Viberg service boot - colors don't match....

[gimebakmybulits]

Is it just me? I see two different colors on these uppers... Is this considered acceptable in a $700 shoe?

 

[gimebakmybulits]

Viberg's response........kind of unbelievable
Thanks for reaching out about this. This isn't anything abnormal for this leather whatsoever, and this is a part of how the leather looks. The dyeing of this leather is uneven on purpose, and the different colour variations are something that we accept with all of our boots as we only use natural leathers, and don't further doctor the colour upon receiving them from the tanneries.

We believe that the natural variation that comes with the hide itself, or the dye and tannage processes, are a feature of the leather. We choose not to look towards 100% perfectly even colours or matching grain as that is not possible with natural leathers and only results in wastage of perfectly good leather that takes months to make.

 

[Harris HTM]

My personal opinion: no, this is not acceptable for a $700 pair. In the past I have bought two pairs or three, from other brands, with similar issues, but they all had a 30%-60% discount because of this. Never had a Viberg but this does not look promising.

 

[belfastboy]

It would bother the hell out of me.

 

[TartuWolf]

Personal opinion - looks fine to me. Natural differences in the shades of leather color. Buy heavily pigmented leather if you want even uniform look and color.
As you wear the boots in then they will change color with time anyway and they will blend in even more. Or get even more different, depends on what happens to them during their lifetime.

 

[gimebakmybulits]

Personal opinion - looks fine to me. Natural differences in the shades of leather color. Buy heavily pigmented leather if you want even uniform look and color.
As you wear the boots in then they will change color with time anyway and they will blend in even more. Or get even more different, depends on what happens to them during their lifetime.

This is heavily pigmented leather.... I've got numerous boots, shoes and jackets that don't have this issue other than ones like the Aero Blue Label that specifically tell you they are using remnants to assemble. This pair look like you grabbed a shoe from two different pairs.... If that small piece of leather can't be cut from like colored sections then there is a problem of either quality control, or they plain don't care enough because people have been willing to accept poor quality. Which, admittedly I have fallen into given the substandard work I allowed by accepting the waxed kudu 2040's I received from them. Is the edge dressing and the sanding on these worthy of an $800 "handmade boot?

 

[TartuWolf]

Looks like the edge dressing was done good but something happened to it afterwards.
Don't get me wrong, both of these two cases are QC issues, edge dressing more than the color mismatch in opinion.
And if these were dress shoes it would be unacceptable to me.
But these are rather workwear cosplay / heritage / will last you a lifetime kind of boots.
The kudu ones even have a commando sole.
They should go through rocks, mud, rain, tornadoes, earthquakes and the like.
"Worn hard".
And if that's how you wear them then the long term leather quality and integrity is what matters most. The construction, etc..
But if you plan to keep them pristine, shine them up and wear them carefully / inside I don't think Viberg is your best pick anyway.
Obviously, as always, you do what you want with your money and your footwear - send them back if you think it's a deal breaker.
Us lounge members are only here to give you different opinions to consider.

 

[jonbuilder]

I agree with TartuWolf, your boots selection does not fit my idea of dress shoes or dress boots more workwear. I would be concentrating on how the boots fit and feel wearing them then slight color variation after 3 or 4 months of daily wear will not be noticeable. Yes I do spend $700 on my whites work boots which are heavier died

 

[gimebakmybulits]

I agree with TartuWolf, your boots selection does not fit my idea of dress shoes or dress boots more workwear. I would be concentrating on how the boots fit and feel wearing them then slight color variation after 3 or 4 months of daily wear will not be noticeable. Yes I do spend $700 on my whites work boots which are heavier died

If you enjoy spending top dollar for products from a so called "premium" manufacturer that can't be bothered with attention to detail then that's your call. How I decide to use the items I purchase is mine.... Strangely enough the leather on the replacement pair match...go figure, I'm sure some poor soul spent days laboring over hand selecting them just for me.
BTW, a Danite sole is not "work wear" unless you are working in an environment that doesn't require real traction... kind of like the places you'd wear dress shoes and boots. Heck,even the folks that make it call it a "city shoe" sole.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

When I purchased my letter jacket in high school (what a waste of money that was), as my mother and I were paying for it, I immediately noticed one sleeve of leather was thick, stiff, and smooth like glass. The other sleeve was soft, supple, and already showing signs of creases, which is how I envisioned letter jackets to look like. I was a kid, didn't know anything, and didn't know to say anything. I noticed the huge difference in leather, but I also thought the stiff side would loosen up. It bugged me from the very moment I laid eyes on that jacket, and in large part, made me never want to wear it. I did wear it here and there, and that stiff sleeve never did soften or look anything like the other side. I don't know if anyone else ever noticed it, but it was a psychological albatross, if I'm allowed to be dramatic about it here. It might have been my first lesson about not walking out of a store with something that didn't meet my standards. That was a lot of money for my family, and for it to be flawed should not have been acceptable. There's a fine balance between having reasonable expectations and being a jerk, but if you're spending above average money for an item, it should not be a constant nag on your psyche. It's not only worthless at that point, but it is actually a negative force. No one in the right mind spends a lot of money to invite a negative thing into their life. In short, if you don't like how these boots make you feel...if they defy the very essence of why you purchased them...you should return them or ask for the company to remedy the situation. Absolutely. No question. That's my opinion on such matters.

