Footwear to go with our jackets

[Mark R]

If you like the blacksmiths I’d go with the 3345 or Blacksmith in black Prairie leather. They are still fairly rugged and give you the traditional American look. But no toe cap or bulbous toe. And the black prairie is a really nice teacore leather. They make a different teacore but it’s more shiny looking. I prefer this one cause it has less shine and seems to fade/rub off more natural looking.

I was actually looking at the colour option last night and what was available from UK stockists. It’s pretty easy to find the Black Prairie and I do like it but was actually looking for the Briar Oil slick which no one stocks. I chose the Blacksmith over the Iron Ranger for the exact reason you point out. The Mocs are in Copper rough and tough which I love.

 

[Harris HTM]

Hi guys, I have decided to thin the herd, after all I don't need 30+ pairs of shoes. I have already started posting some in the classifieds, if you're interested in something in UK7-7,5-8 please keep an eye in the classifieds!
Cheers

 

[dannyk]

Hi guys, I have decided to thin the herd, after all I don't need 30+ pairs of shoes. I have already started posting some in the classifieds, if you're interested in something in UK7-7,5-8 please keep an eye in the classifieds!
Cheers

Oh I’m always looking for boots and I’m US 7.5-8.5 depending on model. I’m following.

 

[Harris HTM]

Oh I’m always looking for boots and I’m US 7.5-8.5 depending on model. I’m following.

Let me know if you find something interesting!
Regarding boots: I've already posted a pair of Aero Jarrow Marchers and I'm planning to sell the William Lennon posted above, a pair of Block & Last in Horween Baseball leather and a pair of Meermin Shinki Shell Cordovans. Keep your eyes open!

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Next up is my pair of Nicks Robert boots.

These boots are probably more actual work boot than casual boot, which is really cool. Without a doubt, these will be my new go to for any manual labor or hiking. Basically, any time I need to have something tough, supportive, and something that I don’t feel bad about abusing, these will be the boots I choose. In fact, I just wore them today for 8 hours of moving furniture from one house to another and they handled that very well. My feet hurt a bit at the end of the day, but after 8 straight hours on my feet without sitting down at all and carrying heavy objects, that is inescapable for me. The arch support was really nice to have throughout this tough day. On the other hand, I still do not love how these boots look on me yet.

Comfort is not the issue. They do not feel heavy or bulky on me and are actually quite easy to wear for a full day thanks to the arch support and all the leather in the sole. The only issue was the stiffness of the upper leather and my trouble with the full tongue gusset, but those issues have been cleared up so I am happy to wear these all day. They just look big on my feet which is exacerbated by my 5’7” height and size 10.5 feet. Also, they aren’t my most nicely made and finished boots and when boots are like that, they do tend to get worn a little less. Still, I actually really like these boots. I received them in quarantine which makes it extremely difficult to judge just how much I would wear them on a regular basis. This is a boot that certainly could move up in the rankings, which I do not think is true for any of the boots below this one.

I'm really glad that Nicks started offering veg tanned leather such as the example I have here. It's too smooth and plain for my taste, but the color is very nice and it's still tough enough to work on a pair of more work-oriented boots. Wickett and Craig makes high quality leather and you can tell with these boots. I also really like red/orange toned brown leathers and these are right in that vein. These are boots that I will mostly be wearing for a purpose, but I'm glad that I have them for when I need them. It was really great to have them today for example.

 

[Mark R]

Next up is my pair of Nicks Robert boots.

These boots are probably more actual work boot than casual boot, which is really cool. Without a doubt, these will be my new go to for any manual labor or hiking. Basically, any time I need to have something tough, supportive, and something that I don’t feel bad about abusing, these will be the boots I choose. In fact, I just wore them today for 8 hours of moving furniture from one house to another and they handled that very well. My feet hurt a bit at the end of the day, but after 8 straight hours on my feet without sitting down at all and carrying heavy objects, that is inescapable for me. The arch support was really nice to have throughout this tough day. On the other hand, I still do not love how these boots look on me yet.

