Boots / shoes to wear with your flight jacket s...

[FlakMagnet]

here's my US-made Chippewa rough out service boots. I've had these since 2016, and have only had them resoled once since. They were a bitch to break in as the leather was so stiff, but it was worth it though.

 

[Chandler]

Sadly. I'd recommend the Thursday President in Mocha roughout, or their Hero boots if you're looking for quality roughout service style boots. Bloody awesome boots for not too much $$

I have enough boots to spread out over a week's wearing, these days.

I liked the looks of some of Thursday's boots, but they came out with the newer moc-toe right after I'd found a pair I really like (see previous posts).

 

[B-Man2]

I have enough boots to spread out over a week's wearing, these days.

I liked the looks of some of Thursday's boots, but they came out with the newer moc-toe right after I'd found a pair I really like (see previous posts).

I have a couple of pairs of Thursdays and the only thing I really don’t like is that they don’t gusset the boot tongue to the inside of the lace up area. As a result the tongue often slides left or right and you end up with the laces on your leg and the tongue off to one side of the boot

 

[Chandler]

I have a couple of pairs of Thursdays and the only thing I really don’t like is that they don’t gusset the boot tongue to the inside of the lace up area. As a result the tongue often slides left or right and you end up with the laces on your leg and the tongue off to one side of the boot

I've read and heard this complaint before. I'm surprised they haven't addressed it -- they seem to be making changes all the time.

A couple years ago I requested they make their moc-toe style in a smooth, brown leather. They finally introduced it a couple months ago, but they made it with a big, chunky sole. Didn't grab me at that point.

 

[FlakMagnet]

I've read and heard this complaint before. I'm surprised they haven't addressed it -- they seem to be making changes all the time.

A couple years ago I requested they make their moc-toe style in a smooth, brown leather. They finally introduced it a couple months ago, but they made it with a big, chunky sole. Didn't grab me at that point.

The original Thursday Diplomats looked very identical to the Alden Indys. I'm not entirely sure why they've decided to completely overhaul the design. Here's what it looked like: https://www.heddels.com/2014/10/thursday-boot-co-diplomat-boot-review/

 

[FlakMagnet]

I have a couple of pairs of Thursdays and the only thing I really don’t like is that they don’t gusset the boot tongue to the inside of the lace up area. As a result the tongue often slides left or right and you end up with the laces on your leg and the tongue off to one side of the boot

I have a couple of pairs as well, but I've never had this problem. To be fair, this is one of the most common complaints about it on the goodyearwelted thread on reddit.

 

[Chandler]

The original Thursday Diplomats looked very identical to the Alden Indys. I'm not entirely sure why they've decided to completely overhaul the design. Here's what it looked like: https://www.heddels.com/2014/10/thursday-boot-co-diplomat-boot-review/

Wow, I never saw that version -- I'd have bought a pair if they had a darker brown.

Yeah, I wonder why they changed them?

 

[CBI]

I love my Thursday boots. they have become my "go to" boot pair.

 

[Chandler]

I love my Thursday boots. they have become my "go to" boot pair.

Sorry for not searching the thread, but what model -- and have you posted pictures?

 

[Dumpster D]

Anyone know a current reproduction of an approximated pair of these?

I had a hard time finding something that wasn't out of production or 'boutique' price.

 

[CombatWombat]

Anyone know a current reproduction of an approximated pair of these?

I had a hard time finding something that wasn't out of production or 'boutique' price.

View attachment 134549

I'm pretty sure I've seen a Chuck Taylor 75 series in this colourway

 

[jack31916]

Just google Olive Drab Canvas Shoes or Olive Drab Canvas Sneakers and you will find a pair that fits your feet and wallet

These are looking similar and not too expensive.

USR High Khaki | Men's canvas sneaker (vegan friendly)

We have teamed up with the US Rubber Company to bring on board some canvas, vegan-friendly sneakers for the summer months ahead. US Rubber Company started out life providing footwear to the U.S. army. Now manufactured in one of the oldest rubber factories in the world, who have a specific...

northerncobbler.com

 

[mulceber]

Unrelated, but I saw this boot video from Stridewise and thought a lot of the points he made sound like stuff we (myself included) have been guilty of with jackets in the past:

 

[Chandler]

I admit it, I probably take better care of my boots than my jackets -- but they have still developed patina.

But yes, I REALLY find boots more comfortable than sneakers -- probably because they support my flat feet and weak ankles (and thereby my back) better. I pulled out the Danner Explorers for tundra trudging and really forgot how good they feel.

Unlike Nick, however, I don't have a collection that doesn't allow a good rotation. Jackets have reached that quantity, too.

 

[CBI]

those USR's are only $53 but the shipping to the US is $20 - not bad looking for sure

 

[CBI]

HA, GREAT boot video above. I have been half tempted to make a video like this about all the bad things about collecting leather jackets. His first few items could not be more on target. Its all in fun but also, kinda, yea............

 

[stephen210]

Iron Rangers looking good! I'm rocking the Eastman Tanker boots today.

View attachment 102389

what size did you get? If I wear a size 8.5UK do I need a 7.5?

 

[blackrat2]

Having had a pair I certainly was surprised I had to size down!, plenty places sell them so maybe get measured and then see if you can find em cheaper

 

[mulceber]

Here’s my contribution to the thread. For a while now, I’ve been thinking about trying a nice pair of boots, but I fence-sat for a while. While all the ones I’ve seen looked great, I’ve frankly never had a pair of boots that I considered particularly comfortable (and I’ve owned a pair of Alden Indy boots!) I love the idea of “heritage boots,” but I’d never had the experience of owning boots that I ENJOY wearing.

