sport socks and the initial walk became quite longer than originally planned. During the summer months I've worn them on short walks, such as going for a coffee or dinner nearby and they seem to have broken in nicely without much effort. I had read some horror stories about breaking in Nicks (which you can read about most brands), but aside from the first day, these have been easy and are ready now the colder months are kicking in.

They came without kilties and without the original laces, sporting some flat wax laces instead. These broke rather quick as one day I was tying them through the speedhooks, a lace got pierced by one of them, fully breaking a couple days later as I was fastening the laces. I thought it was a good chance to buy some kilties and laces directly from Nicks.

Dealing with Nicks was quick and easy, it took 10-14 days for the items to arrive. I had contacted their customer service to confirm which kind of leather they had as they didn't feel like CXL and it turned out to be CXL but Cypress Italian Brown. I was shocked to learn these were CXL as they didn't feel at all like my other CXL boots, but this was explained in this Reddit post by Nicks' owner:

From the tannery on cypress versus CXL, I hope this is helpful:
The base tannage is an old formulation for us and is a combination tanned leather (Chrome with a heavy veg retannage). This is really where the leather moves away from Chromexcel as the vegetable tannins used in the Cypress are much different as compared to the Chromexcel. They both contain a lot of veg, just different formulations (chocolate chip cookies as compared to an oatmeal raisin…I skipped lunch so you know where my mind is).
The Cypress is then nourished with the first round of wax and oils in the drum, which is called fat liquoring or others are calling out as a wet stuffing, where the Chromexcel is nourished through a true hot stuffing process.
The key here is the Cypress is nourished by oils and waxes that are carried by water where Chromexcel is nourished by a rich blend of oils and no water is used to introduce these into the leather as they are literally beat into the leather via a stuffing drum.
Cypress is then dried via a mechanical process as compared to Chromexcel being air dried. The mechanical drying process creates a more compact leather.
The finish systems between the leathers are different as well where the Chromexcel is hand finished with stain that are hand applied and the pull up is really achieved by the oils moving around in the leather. Cypress is finished with stains and then topical wax coats that are ironed into the leather.

TLDR: It's a Horween leather, simply not the typical CXL.

Oh, but I was going to talk about kilties and went on a leather tangent I had never used kilties before on any pair of boots. I've bought the pack of casual, logger and packer, because I wanted to try, they weren't that expensive and it would be a pain having to order again if I ever had the curiosity kicking in. I settled for the casual ones, which is the one I was planning already and, to be honest, the kilties don't do much for me and I could had totally lived without them. The only positive I can point to is that the kilties help keeping the trifold I do on the tongue in place while lacing them, as well as hide it if I wore the boots fully showing as sometimes it doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing. The new laces are nice, in the meantime I had been wearing some spare thin ones I had extra from a pair of Grant Stones that looked very out of place on these boots. The new ones were quite long, I had to cut them twice and perhaps even a third time as they might stretch given they are leather laces.

The boots are quite comfortable now, even if I own quite a few comfier pairs (RM Williams chelseas and wedge sole Grant Stones, as well as many sneakers), I really like how these look. The 55 last felt aggressive at first in its arch, but now it has grown on me and I'm sure it'll come specially handy whenever my fascitis comes back, as it does for a couple weeks yearly.

Now, are they overbuilt for my usage? Massively. Even if this line is meant to be "heritage" as in "for you, cosplayers!" rather than meant as an actual workboot, it still has all the elements of a real workboot. The leather thickness and toughness, the midsole, the leather shank that feels like adamantium, the sole with visible screws, the 80+ nails... But hey, I liked them! I had always been curious about Nicks and I don't think I would had had many chances of getting a pair here in EU in my size.

I meant to post this as a brief message but I've ended up writing more of a review instead. I'll conclude with the picture of them while waiting for the food in a restaurant today at lunch.

 

[AeroFan_07]

^^ Nice review. I have a serious PNW boot issue, and I would concur with most all of what you have written here.

My only slight suggestion is after the leather laces give up the ghost, you may benefit from trying a pair of "military style" nylon laces -- you don't need ones this long but here's a similar pair on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/293221646401?

These laces make putting on the boots much easier, the leather laces themselves are a bit to work with. Also, it's quite common for PNW boots to simply wrap the laces around the top of your boot once to use up extra length, however this is less comfortable with a 6" or shorter pair.

Enjoy your Nick's!

 

[Zoro]

Thanks! I had considered that kind of laces (or the paracord ones in Nicks site) but I didn't like them aesthetically enough. Same with the wrap around the ankle, I don't like it aesthetically nor practically and I've seen pictures of people who do it and it affects the patina as it will eventually leave its mark on the leather. I do think about getting flat waxed laces as I did like the ones that broke, although I slightly fear suffering the same fate as those haha

 

[barnabus]

Straight out of the box some Rissington derby brogues with commando sole. They're very inexpensive but they seem well put together, with fully welted construction. And immediately comfortable.

I was going to get some William Lennons from Silvermans, but these were even better value.

 

[tuanhng614]

Grant Stone Ottawa in roos leather

 

[MrProper]

Actually, I thought I already had enough Waldviertler shoes, but this colour is no longer available and the shop owner/ saleswoman was so business-minded that she managed to find a few pairs in my size somewhere. I think it was the last pair in Austria.

View attachment 737407

 

[Zoro]

I decided to wear my Red Wing Iron Rangers this morning, which I hadn't worn in ages as I've been wearing the Nicks and my RM Williams as of late.

I fear the Nicks might have ruined the IRs for me. Already when I grabbed them I thought how thin and flimsy the leather was, as well as how light the boots were. Curiously, this didn't happen with the RM Williams, which obviously aren't as rugged as the Nicks but at no point I registered them being as such a downgrade to Nicks, just a different kind of boot (dressier, easier to put on, easier on the feet, still quite good).

Just a further confirmation of the Nicks being an absolute beast, which we all already knew.