Footwear to go with our jackets

[TartuWolf]

A pair of Sendra engineers were my first goodyear welted footwear, maybe 15 years ago. They’re made in Spain, like myself. I remember they were very narrow for my feet. I should’ve gone for the longer shaft but at the time I felt that was too much.
Shortly after David Beckham signed for Real Madrid and he became a fan of Sendra engineers too, apparently.

My first GYW boots were also a pair of Sendra harness boots that I bought on a vacation to Stockholm. Didn't fit too well, sold them later. Very cool boots. Sendra makes great boots for the price, especially if you grab a used pair.

I have gone through many Sendra pairs lol. Only 1 left now, the black lugged engineer boots.

 

[MrProper]

Ordered. I'm very excited.
Gaucho Ninja Carpenter's Boot

 

[Monitor]

Ordered. I'm very excited.
Gaucho Ninja Carpenter's Boot
View attachment 659079

These are... Okay but the other ones, the "Oxford" and the "Chelsea" are literally making me deeply angry. I want to strangle the person responsible for this.

 

[cbez]

They also do cars.

 

[MrProper]

These are... Okay but the other ones, the "Oxford" and the "Chelsea" are literally making me deeply angry. I want to strangle the person responsible for this.

Well, these are barefoot shoes. They have this wide toe cap and zero drop.
They take some getting used to, but are incredibly comfortable. I find myself preferring them to my beloved sneakers more and more. I'm looking forward to the welted ones.

 

[TartuWolf]

For me the barefoot topic is a no brainer in terms of long term health and comfort, but VERY debatable / subjective in terms of looks. Out of all the aspects of barefoot footwear I find the wide toe box to be the most important both in terms of comfort and foot health. That's why I've been dreaming of a Thurman last Nicks or some other Munson/anatomical last pair of boots. That might become a reality if I order a pair of Willie's engineers in their Munson last

 

[AeroFan_07]

Bit of a different post, but there is not yet a "finds & deals" thread for boots that I am aware of.

If you want to try out a pair of White's Packers; High arch in 10.5B might be a good way to try them. $225 or offer, Look in great shape, just will fairly soon need soles, which is not too expensive through White's directly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/286159802588?

 

[Tom71]

For me the barefoot topic is a no brainer in terms of long term health and comfort, but VERY debatable / subjective in terms of looks. Out of all the aspects of barefoot footwear I find the wide toe box to be the most important both in terms of comfort and foot health. That's why I've been dreaming of a Thurman last Nicks or some other Munson/anatomical last pair of boots. That might become a reality if I order a pair of Willie's engineers in their Munson last

Well, it actually IS a “brainer“ if you have a damaged arch. The last thing you need then is „natural movement“ of the feet.

 

[TartuWolf]

Well, it actually IS a “brainer“ if you have a damaged arch. The last thing you need then is „natural movement“ of the feet.

Fair enough, in exceptional cases obviously it might not be the best idea. But even then simply wearing footwear with a high arch (or such insoles) only maintain the situation and do nothing to improve it. Usually people have to do exercises to strengthen the arch muscles and restore a healthy arch. Unless it's a severe case where you need an operation or the arches can't be improved in anyway at all. Then you're stuck with crutches (high arch footwear) for sure.
Although there is an interesting debate between the no arch barefoot stuff and the high arch PNW style footwear. The best argument I've heard was that if you're carrying a lot of heavy equipment (firefighters, loggers, etc...) then extra arch support is much better, but for casual use no arch support is best for long term health as it develops/maintains arch muscle strength.

 

[MrProper]

Well, it actually IS a “brainer“ if you have a damaged arch. The last thing you need then is „natural movement“ of the feet.

For me the barefoot topic is a no brainer in terms of long term health and comfort

I don't think you can talk about ‘nobrainer’, ‘brainer’ or anything else in this context. What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another.
To be honest, I find most barefoot shoes ugly. I only made the attempt because I thought Vivo's moc toes were somehow quite cool (regardless of whether they were barefoot or not).
And the concept seems to work for me, because I've never been so comfortable on the move. But I'm also used to walking around barefoot, at home all the time and at the beach/boathouse in summer too.
However, I've also read that many people have problems with barefoot shoes and really need to practise using them.
But I think we can agree on one thing: From an aesthetic point of view, classic boots/shoes are simply nicer.

 

[TartuWolf]

I don't think you can talk about ‘nobrainer’, ‘brainer’ or anything else in this context. What is good for one person is not necessarily good for another.
To be honest, I find most barefoot shoes ugly. I only made the attempt because I thought Vivo's moc toes were somehow quite cool (regardless of whether they were barefoot or not).
And the concept seems to work for me, because I've never been so comfortable on the move. But I'm also used to walking around barefoot, at home all the time and at the beach/boathouse in summer too.
However, I've also read that many people have problems with barefoot shoes and really need to practise using them.
But I think we can agree on one thing: From an aesthetic point of view, classic boots/shoes are simply nicer.

I agree, not a fan of the aesthetics either, especially in comparison to quality leather boots.
And for sure jumping straight into wearing only barefoot shoes and covering long distance / for long hours is not a good idea. Need to practice / ease into them, let your feet get familiar with them. Most foot problems/traumas related to barefoot shoes come from people switching to them without caution.

