Footwear to go with our jackets

[Pandemic]

I’m pretty close to ordering a pair of Nick’s custom Station Master engineer boots, but one of the things I’m stuck on is leather choice.

Italian Brown Cypress from Horween is known for looking great as it ages and gets beat-up a bit.

Wicket and Craig’s Double Stuffed Walnut is veg tanned and such a luxurious, rich and dark brown. But is it worth $150ish extra?

And, for reference, this is the jacket that I’ll be wearing with them mostly:

What would you go with?

 

[Pandemic]

^
And Option Three is another pair from Brisselblack, with their overdyed Maryam horsebutt. I owned a pair of these a few years ago, and they didn’t feel as solid. More of a dress boot, but undeniably sleek and the added customization options (bigger heel stack and 8” height) are appreciated.

 

[thegenius1ne]

I’m pretty close to ordering a pair of Nick’s custom Station Master engineer boots, but one of the things I’m stuck on is leather choice.

Italian Brown Cypress from Horween is known for looking great as it ages and gets beat-up a bit.

View attachment 699576

Wicket and Craig’s Double Stuffed Walnut is veg tanned and such a luxurious, rich and dark brown. But is it worth $150ish extra?

View attachment 699575

And, for reference, this is the jacket that I’ll be wearing with them mostly:

View attachment 699574

What would you go with?

is it the 150 extra you can have arguments on both side so I'll leave that alone. As for color theory do you some contrast between your boots and the jacket?

I’m pretty close to ordering a pair of Nick’s custom Station Master engineer boots, but one of the things I’m stuck on is leather choice.

Italian Brown Cypress from Horween is known for looking great as it ages and gets beat-up a bit.

View attachment 699576

Wicket and Craig’s Double Stuffed Walnut is veg tanned and such a luxurious, rich and dark brown. But is it worth $150ish extra?

View attachment 699575

And, for reference, this is the jacket that I’ll be wearing with them mostly:

View attachment 699574

What would you go with?

Data driven decisions are always the best. Didn't have time to grab you a dark brown leather can you can use your imagination. I like a bit of contrast now.

 

[Tom71]

I’m pretty close to ordering a pair of Nick’s custom Station Master engineer boots, but one of the things I’m stuck on is leather choice.

Italian Brown Cypress from Horween is known for looking great as it ages and gets beat-up a bit.

View attachment 699576

Wicket and Craig’s Double Stuffed Walnut is veg tanned and such a luxurious, rich and dark brown. But is it worth $150ish extra?

View attachment 699575

And, for reference, this is the jacket that I’ll be wearing with them mostly:

View attachment 699574

What would you go with?

Never handled Nicks myself. The Horween Cypress Brown looks nice and already shows a lot of potential. The darker one is a better fit with the RC colour wise, but this is something I don’t care that much anymore.

 

[Pandemic]

Never handled Nicks myself.

I had a pair of White’s Bountyhunters on the same last. Generally, PNW boots are crazy solid, heavy and bulletproof. But I think the Nicks could still be configured to be relatively sleek.

The Horween Cypress Brown looks nice and already shows a lot of potential.

For sure. That one looks to age fast and well.

The darker one is a better fit with the RC colour wise, but this is something I don’t care that much anymore.

The rolls on that leather are amazing and the colour has so much depth to it.

Matching boots and jacket is more of a bonus for me, though I prefer to get things somewhere in the same tone - not super dark brown with natural or tan.

I thought I’d’ve placed the order by now, but I really can’t decide between these three options (adding the Brisselblack wildcard).

 

[torfjord]

I’m pretty close to ordering a pair of Nick’s custom Station Master engineer boots, but one of the things I’m stuck on is leather choice.

Italian Brown Cypress from Horween is known for looking great as it ages and gets beat-up a bit.

View attachment 699576

Wicket and Craig’s Double Stuffed Walnut is veg tanned and such a luxurious, rich and dark brown. But is it worth $150ish extra?

View attachment 699575

And, for reference, this is the jacket that I’ll be wearing with them mostly:

View attachment 699574

What would you go with?

The Walnut looks amazing. I’d go with that.

 

[Pandemic]

The Walnut looks amazing. I’d go with that.

I was pretty close to pulling that walnut trigger and then I was this album with some amazing Italian Brown Cypress:

https://www.patinaproject.com/items/nicks-palouse-italian-brown-cypress/AAeJ96h

I may never decide. Or buy both, hahah.