Comfort is not the issue. They do not feel heavy or bulky on me and are actually quite easy to wear for a full day thanks to the arch support and all the leather in the sole. The only issue was the stiffness of the upper leather and my trouble with the full tongue gusset, but those issues have been cleared up so I am happy to wear these all day. They just look big on my feet which is exacerbated by my 5’7” height and size 10.5 feet. Also, they aren’t my most nicely made and finished boots and when boots are like that, they do tend to get worn a little less. Still, I actually really like these boots. I received them in quarantine which makes it extremely difficult to judge just how much I would wear them on a regular basis. This is a boot that certainly could move up in the rankings, which I do not think is true for any of the boots below this one.

I'm really glad that Nicks started offering veg tanned leather such as the example I have here. It's too smooth and plain for my taste, but the color is very nice and it's still tough enough to work on a pair of more work-oriented boots. Wickett and Craig makes high quality leather and you can tell with these boots. I also really like red/orange toned brown leathers and these are right in that vein. These are boots that I will mostly be wearing for a purpose, but I'm glad that I have them for when I need them. It was really great to have them today for example.

Really nice looking boot, a question regarding quality. Most of my collection is Trickers, hand made and I’ve yet to see a fault in any of mine including the level of accuracy and uniformity in both boots. I now have my first American made boot in the Redwing Moc Toe. Very happy at the price point with good quality leather and well stitched but I’ve seen some examples where there is as much as half and inch difference between one foot and another in different aspects of their boots. Yes they are handmade but so are Trickers and they don’t have the same issues. Now these boots are more at Trickers level pricing, would I be right in saying the accuracy is also at a good level.

 

[Harris HTM]

Really nice looking boot, a question regarding quality. Most of my collection is Trickers, hand made and I’ve yet to see a fault in any of mine including the level of accuracy and uniformity in both boots. I now have my first American made boot in the Redwing Moc Toe. Very happy at the price point with good quality leather and well stitched but I’ve seen some examples where there is as much as half and inch difference between one foot and another in different aspects of their boots. Yes they are handmade but so are Trickers and they don’t have the same issues. Now these boots are more at Trickers level pricing, would I be right in saying the accuracy is also at a good level.

Neither Tricker's nor Red Wing are "handmade". However I agree with your worries, I love all my Trickers.
https://www.misiuacademy.com/handmade-vs-handcrafted-leather-shoes-guide/

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Really nice looking boot, a question regarding quality. Most of my collection is Trickers, hand made and I’ve yet to see a fault in any of mine including the level of accuracy and uniformity in both boots. I now have my first American made boot in the Redwing Moc Toe. Very happy at the price point with good quality leather and well stitched but I’ve seen some examples where there is as much as half and inch difference between one foot and another in different aspects of their boots. Yes they are handmade but so are Trickers and they don’t have the same issues. Now these boots are more at Trickers level pricing, would I be right in saying the accuracy is also at a good level.

First of all, I don't want to seem rude, but in my experience, Trickers are not actually faultless by my own standards. I say this not to try to correct you (if Trickers are faultless by your standards, that's totally fine), but rather to give context to my opinions. Red Wing is interesting because they pretty much always have some level of minor qc issues, but they very rarely have anything seriously egregious.

The thing is, this idea of "handmade" is a bit of a misnomer. There is a lot of machine work with brands like Red Wing, Trickers, etc. My boots that involve the most hand work actually have the least amount of flaws and the highest level of finishing. I have reviewed a couple pairs of Trickers boots and while not perfect, they seem to have better finishing than Nicks does. What you are paying for with brands like Nicks, Wesco, and Whites is not the quality of the finish and accuracy, it's the robustness of the build. It's the ridiculous amount of high quality leather they put between your foot and the floor. For me, I would be fine with it because in my experience, Trickers aren't perfect either and have some flaws even if the flaws are more obvious on brands like Nicks.