 

[MrProper]

And for sure jumping straight into wearing only barefoot shoes and covering long distance / for long hours is not a good idea.

As I wrote, this was not a problem for me. I wore it for 12 hours on the first day and walked a few kilometres and everything was fine. However, I did get some sore muscles in my bum when I had a long, steep climb. But that was only once.
I didn't have that with normal shoes lol.

But this thread is about which shoes I wear with leather jackets and I do it with exactly these, in addition to my trainers.

 

[Herrvallmo]

A pair of Sendra engineers were my first goodyear welted footwear, maybe 15 years ago. They’re made in Spain, like myself. I remember they were very narrow for my feet. I should’ve gone for the longer shaft but at the time I felt that was too much.


https://psicodelia.es/5090-large_default/botas-sendra-uni***-2976-carol-sprinter-7004.jpg
Shortly after David Beckham signed for Real Madrid and he became a fan of Sendra engineers too, apparently.

View attachment 658985

For being my first and cheapest pair of engineers/boots my Sendras fits me amazing.
No "heel slip" at all, never had any problems with getting them on and so on, which after reading a lot of reviews seems like I was lucky(but I wont complain haha).

Been looking at their Biker/Cowboys-models a lot lately, and wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on a pair I love

Also the Beckham connection is awesome haha, thanks for that info!

@TartuWolf awesome pictures of some lovely boots! that last black pair looks amazing


Cheers

 

[Tom71]

Fair enough, in exceptional cases obviously it might not be the best idea. But even then simply wearing footwear with a high arch (or such insoles) only maintain the situation and do nothing to improve it. Usually people have to do exercises to strengthen the arch muscles and restore a healthy arch. Unless it's a severe case where you need an operation or the arches can't be improved in anyway at all. Then you're stuck with crutches (high arch footwear) for sure.
Although there is an interesting debate between the no arch barefoot stuff and the high arch PNW style footwear. The best argument I've heard was that if you're carrying a lot of heavy equipment (firefighters, loggers, etc...) then extra arch support is much better, but for casual use no arch support is best for long term health as it develops/maintains arch muscle strength.

Agreed on the "horses for causes" point.

I don´t think it´s so exceptional to be careful with "barefoot" shoes, especially for the "best-agers".. The older you get the more you are prone to suffer from arch failure (a "flatfoot" being the end of that process"). Add some general degenerative issues like arthrosis in the toes and the last thing you shoould do is to enhance the natural movement of the foot.
My wife isn´t meant to walk around barefoot anymore at all, especially not on instable surfaces. If it was up to her doc, she would nail her feet on some plywood planks and be done with it.

 

[Tom71]

Agreed on the "horses for causes" point.

I don´t think it´s so exceptional to be careful with "barefoot" shoes, especially for the "best-agers".. The older you get the more you are prone to suffer from arch failure (a "flatfoot" being the end of that process"). Add some general degenerative issues like arthrosis in the toes and the last thing you shoould do is to enhance the natural movement of the foot.
My wife isn´t meant to walk around barefoot anymore at all, especially not on instable surfaces. If it was up to her doc, she would nail her feet on some plywood planks and be done with it.

That said, I just ordered a pair of "Duckfeet" shoes, as per the discussion on TFL last week. Not really "barefoot" shoes, but with a broad toebox and very little heel elevation. Just curious at this point in time, but visually I guess they will work well enough with a simple pair of Jeans and a T-Shirt.

 

[TartuWolf]

That said, I just ordered a pair of "Duckfeet" shoes, as per the discussion on TFL last week. Not really "barefoot" shoes, but with a broad toebox and very little heel elevation. Just curious at this point in time, but visually I guess they will work well enough with a simple pair of Jeans and a T-Shirt.

I'm planning to grab a pair as well, but used for 1/3 of the price, not new.

 

[Bfd70]

I spent a lot of time looking at them aft

That said, I just ordered a pair of "Duckfeet" shoes, as per the discussion on TFL last week. Not really "barefoot" shoes, but with a broad toebox and very little heel elevation. Just curious at this point in time, but visually I guess they will work well enough with a simple pair of Jeans and a T-Shirt.

er hearing about them here. I really dig them. I sat on my hands as i just bought a pair of astroflex for the summer that i’ve barely worn. Also just 1 month into the 6 month boot season around here.

 

[Tom71]

I spent a lot of time looking at them aft

er hearing about them here. I really dig them. I sat on my hands as i just bought a pair of astroflex for the summer that i’ve barely worn. Also just 1 month into the 6 month boot season around here.

Haha, so we are the opposites of the spectrum: I have recently discovered Astorflex, but decided to go Duckfeet first....
Ordering wasn´t at all easy with them. The website seems fine, all going well until after I attempted payment; then I received all sorts of misc. error notices. It has worked now, but my patience had worn thin.

 

[handymike]

I'm interested to read what you all think about the Duckfeet. A buddy of mine swears by the barefoot shoes, but I haven't gone there yet.

 

[red devil]

Tempted to try a barefoot shoe to walk around, what would you guys recommend?