Jim Green custom shop

[TLW '90]

Last summer I ordered myself a pair of Jim Green Vellies in their Khaki rough out leather, and have absolutely loved them since.
I ended up dubbing them with beeswax & obenaufs, and with that they became the perfect warm weather beater shoe / shop boot.
For general casual wear they replace a sneaker perfectly well,plus they can take a beating without looking too ugly.

I love 'em but I can find wants n wishes with everything, and these were no different.

Well they recently launched their custom shop, and for only about $100 more I was able to order exactly what I wanted plus try a few things.
The 2 things I really wanted to change were to upgrade to a leather midsole, and to replace the natural rubber lugged outsole with a wedge outsole.
While I was at it I decided to go with a regular grain out leather in their " tan " ( more tobacco-ish ) color for something a little nicer looking than my dubbed rough out beaters, I decided to go without a shank, and decided to try out an unstructured toe box which I've never had before.
I also went down a half size which isn't or at least wasn't previously a standard offering, my current vellies fit me fine without feeling too big or anything but I think I could stand to go down a half size.


I don't know how long this is supposed to take, but they've gotta make them then ship them here to Norcal from South Africa so it'll probably be awhile.

 

[Edward]

Interesting lookig stuff. Just had a hunt on their websites, an I see some nice boots. Quite fancy the look of some of their workboots and the hiking boots. (I was recently looking at some Danner Mountain Lights, but thse are crazy money in the UK for a shoe I'd only use for very specific, limited purposes.) THe $100 upcharge for the customisations they involve is a nice idea - not by any means excessive, and lovely to have those sorts of options. Many times I've looked at a shoe and thought "If only they did it in black", or such. Being able to choose the thread colour is a neat touch too, that can really pop. Be interesting to see how you get on with these compared to the standard version. Is shipping pricey?

 

[TLW '90]

Is shipping pricey?

Sort of , but when I said the upcharge was $100 that was based on my total before looking at the price breakdown in my confirmation email.
The standard Vellie is $129, and the base price for a custom is $179 which gets you all of the basic mix n match options, then an extra $5 to upgrade to a leather midsole.
The shipping for me was $55 since they do have to come directly from the factory.

Overall the price was only $110 more, that will of course vary depending on shipping to where you live and whether you pay for any upgrades.
The $50 base charge is not bad at all, it could vary depending on the model, but it's the same set of options so I'd expect that to be consistent across the board.

 

[TLW '90]

I ordered these " tan " Vellies.

With all white stitching ( plus the leather midsole upgrade ).
And I chose these brown " origo " wedge soles.

This brings up one minor criticism I have with their custom order page, I really wish it could show you the options you've selected so you know beforehand how it will look.
When I place an order with the Buck knives custom shop it shows me a representation of what I've chosen, and the same thing goes with the Crosman airguns custom shop.

This is a common technology that many companies use for their custom ordering options but JG's custom shop is still new, I suspect they will probably add this feature in due time.
I guess for now we just get to watch their YouTube channel for the weekly showing of customers orders to see a realization of the possibilities.

 

[Edward]

Sort of , but when I said the upcharge was $100 that was based on my total before looking at the price breakdown in my confirmation email.
The standard Vellie is $129, and the base price for a custom is $179 which gets you all of the basic mix n match options, then an extra $5 to upgrade to a leather midsole.
The shipping for me was $55 since they do have to come directly from the factory.

Overall the price was only $110 more, that will of course vary depending on shipping to where you live and whether you pay for any upgrades.
The $50 base charge is not bad at all, it could vary depending on the model, but it's the same set of options so I'd expect that to be consistent across the board.

Thanks, that is a good deal. The shipping certainly isn't expensive for a pair of boots at that distance. I've become careful about shipping of late, prompted by a bit of a shock surprise when I ordered something from the US - standard postage from the US to the UK has shot up with changes at USPS, alas. fifty-five bucks is a great deal for that sort ofdistance from SA to USA.

 

[TLW '90]

I've become careful about shipping of late, prompted by a bit of a shock surprise when I ordered something from the US - standard postage from the US to the UK has shot up with changes at USPS, alas.

USPS shipping rates have gone sky high lately and it sucks, I'm just glad I'm not a seller or something who has to deal with it all the time.

 

[TLW '90]

I would like to know what do you think about Safari boots. Never been to Africa but I admire all the gear evolved.
So, in terms of quality, confort, durability and look, what do you think about Courtney boots or Jim Green? Wy they are so expensive and anyone knows where to find in Europe?
Thank you all.

I'm in the US so I don't know why they would be expensive and hard to get in Europe, I think J-G has entered the European market with a website and Courtney seems to have a partnership with a company called Wesley Richard's in the UK. .
I have never been to Africa...etc either, but anything designed for the African plains should be right at home hiking hunting and camping anywhere really.