If you prefer something with really nice finishing, I can give you other recommendations depending on your budget. I can even give you recommendations if you want boots that look sort of like Nicks, but with a higher level of finishing. So I would answer your question of: "would I be right in saying the accuracy is also at a good level?" by saying both yes and no. The flaws are present in both, but they are more noticeable on something like Nicks and they are probably more likely to have major issues than Trickers. However, they will have an extremely robust build. It's all about what you prefer. Like I said, I can give you more recommendations if you want.

 

[Mark R]

First of all, I don't want to seem rude, but in my experience, Trickers are not actually faultless by my own standards. I say this not to try to correct you (if Trickers are faultless by your standards, that's totally fine), but rather to give context to my opinions. Red Wing is interesting because they pretty much always have some level of minor qc issues, but they very rarely have anything seriously egregious.

The thing is, this idea of "handmade" is a bit of a misnomer. There is a lot of machine work with brands like Red Wing, Trickers, etc. My boots that involve the most hand work actually have the least amount of flaws and the highest level of finishing. I have reviewed a couple pairs of Trickers boots and while not perfect, they seem to have better finishing than Nicks does. What you are paying for with brands like Nicks, Wesco, and Whites is not the quality of the finish and accuracy, it's the robustness of the build. It's the ridiculous amount of high quality leather they put between your foot and the floor. For me, I would be fine with it because in my experience, Trickers aren't perfect either and have some flaws even if the flaws are more obvious on brands like Nicks.

If you prefer something with really nice finishing, I can give you other recommendations depending on your budget. I can even give you recommendations if you want boots that look sort of like Nicks, but with a higher level of finishing. So I would answer your question of: "would I be right in saying the accuracy is also at a good level?" by saying both yes and no. The flaws are present in both, but they are more noticeable on something like Nicks and they are probably more likely to have major issues than Trickers. However, they will have an extremely robust build. It's all about what you prefer. Like I said, I can give you more recommendations if you want.

Very interesting and thanks. I think I’m certainly someone who does not notice minor flaws but more the obviously ones as mentioned in a number of Redwing I’ve seen for sale where there are obvious differences in certainly aspects of a pair. I’ve really just started looking at American made shoes and boots and Redwing was an obvious choice as a starting place. I would however be looking at a price point on a level with Trickers, nothing too formal or work like. Looking at your last photo’s you have plenty in the background I would really love to own.

 

[Edward]

If you like the blacksmiths I’d go with the 3345 or Blacksmith in black Prairie leather. They are still fairly rugged and give you the traditional American look. But no toe cap or bulbous toe. And the black prairie is a really nice teacore leather. They make a different teacore but it’s more shiny looking. I prefer this one cause it has less shine and seems to fade/rub off more natural looking.

Not seen blacksmiths in person yet, but I'll be keeping an eye out of curiosity when I can get out of the house again. Very fond of my Iron Rangers, wearing them now, but it's a shame they don't come in a polishable form. The waxy / oiled(?) finish has its advantages, though it would be nice to have a pair that would take a shine too.

The only pity with the Blacksmiths is they don't yet do an oxblood (I can't really justify any more black or brown boots for a few years yet unless I were to clear out a lot of what I have to make way for them), but they do look nice. Remind me of the RW Gentleman Traveller model that was a slightly "dressier" alternative to the IR some years ago, can't recall when I last saw those on the market. RW have become a little more expensive over here since the value of the pound dropped significantly in 2016 and hasn't really recovered since.

William Lennon Boots are one of the best bargains on the go here in the UK, I sometimes wonder whether anyone dismisses them because they seem too cheap. They do take longer to produce if you custom order, though worth the wait imo.

I do love a good, shiny ankle boot with a leather jacket. With denim, it's easy to reach for an engineer boot, but those don't look so great with anything a notch less casual to my eye. A polished ankle boot can look great even with a lounge suit for all but the most formal occasions. I am a big fan of the 'Howard Hughes' look, with the leather jacket replacing the suitcoat, and a polished ankle boot goes well with that.