Nevertheless, because of the fine folks here and, even more, because of the boot community on youTube (especially “Rose Anvil,” “Bootlosophy,” “Stridewise,” and “Carl Murawski”), I was feeling the itch (no, it wasn’t athlete’s foot).

What I was looking for:

• Great arch support. That’s apparently not very common with boots, but my doctor has told me I need it, and I wear inserts in most of my shoes. This is probably why Alden was a flop for me. I really wanted a pair of boots that wouldn’t require inserts.
• A streamlined look. I know that the bulbous toe of Iron Rangers is the way boots actually looked back in the day, but I don’t care about accuracy when it comes to boots. I’ve never really liked the rounded toe that you see on actual old-school boots, so Iron Rangers were a no-go.
• Preferably made in the USA, but at least made in a first-world nation. Where possible these days, I like to support our home-grown industries.

I watch a lot of youtube videos when I’m at home, so I saw reviews of a lot of different companies - Thursday, Grant Stone, Parkhurst, Viberg, some of the Indonesian brands, and of course the Pacific Northwest (PNW) brands in and around Spokane, WA. It was the PNW brands, like White’s and Nicks that caught my eye: everyone talked about the phenomenal construction - not only made in the USA, but lasted by hand. The PNW brands are famous for a couple of quirks in their construction: instead of the typical cork midsole and steel shank, they opt for several layers of leather in the sole and a leather shank - apparently they have some oak bark tanned leather that might as well be wood and they use that instead of steel. The multiple layers of leather will mould to your foot like the cork midsole. The difference is that cork can eventually start to move around to create uncomfortable hotspots, where a leather sole won’t. At least, that’s the theory.

More importantly, at least for me, both Nicks and White’s are famous for having great arch support. These two makers are a bit on the expensive side, ranging from $500-700, but I really liked the look of them, and I’ve already had the experience (with jackets) of buying the budget option when you want the deluxe option, and having it not really scratch the itch. So I figured, “what the heck - get the boot you want the first time.” Besides, I’ve had good luck buying my leather jackets from the state of Washington.

So that effectively narrowed my search down to White’s MP service boot, and Nicks’ Americana. The Nicks were cheaper, but they had a longer wait time and the pictures made them look like they had that bulbous toe I don’t like. White’s seemed like exactly what I was looking for. Even better, they frequently have sales that will bring the cost of their service boot down to the same ballpark as Nicks.

I heard good things about their cinnamon waxed flesh (basically a Horween rough-out that’s been so packed with waxes and oils that the rough-out starts to resemble the surface of regular leather), and it looked great to me, so I went for that. After a bit of angsting over the size (tbh, I’m still not sure what my Brannock size is), I bought a pair in 11D in November and sat down for what I expected would be a wait of 2-4 months. Nope! They arrived in just about 4 weeks.

First Impressions:

• They smell fantastic. Stridewise had quipped that his MPs smell like a candle. That makes me think of Yankee Candle. I just think they smell intensely of LEATHER.
• White’s includes two pairs of laces - one pair of leather, and one pair of waxed cotton laces. I picked the waxed cotton, since I thought they’d be more versatile, and let me say, they are SERIOUSLY waxed. The first couple times I laced them up, they were shedding residue. That isn’t a complaint! I just took it as a sign that White’s isn’t messing around.
• The arch support is excellent. For this reason alone, I’d buy PNW again.
• The fit was great - I think it could stand to be a LITTLE more snug. I’ve heard some boot people recommend going a half size smaller and a size wider than White’s size guide recommends. I could probably have done that, but this is a good fit. And it’s got just enough room for me to wear a second pair of socks for breaking in, and for cold days. They advised me well.
• The cinnamon waxed flesh is darker than it looked on my computer screen. I was expecting what we would call a light seal brown, and instead it’s a dark seal. Oh well, no big deal. It’s also a bit less versatile than I expected. I definitely wouldn’t wear these in even a semi-formal setting. Jeans, chinos, and HBT, that’s pretty much all I would wear these with. That said, they look pretty awesome with all of the above.

I started out wearing them a couple hours a day, with a second layer of socks, and worked my way up. I’m now at the point where I can wear them all day with a single layer of trail socks. These are my longer-term thoughts:

• I’m told the waxed rough-out is easier to break in. When I got them out of the box, they were already pretty stiff. I’d HATE to imagine trying to break in a pair of their boots in Chromexcel. I think I made the right call going with waxed flesh.
• One downside of the cinnamon waxed flesh is the tongue: the process of the laces rubbing against the tongue as the boot flexes causes the waxy layer on the tongue to be removed very quickly, resulting in the tongue looking all kinds of chewed up, even though it’s structurally fine. This doesn’t damage the boots, and it isn’t really noticeable when you’re wearing them, so it isn’t a big deal, but I do somewhat wish that they had made the tongue out of a regular leather so it wouldn’t look so chewed up.

• They are very supportive, and pretty comfortable, but not in the way a pair of sneakers are, where it feels like you’re walking on a cloud. Instead, it feels like each part of my foot is getting the support it needs. I still don’t think I’ve broken them in yet, but they’re well on their way and getting a bit better each time.

Overall, they’re really first-rate. I don’t have anything to compare them to, except my old Alden, but I’d absolutely buy from White’s again.

 

[B-Man2]

Nice review and photos .
Congrats with the new boots !