 

[belfastboy]

If you enjoy spending top dollar for products from a so called "premium" manufacturer that can't be bothered with attention to detail then that's your call. How I decide to use the items I purchase is mine.... Strangely enough the leather on the replacement pair match...go figure, I'm sure some poor soul spent days laboring over hand selecting them just for me.
BTW, a Danite sole is not "work wear" unless you are working in an environment that doesn't require real traction... kind of like the places you'd wear dress shoes and boots. Heck,even the folks that make it call it a "city shoe" sole.

I am a big Danner fan...owner of about a dozen pairs. They run me $250 to $450 and I have never had a pair where the leather did not match perfectly. Dress, work, hike.....the dye/grain has always matched.

 

[Yancy.41]

I have a half dozen pair of moderately expensive boots ($400-$600 when I purchased them) including a couple pair custom ordered. All have matched in color. Like Belfastboy, I have a couple pair of Danner ML hiking boots.

I can understand your aggravation over the matter.

 

[2g4]

I am a big Danner fan...owner of about a dozen pairs. They run me $250 to $450 and I have never had a pair where the leather did not match perfectly. Dress, work, hike.....the dye/grain has always matched.

I'm glad that you like those and they work for you. It's important to read Viberg's reply though. Part of the reason they're charging so much is they are using a very premium, unimproved leather aimed at people who prize a more natural leather and have an eye toward a long patina process, not so much day 1. Alternatively, for less money, you have get a heavily scraped and sanded leather which is then heavily dyed and it will look and feel very consistent. That leather will cost you less money as well. To me, this is like buying a Porsche then complaining that it's too low to the ground to get into comfortably. Viberg is a brand for those leathers. If you don't need/like those leathers, then by all means to with Danner or even Whites/Nicks which are actually tougher boots using less precious materials. It's not Viberg's fault that people don't understand the marketplace. You know who has really consistent leather? Timberlands and Nikes. Some of the best leather in the world is very inconsistent. Natural or raw Horween shell cordovan is all over the place. If you expect it to look like Timberland's leather, you're going to be disappointed with your $1,600 purchase.

 

[gimebakmybulits]

Nice job of gaslighting there 2g4....

 

[MichaelRhB]

That would bother me no matter what the purpose of the boot is. If I received something like that from Meindl they would go right back to where they came from.

 

[2g4]

Nice job of gaslighting there 2g4....

Not sure you understand what gaslighting is. Pointing out that you can save money on improved leathers and skip the more expensive natural leathers isn't the same as tricking a person into thinking they're going insane. But very helpful feedback. Just kidding. It was not at all helpful, which is what I WAS trying to be. Just buy $300 Red Wings, the leather is consistent in apperance. You can save a lot of money and have identical leather and be happy. You are basically buying single malt and complaining that it's not blended well enough. As the boot experts said, ahha, never mind. I don't really care. Carry on.

 

[belfastboy]

Not sure you understand what gaslighting is. Pointing out that you can save money on improved leathers and skip the more expensive natural leathers isn't the same as tricking a person into thinking they're going insane. But very helpful feedback. Just kidding. It was not at all helpful, which is what I WAS trying to be. Just buy $300 Red Wings, the leather is consistent in apperance. You can save a lot of money and have identical leather and be happy. You are basically buying single malt and complaining that it's not blended well enough. As the boot experts said, ahha, never mind. I don't really care. Carry on.

Just curious, is Viberg up front about their leathers and the possibility of unmatched dye jobs? Or do they assume the buyer is already aware of that fact?

 

[Observe]

I'd be annoyed. You could use a polish to make the finish more even, but it will change the color.

 

[2g4]

Just curious, is Viberg up front about their leathers and the possibility of unmatched dye jobs? Or do they assume the buyer is already aware of that fact?

It's not like they make a huge announcement on their site, and they use a lot of leathers. Some are more variable than others. So a lot of their boots do match, like suedes and other improved leathers. But if you look at their pix of certain lethers, clearly the are not matching so they're picturing the boots honestly. One of the best thing about Viberg is the range of leathers they work with, so like the leathers, it varies between the products. They offer free exchanges, so if you don't like it you can exchange. Then again, in many cases, you won't be able to exchange because of availability. But the bigger point is: they look that way in the beginning, but after a little time they darken, get a patina and the look transforms. I'd tried to explain that before: their leathers transform a lot over time so it's not that big of a deal for the color to be a bit off. Furthermore, if you're familiar with the particular type of leather you know how much it varies or doesn't vary and I think they expect you to have some knowledge, after all it's not normal to spend $600-$1600 on boots.

