Boots

[nahtnoj]

I saw a woman this morning sporting a pair of Beckman's in the Cherry color. That was a first for me. And of course I wasn't wearing mine.

[C.Dyer]

So, talk to me about the differences, summarized, between price points...to simplify:

Oak Street
Red Wing
Chippewa

My parents and wife teamed up to give me some money for boots, since that's all I wanted for Christmas. It's hard for me to drop that kind of cash these days, regardless.

Which Oak Streets are you looking at? The Trench Boot or the Camp Boot/Hunt Boot? Oak Street's construction is incredible, right up there with Alden or Tricker's or the like. All their boots are made with Horween Leather, usually Chromexcel, which is real supple and buttery. They use nice thick leather stock too, so they certainly seem to have the air of quality and durability to them. I bought a pair of Trench Boots, and was really impressed by their construction, but the fit was wonky for me. They recommend going true to size on the trench boot, but my feet were swimming in them. The toe box is really wide--it's obvious to the naked eye if you were to see a photo from above of the last. Sizing down a half-size, my toes were really cramped against the end. Bummer, they really are great boots. One thing I'll say on the styling of the Trench Boots--I think it's a weird boot to pair to a Christy sole. The boot is a little too refined in it's appearance to match well with the wedge sole atmo. The leather soled ones, or the ones with dainite soles make a lot more sense to me for that style of boot.

I do have a pair of the Oak Street trail oxfords, which are low cut versions of the camp or hunt boots. They are fantastic, and the fit works better for me.

Red Wings use leather that's slightly less nice, but certainly nothing to shake a stick at. They're made in the US by a company with a long history, are resoleable at your local cobbler, and are fully recraftable by the factory, and look really sharp. Downside--I'm sure 3 out of every 4 Austin hipsters already own a pair.

Chippewas i know nothing about.

Summary: The Oak Streets are really high quality, and considerably less common. However, they are considerably more expensive, and atmo, have possibly questionable styling depending on which boot you're looking at. Given the way you talk about the budget constraints, I'd be leaning towards the Red Wings if it were me--they're 95% of the boot at two thirds the cost of the Oak Streets.

[shanerpvt]

Don't forget Wolverine 1000 Mile and Viberg (going to be PRICEY, but look amazing).

I like my 1000 mile better than my Indy's, much better than any of the half dozen pr of red wings I have owned.

I really can't get over how nice they are in person.

[AngryScientist]

as a bit of a christmas splurge i bought a pair of red wings beckman boots, in the black cherry leather. having a hard time figuring out what product to use to shine them up bringing out the subtle, but there red tone to the leather. anyone? i imagine red wings boot cream should do, but i see such nice pics of polished up beckmans, just want to be sure i use the right product from the get-go.

???

[chasea]

as a bit of a christmas splurge i bought a pair of red wings beckman boots, in the black cherry leather. having a hard time figuring out what product to use to shine them up bringing out the subtle, but there red tone to the leather. anyone? i imagine red wings boot cream should do, but i see such nice pics of polished up beckmans, just want to be sure i use the right product from the get-go.

???

Go nuts.

Leather Care | LEATHER SPA

[dugafola]

as a bit of a christmas splurge i bought a pair of red wings beckman boots, in the black cherry leather. having a hard time figuring out what product to use to shine them up bringing out the subtle, but there red tone to the leather. anyone? i imagine red wings boot cream should do, but i see such nice pics of polished up beckmans, just want to be sure i use the right product from the get-go.

???

to maintain colors in my leather shoes/boots, i normally prefer obernauf's boot oil or montana pitch blend. some initial darkening will happen as the oil keeps penetrating the leather but the leather usually buffs back to normal color after a couple of days.

[steve d]

After reading this thread I got one of my college-aged boys a pair of LL Bean Chippewas for Christmas. A huge hit; thanks!

[soupless]

Is there anything one can do to make corrected grain leather look better? I got some Grensons about a year ago at deep discount and now they're looking less than great. Had I known they were corrected grain I wouln't have gotten them in the first place.

[Wisco]

Not really. Corrected grain is a "sculpted leather" that has been scraped to remove any imperfections and then made shiny to its plastic goodness.... yuk. Keep them for rain shoes and find a pair made of full-grain leather or even shell cordovan if you've got the scratch.

Is there anything one can do to make corrected grain leather look better? I got some Grensons about a year ago at deep discount and now they're looking less than great. Had I known they were corrected grain I wouln't have gotten them in the first place.

[Cookietruck]

Red Wings use leather that's slightly less nice, but certainly nothing to shake a stick at. They're made in the US by a company with a long history, are resoleable at your local cobbler, and are fully recraftable by the factory, and look really sharp. Downside--I'm sure 3 out of every 4 Austin hipsters already own a pair.

and the other hipster might have a pair of these

HELM Boots - Made in the US

[soupless]

Thanks Wisco, that's what I figured, but was holding out hope that I could do something to fix them.
Like I said, they were deeply discounted and I had store credit where I got them, so my final out of pocket was like $60, but original retail was pretty close to $400. WTF Grenson?

[pointbreak]

Alden Shoe – Natty CXL PTBoot w/Crepe Sole (LSW) | Leather Soul
Want, want, want...

[TTX1]

Check out the Boston Boot Co.

They launched on Kickstarter, and while the campaign has ended, they are offering a 20% discount on the website for anyone who pre-orders before the official "launch" in March.

I like the "micro-bootery" angle, although these guys are not taking the full custom approach.

I'm in for a pair of the Commonwealth Boot in black... should know more next month.

https://www.bostonbootco.com/

ca29d6717f7a37498ba72edb37e4d707_large.jpg

[brunop]

^can't be re-soled. made in china. look pretty though.

[Brandon White]

^can't be re-soled. made in china. look pretty though.

Yep, there are many good boot brands that can be had around the same price range that are US and handmade.

[cody.wms]

^can't be re-soled. made in china. look pretty though.

This is the kind of stuff I don't get. They talk extensively of materials, craftsmanship, copper eyelets but in the end it doesn't matter. These are boots made to be disposable. Resoleability is a basic requirement for any quality shoe.

[christian]

Also, those things are goddamned ugly.

[cody.wms]

I like the "micro-bootery" angle, although these guys are not taking the full custom approach.

There is nothing even remotely custom, craft, or quality about these. These are $60 boots with $140 of vaporware and feels attached. No mention of any previous shoe making/contracting ability either. I have a feeling that they're going to be surprised at the difference between the sample pairs they have in hand and what comes off the boat next month. This is a reoccuring theme with these Kickstarters. The money comes up front, the problems later. It's an uphill battle to get a product on the market and kickstarter distorts this tremendously.

I also wish people would stop acting like having the name Horween attached makes everything gold. I get Horween sides in second quality for $4-6 a sq.ft. I bet the Chinese factory making these gets their leather a lot cheaper than that.

Also, those things are goddamned ugly.

Nothing has stopped companies from combining the worst attribute of a chukka boot and a Red Wing before!

[rphetteplace]

Oak Street Bootmakers | Chicago

[cody.wms]

Oak Street Bootmakers | Chicago

Good one. Also Quoooooooody (might be too many o's there). Red Wing, Thorogood, Allen Edmonds, Alden (though Christian and I had problems with our boots), Wolverine 1000 mile, and probably many more.

You can find good deals on Sierra Trading post on Trickers, Wolverine 1000, and Red Wings. Shoebuy.com has good deals on Red Wings from time to time. And always on eBay.