 

[Mark R]

Not seen blacksmiths in person yet, but I'll be keeping an eye out of curiosity when I can get out of the house again. Very fond of my Iron Rangers, wearing them now, but it's a shame they don't come in a polishable form. The waxy / oiled(?) finish has its advantages, though it would be nice to have a pair that would take a shine too.

The only pity with the Blacksmiths is they don't yet do an oxblood (I can't really justify any more black or brown boots for a few years yet unless I were to clear out a lot of what I have to make way for them), but they do look nice. Remind me of the RW Gentleman Traveller model that was a slightly "dressier" alternative to the IR some years ago, can't recall when I last saw those on the market. RW have become a little more expensive over here since the value of the pound dropped significantly in 2016 and hasn't really recovered since.

William Lennon Boots are one of the best bargains on the go here in the UK, I sometimes wonder whether anyone dismisses them because they seem too cheap. They do take longer to produce if you custom order, though worth the wait imo.

I do love a good, shiny ankle boot with a leather jacket. With denim, it's easy to reach for an engineer boot, but those don't look so great with anything a notch less casual to my eye. A polished ankle boot can look great even with a lounge suit for all but the most formal occasions. I am a big fan of the 'Howard Hughes' look, with the leather jacket replacing the suitcoat, and a polished ankle boot goes well with that.

That’s what attracted me to the Briar oil slick, I have nothing in that colour.

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Very interesting and thanks. I think I’m certainly someone who does not notice minor flaws but more the obviously ones as mentioned in a number of Redwing I’ve seen for sale where there are obvious differences in certainly aspects of a pair. I’ve really just started looking at American made shoes and boots and Redwing was an obvious choice as a starting place. I would however be looking at a price point on a level with Trickers, nothing too formal or work like. Looking at your last photo’s you have plenty in the background I would really love to own.

If you want something that is more casual than Trickers, but have even higher quality, I would recommend Flame Panda. His boots cost around $600-$700 if you don't go for shell cordovan, but are very well made and highly customizable. Onderhoud is another great option here as well, but he is hard to order from and uses a lottery system. Both of these brands need to be ordered through instagram. Flame Panda is IMO a bit better and easier to order from.

Motor from Japan is another highly recommended brand that costs around $600-$700. These are made in Japan and have very nice finishing with a more casual look. They have a website, but also usually ordered through email or instagram.

 

[roadking04]

Thanks for the review of the Nicks boots Dude. They are on my radar. I am looking for a heavy duty lace up work boot. I am torn between Nicks and Wesco jobmasters. I want to buy one and done. More worried about fit, durability, and comfort than finish/neatness.

 

[Jin431]

Thanks for the review of the Nicks boots Dude. They are on my radar. I am looking for a heavy duty lace up work boot. I am torn between Nicks and Wesco jobmasters. I want to buy one and done. More worried about fit, durability, and comfort than finish/neatness.

Hope to see what you eventually go with. Also still on the fence if I'm to just go with my tried and tested Trumans or go with Nicks/Whites for a pair of outdoor beaters.

 

[Turnip]

Just some sneakers for the summer, to go with any summer jacket...

Real color...

 

[dudewuttheheck]

Next up are my Wesco x Standard and Strange Knuckle Draggers in Horween dark olive waxed flesh


These boots should be higher on my list of favorite boots than they are (this is #11). Wesco makes a beautifully designed engineer boot on the MP toe last, especially with all the nice details that Standard and Strange chose. They took forever to break in, but now that they have broken in they are almost comfortable. This pair of boots has an actual double midsole and it took absolutely forever to break these things in. I had a lot less boots when I first got these and it still took me a whole year to break these in. In addition, there are a few personal issues that I have with them that have placed them so far down on this list, which is probably a shockingly low placement for people who know how much I love engineer boots. The construction is solid and the finishing is OK, so that is not the issue I have with them, though I do wish they were more even with their SPI on the area where the vamp and shaft meet. Wesco, like Nick's, Whites, and Viberg aren't known for gorgeous construction and these are no exception. There's nothing wonky which is nice, but it's not as beautiful in terms of finishing as many of my other boots.