As far as quality and comfort I've never owned a pair of Courtney boots, but my experience with Jim Green has been great.
I only have experience with their vellie chukka boots, but have not really heard many complaints about any Jim Green boots across the board.
They have been very comfortable and Jim green's standard last shape is great, they're wide in the toe box but the whole boot is shaped in a way they they don't look like clown shoes as you can often get with anything built on a Munson style last.

As far as looks I personally think Courtney boots look very strange and quite ugly, Jim Green has some models that don't appeal to me but none are as ugly as the Courteney's .

Jim Green has more models , more leather options , and more sole options than Courtney and they're significantly less expensive.
Maybe the Courtney boots cost more for a reason ( I assume) but from the J-G custom shop you can get upgrades, an upgraded J-G is going to cost about the same if not less depending on the model.
You'll have a choice of options, and I can't imagine what could possibly still be higher quality on the Courtney's at that point.

It's up to what you like and can find where you live, but Jim Green seems like the clear winner to me.

 

[Fifty150]

I have never been to Africa...etc either, but anything designed for the African plains should be right at home hiking hunting and camping anywhere really.

I took a trip to West Africa. The local Panda Express needed a highly trained dishwasher.

I didn't get any special footwear. I just wore my regular issued duty boots - which would have been something from Bates, Rocky, Thorogood, Danner, or whichever company won the bid on the supply contract. It would be that style with a zipper on the side, leather heel & toe, cordura panels, and some sort of high traction tread pattern. Sometimes there's a composite toe, a steel toe, or no protection. Sometimes it says waterproof. No matter which variant, they all sort of look like this:

I have never been on a "safari". I can't imagine that the bush in Africa is all that different than other outdoors environments. Sand, rocks, mud, dirt, moisture. You encounter much the same in most hiking, camping, fishing, hunting trips. You need good soles. You don't want it to leak. You want the shoe to breathe.

You don't want the cheap shoes where the soles separate because of the cheap glue. You don't want the stitches to burst. You don't want the eyelets, hooks, and lacing to fail. I've had all of these things happen to me with lesser quality footwear.

Jim Green's custom options are great. Every shoemaker should offer those options. You can pick functional items like adding a cap toe, adding a steel toe, and select the soles you need. Or even change the stitching thread color to add a little panache. Allen Edmonds has limited customization on certain models, which allows you to pick a different sole. An extra $100 is not much, if you consider what a cobbler would charge to take apart a shoe and rebuild it to your liking.

If I were to order custom boots from Jim Green, I would get the Numzaan. Add a steel toe. Attach their "tyre" pattern sole.

I bought these Jim Green Razorback when they were half off on Amazon. For $90, I'm happy with them. They have held up well to washing dishes, cleaning toilets, and taking out garbage , at Panda Express. Chemicals, heat, grease, steam...... just brush them off, and they're good as new. If Jim Green has another half off sale, I would buy another pair.

 

[TLW '90]

Well it's been 27 days, and my custom order Vellies from JG have just shipped.
I had read reports that runtimes have be 6-8 weeks, so I'm surprised and glad that it only took 4.

 

[TLW '90]

It didn't take them long to get here, and so far on 1st impressions I'm quite happy.

My 1st bellies came with these kind of terrible insoles that were a leather topped felt board with a soft plastic/ hard rubber heel cup thing glued to the bottom.
These came with a much nicer foam insole that seems to be leather topped.

Overall these fit me much better having gone 1/2 size down, and the unstructured toe box was definitely the right call.
I'm already noticing the leathers ability to stretch.

As expected the JG laces suck, but I've got some tan 425 paracord to replace them with.

 

[Fifty150]

$100 upcharge for the customisations

I looked on the website. Just to see what the boots would cost for the changes that I want. A little bit more than I want to spend. I will settle for buying the regular model without the customizations.

 

[Edward]

I looked on the website. Just to see what the boots would cost for the changes that I want. A little bit more than I want to spend. I will settle for buying the regular model without the customizations.

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The custom charge is very reasonable against retail, but yes - with the standard boot available at those sale prices I'd go OTR as well.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

How's the overall foot support in JG boots? I'm needing a new pair of hiking boots. The models I've had bookmarked from other makers have all been discontinued, except for White's Centennial Hikers and one other brand, both of which have skyrocketed from $250-300 to $500 or more. It's insane. So I've been considering a pair of JG, but I've also read that the boots really have no footbed structure, offering minimal support. I want a stitch-down, non-Goretex boot, but it has to be more than just appearance. I've remedied poor support situations in the past with superfeet insoles, but if I can do better than that, without spending $500, I would prefer it. Maybe I'm living in a world lost not long ago though? So, how would you rate the foot support?