 

[rogueclimber]

Or buy both

Always the correct answer: Buy both

 

[Pandemic]

Guess who finally got off the fence and made a decision to order boots (except in 8”)

 

[Drzdave58]

View attachment 700574


Guess who finally got off the fence and made a decision to order boots (except in 8”)

Beautiful! What brand?

 

[Pandemic]

Beautiful! What brand?

Briselblack. I was tempted by the cool leathers and the 55 last from Nick’s, but ultimately the profile of their boot (and the other PNW engineer boots) just looks a bit meh to me. Briselblack are more influenced by the Japanese style of sleek engineer boots. This will be my second pair from them, so I kinda know what to expect

 

[pillepalle123]

Some simple sturdy shoes from Trabert Germany. Nothing fancy, just practical.

Halbschuh Main zwiegenäht - Trabert Zwienaht-Onlineshop

Trabert zwiegenähter Halbschuh Main, Schnürschuh mit Zwienaht

www.zwienaht-onlineshop.de

Norwegian welted

My pair was made before 1989 ("West Germany").

 

[threads.md]

Viberg engineers View attachment 680116

Look so good !!!

 

[One Drop]

I know opinion on Rose Anvil is quite divided but just today he released a video on a new pair of Russel moccasins he got. They are heavy duty bison leather with a more standard vibram sole and his view was they are almost as sturdy as heritage red wings or PNW. The moc construction still gives them a little more flex but they were way sturdier than other Russell models. His opinion was based on leather choice and sole you can definitely build yourself a pretty sturdy pair.

I just saw this now as I was searching for an old post of mine about my Russell Moccasin Backcountrys that I wanted to update. I was also grateful for his video showing what the beefier models are like, as my own are not suitable for high altitude rocky terrain also for lower temperatures. I'll eventially get a pair of Big Cambos when my Hanwags can no longer be resoled.

This issues of stability and firmness vs. flexibility and lack of structure all kind of go out the window with these boots, unless you are referring to specific issues and needs such as a more structured sole for crossing scree and boulder fields, or the need for more foot protection via lining of the quarters, as examples. In real life use the wide, low, flat platform of the midsole / sole combined with the torsional flexibility of the sole and the flexibility of the upper boot construction at the ankle and forefoot actually create a far more stable base to walk on on flat terrain, and a firmer grip on the ground when side-hilling, and climbing and descending steeper terrain. Your feet and ankle do do more work that when locked into a traditional hiking, tactical, or hunting boot, but your feet and legs quickly adjust and feel far more comfortable than with normal boots, and far less tired and cramped at the end of the day. The difference is amazing, I admit to having been skeptical at first but am fully convinced now of the advantages of this kind of design and construction.

 

[One Drop]

Here’s the exact pair from the video I mentioned. If you notice the weight they are just under PNW models. As it says the model name is the South 40. Heavy bison hide, vibram sole. It’s thier most heavy duty stock model. You can do some customizing of their various models and maybe make something up; but off the shelf this is their heavy duty model

That and the Big Cambo are their most heavy duty models, but the two are different in what is beefed up or not, and would, I imagine, suit very different usages.

For the highest waterproofness and ruggedness, and leg protection from brush at lower altitudes I would assume the South 40 to be the right choice, for higher altitude hiking and trekking, wearing a pack, and more warmth, I'd assume the Big Cambo is the better choice. I'll definitely be replacing my all leather Hanwags with a pair of Big Cambos when I can no longer resole the Hanwags, my Backcountrys are superb for most things I do but not for certain high mountain hikes and treks, and for lower temperatures.

 

[DweezilMac]

That and the Big Cambo are their most heavy duty models, but the two are different in what is beefed up or not, and would, I imagine, suit very different usages.

For the highest waterproofness and ruggedness, and leg protection from brush at lower altitudes I would assume the South 40 to be the right choice, for higher altitude hiking and trekking, wearing a pack, and more warmth, I'd assume the Big Cambo is the better choice. I'll definitely be replacing my all leather Hanwags with a pair of Big Cambos when I can no longer resole the Hanwags, my Backcountrys are superb for most things I do but not for certain high mountain hikes and treks, and for lower temperatures.

Thank you for the thorough analysis and excellent write-up!
Much appreciated!

 

[Turnip]

Just some boots from Wollaston i often wear along with leather or wax jackets.

 

[One Drop]

Thank you for the thorough analysis and excellent write-up!
Much appreciated!

My pleasure! If you're interested in reading even more, I wrote an extensive review and a few followup posts as I wear them in, in this thread :

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/russell-moccasin-co.115085/

 

[Davidc5]