No, the two biggest issues with these are the heel slip and the leather. Heel slip is inevitable on an engineer boot and I have no issue with that in general. At this point, I am just used to it. I have worn engineers all day long walking around Japan with no issue. However, even after break in the heel slip on these is absolutely atrocious. If I will be walking a lot during the day, I cannot wear these. I also fell out of love with the leather. It’s not black or brown and everyone thought it was black so I just overdyed them black myself. They look better now, but I just wish I had chosen a different leather, such as the natural veg tan on the Van Cleef engineers. There will be a follow up review on these boots in the near future to discuss all of this more, so look out for that.

The pictures will actually chronicle how I have changed the look of these over time.

This is how they looked originally:

After a couple of years, I decided to make them actually black, especially because they usually looked black anyway. I just polished them with black shoe polish and they looked like this:

I didn't love this because it was kind of half-hearted. I decided to actually dye them black all over. This was done in October with Saphir leather dye.

This was better, but it still wasn't quite right. They were too matte. My buddy, Kreosote boots (a bootmaker in the US) gave me some tips on polishing them to improve the look. I ended up conditioning them and then wax polishing them all over and now they look MUCH better than they did with just the polish and just the dye.

I'm not saying this is an actual improvement over the original, but I like it a lot more. I don't love boots that I can't match easily to my leather jackets and now these match very well with my Freewheelers Mulholland. I'm pretty happy with how they look now.

 

[Ayeteael]

Next up are my Wesco x Standard and Strange Knuckle Draggers in Horween dark olive waxed flesh


These boots should be higher on my list of favorite boots than they are (this is #11). Wesco makes a beautifully designed engineer boot on the MP toe last, especially with all the nice details that Standard and Strange chose. They took forever to break in, but now that they have broken in they are almost comfortable. This pair of boots has an actual double midsole and it took absolutely forever to break these things in. I had a lot less boots when I first got these and it still took me a whole year to break these in. In addition, there are a few personal issues that I have with them that have placed them so far down on this list, which is probably a shockingly low placement for people who know how much I love engineer boots. The construction is solid and the finishing is OK, so that is not the issue I have with them, though I do wish they were more even with their SPI on the area where the vamp and shaft meet. Wesco, like Nick's, Whites, and Viberg aren't known for gorgeous construction and these are no exception. There's nothing wonky which is nice, but it's not as beautiful in terms of finishing as many of my other boots.


No, the two biggest issues with these are the heel slip and the leather. Heel slip is inevitable on an engineer boot and I have no issue with that in general. At this point, I am just used to it. I have worn engineers all day long walking around Japan with no issue. However, even after break in the heel slip on these is absolutely atrocious. If I will be walking a lot during the day, I cannot wear these. I also fell out of love with the leather. It’s not black or brown and everyone thought it was black so I just overdyed them black myself. They look better now, but I just wish I had chosen a different leather, such as the natural veg tan on the Van Cleef engineers. There will be a follow up review on these boots in the near future to discuss all of this more, so look out for that.

The pictures will actually chronicle how I have changed the look of these over time.

This is how they looked originally:

After a couple of years, I decided to make them actually black, especially because they usually looked black anyway. I just polished them with black shoe polish and they looked like this:

I didn't love this because it was kind of half-hearted. I decided to actually dye them black all over. This was done in October with Saphir leather dye.

This was better, but it still wasn't quite right. They were too matte. My buddy, Kreosote boots (a bootmaker in the US) gave me some tips on polishing them to improve the look. I ended up conditioning them and then wax polishing them all over and now they look MUCH better than they did with just the polish and just the dye.

I'm not saying this is an actual improvement over the original, but I like it a lot more. I don't love boots that I can't match easily to my leather jackets and now these match very well with my Freewheelers Mulholland. I'm pretty happy with how they look now.

You teacored your teacore boots. Rad. Now these boots are uniquely yours. Bet they'll look even better with bits of green showing through.