I've attached four pix, one of a pair of Viberg Chelsea's in Horween Dublin, Dark Rubber color, one pix new the other I took just now. The other is JLB Engineers in natural CXL, also one new and one just now. You can see a number of things that some people would consider an error. The JLB Engineer's have huge variability between the upper and the shank, the leather has a mark in the toe. Look at the second pic of the Engineers: the leather difference is nearly gone, the mark has completely disappeared. But the greater point is that with a little time, this stuff just doens't matter. It's CXL, I knew it would transform and darken as time went on. It's full of oils, so with brushing the indent would disappear. On the Chelsea's, there's a huge stripe down the middle of each boot. But as a person who bought a wholecut boot, I understand that this mark is the result of working a piece of wholecut leather around a last and it's mostly unavoidable. Secondly, I understand that over time this will mostly disappear beacuse it's leather and it's Horween Dublin which has insane pullup and tons of oils and waxes. You also see a lot of color variation in the leather. Finally, there's some grain expression that Ive seen many people identify as "loose grain" but it was placed at a place in the boot where it will work into the flex of the boot.

None of this bothers me, I bought a wholecut boot make from Horween Dublin so that's what I expect. I think many people don't expect that. But I think Viberg's position is: if it bothers you, fine, send it back and we will sell it to the next guy in line. There's always a next guy in line with Viberg, so they aren't too troubled by it. I think it's on the consumer to understand the leather. I'd be mad if suede showed up variable. But Dublin? Do a quick google search of Dublin hides sold on the interned to leathercrafters. None of them are consistent. That's the nature of certain leather. I think at some point Viberg expects you to chose the leather that suits your desires. You don't buy a sports car and complain that it doesn't fit a week's worth of groceries in it. Or who knows, maybe I'm just gas lighting you? lol. cheers.

 

[belfastboy]

It's not like they make a huge announcement on their site, and they use a lot of leathers. Some are more variable than others. So a lot of their boots do match, like suedes and other improved leathers. But if you look at their pix of certain lethers, clearly the are not matching so they're picturing the boots honestly. One of the best thing about Viberg is the range of leathers they work with, so like the leathers, it varies between the products. They offer free exchanges, so if you don't like it you can exchange. Then again, in many cases, you won't be able to exchange because of availability. But the bigger point is: they look that way in the beginning, but after a little time they darken, get a patina and the look transforms. I'd tried to explain that before: their leathers transform a lot over time so it's not that big of a deal for the color to be a bit off. Furthermore, if you're familiar with the particular type of leather you know how much it varies or doesn't vary and I think they expect you to have some knowledge, after all it's not normal to spend $600-$1600 on boots.

I've attached four pix, one of a pair of Viberg Chelsea's in Horween Dublin, Dark Rubber color, one pix new the other I took just now. The other is JLB Engineers in natural CXL, also one new and one just now. You can see a number of things that some people would consider an error. The JLB Engineer's have huge variability between the upper and the shank, the leather has a mark in the toe. Look at the second pic of the Engineers: the leather difference is nearly gone, the mark has completely disappeared. But the greater point is that with a little time, this stuff just doens't matter. It's CXL, I knew it would transform and darken as time went on. It's full of oils, so with brushing the indent would disappear. On the Chelsea's, there's a huge stripe down the middle of each boot. But as a person who bought a wholecut boot, I understand that this mark is the result of working a piece of wholecut leather around a last and it's mostly unavoidable. Secondly, I understand that over time this will mostly disappear beacuse it's leather and it's Horween Dublin which has insane pullup and tons of oils and waxes. You also see a lot of color variation in the leather. Finally, there's some grain expression that Ive seen many people identify as "loose grain" but it was placed at a place in the boot where it will work into the flex of the boot.

None of this bothers me, I bought a wholecut boot make from Horween Dublin so that's what I expect. I think many people don't expect that. But I think Viberg's position is: if it bothers you, fine, send it back and we will sell it to the next guy in line. There's always a next guy in line with Viberg, so they aren't too troubled by it. I think it's on the consumer to understand the leather. I'd be mad if suede showed up variable. But Dublin? Do a quick google search of Dublin hides sold on the interned to leathercrafters. None of them are consistent. That's the nature of certain leather. I think at some point Viberg expects you to chose the leather that suits your desires. You don't buy a sports car and complain that it doesn't fit a week's worth of groceries in it. Or who knows, maybe I'm just gas lighting you? lol. cheers.

Viberg is up in my neck of the woods and it is good to see a company that transformed from a logging boot company into an upscale fashion boot and seems to be doing well. Other boot companies from back in the day like Paris Boots did not transition and fell by the wayside. Danner at $600 Canadian are at the upper end of my boot budget unless I am going full custom. We have a great one in the city as well.