 

[dannyk]

Next up are my Wesco x Standard and Strange Knuckle Draggers in Horween dark olive waxed flesh


These boots should be higher on my list of favorite boots than they are (this is #11). Wesco makes a beautifully designed engineer boot on the MP toe last, especially with all the nice details that Standard and Strange chose. They took forever to break in, but now that they have broken in they are almost comfortable. This pair of boots has an actual double midsole and it took absolutely forever to break these things in. I had a lot less boots when I first got these and it still took me a whole year to break these in. In addition, there are a few personal issues that I have with them that have placed them so far down on this list, which is probably a shockingly low placement for people who know how much I love engineer boots. The construction is solid and the finishing is OK, so that is not the issue I have with them, though I do wish they were more even with their SPI on the area where the vamp and shaft meet. Wesco, like Nick's, Whites, and Viberg aren't known for gorgeous construction and these are no exception. There's nothing wonky which is nice, but it's not as beautiful in terms of finishing as many of my other boots.


No, the two biggest issues with these are the heel slip and the leather. Heel slip is inevitable on an engineer boot and I have no issue with that in general. At this point, I am just used to it. I have worn engineers all day long walking around Japan with no issue. However, even after break in the heel slip on these is absolutely atrocious. If I will be walking a lot during the day, I cannot wear these. I also fell out of love with the leather. It’s not black or brown and everyone thought it was black so I just overdyed them black myself. They look better now, but I just wish I had chosen a different leather, such as the natural veg tan on the Van Cleef engineers. There will be a follow up review on these boots in the near future to discuss all of this more, so look out for that.

The pictures will actually chronicle how I have changed the look of these over time.

This is how they looked originally:

After a couple of years, I decided to make them actually black, especially because they usually looked black anyway. I just polished them with black shoe polish and they looked like this:

I didn't love this because it was kind of half-hearted. I decided to actually dye them black all over. This was done in October with Saphir leather dye.

This was better, but it still wasn't quite right. They were too matte. My buddy, Kreosote boots (a bootmaker in the US) gave me some tips on polishing them to improve the look. I ended up conditioning them and then wax polishing them all over and now they look MUCH better than they did with just the polish and just the dye.

I'm not saying this is an actual improvement over the original, but I like it a lot more. I don't love boots that I can't match easily to my leather jackets and now these match very well with my Freewheelers Mulholland. I'm pretty happy with how they look now.

To be honest I like how each and every variation of these boots looked. Too bad about the awful heel slip. Also side not Gabbard is crazy talented. One day I’ll own a pair of his boots. Crazy expensive. And I’m not complaining. I’ve commented this on some of the boot FB groups I’ve seen you in as well. They are ridiculously expensive. But not out of line for what they are. A lot of places say handmade-but he literally does everything possible stepto be done by hand-well, by hand. Uses all the best materials. And does his own unique finishing dyes and oils. Similar to how Thedi has his signature wash. Takes him 40-60 hours per one boot. As Carl M. Put it he’s a master craftsmen and would you complain paying a master electrician or plumber 15-20 bucks an hour? No, that would actually be cheap. I know you know all this man. So I’m preaching to the choir; but for anyone else interested if you have the money check out Kreosote. Really unique takes on some classic styles, all handmade, US made, and don’t be shocked at the cost.

 

[Mich486]

Cool boots dude. I’m surprised though that you think it’s normal to have heel slip in engineer boots. In my experience when they fit well there is no slippage. I thought it’s more a sign of the boots being too big. Also heel slip means that you get blisters after walking which can’t be right.

 

[Schambach]

Thanks for the review of the Nicks boots Dude. They are on my radar. I am looking for a heavy duty lace up work boot. I am torn between Nicks and Wesco jobmasters. I want to buy one and done. More worried about fit, durability, and comfort than finish/neatness.

You might want to add Whites to the list, and I can't recommend Bakers shoes and Kyle enough in terms of fitting(for Whites or Wescos). My Whites bounty hunters from Bakers are the most comfortable boots I've ever owned, and built like absolute tanks.