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

[mulceber]

Been wearing these for about a month, and can recommend them. Thursday Boots’ Low-top sneaker in Horween’s Cacao waxed flesh.

 

[CBI]

Thursday Boots make some excellent footwear, very happy with my boots. A little more ergonomic than the heritage brands but still a great vibe. And excellent prices.

 

[B-Man2]

Love Thursday boots but they need to gusset the tongue .

 

[mulceber]

Love Thursday boots but they need to gusset the tongue .

Much less of a problem with their sneakers.

 

[B-Man2]

Much less of a problem with their sneakers.

Jan
How do they compare with other brands?

 

[mulceber]

I don’t have a ton of other brands making all-leather sneakers to compare them to. They’re solidly constructed, the sole is actually stitched to the upper, unlike most mall sneakers, and I’ve seen a bunch of reviews by people who’ve had them a couple years who say they last. At $129, that’s pretty hard to beat. I did find they’re pretty narrow, and the first couple times I wore them, I had to wrap a bandaid around my little toe to prevent blisters. But on the whole, they’re quite comfortable.

 

[FlakMagnet]

big fan of Thursday boots. Recently acquired a pair of Presidents in roughouts. It could easily pass as a pair of boondockers.

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Since Burt started his thread about how to put a "wallet friendly" image of Virgil Hilts off the movie "The Great Escape" together i was keen on getting a pair of the RALPH LAUREN combat boots he recommended.

I "found" a pair of them here on the forum and got them in my hands 2 days ago.

Those boots look very similar to USMC boondockers - like those MARSHALL PRESIDENTS @FlakMagnet just posted is just to remove some lables ...

Check those photos out with a "Before" and "After" removing the branding

 

[Jennison]

I did the same thing after I read Burt’s challenge. Flakmagnet’s boots are really nice and they indeed have the look of boondockers. There are others out there that can play the part pretty well. But, what sets “Burt’s” boots apart is that the RLs have genuine corded-soles, a feature exclusive to Marine Corps boots during WWII. I snagged mine on eBay, NIB, for the same price Burt paid, $125. If you’re familiar with corded soles, you’ll realize what an absolute, hands down, STEAL the RLs are. In fact, it baffles me as to why RL went through the expense and effort to use those soles, as I bet most consumers wouldn’t know or care. I have a pair of “WWII Impressions” corded-sole boondockers which are spot-on repros (they emptied my wallet in 1999). The RLs are a bit lighter in weight but are otherwise damn close.

I was remiss in not thanking Burt for posting that challenge, because these boots are the absolute BOMB. Get them while they’re out there!

 

[CBI]

............... in re Thursday Boots, Jan, nice sneakers. However, the Horween Cacao is odd to me. I had the same sneaker. They looked great at first but then as I wore them, they developed a rough out texture, they were no creases, it just got kind of rough. Hard to describe. Its like the smooth leather suddenly broke down/apart. I have noticed this on all of the photos I have seen of the Cacao of shoes with some wear. I am sure its just my perception. I am not being critical, its just they arrive looking so nice and then the leather gets weird IMO. If one looks at online photos, the leather doesn't develop the character one might expect hope for. Jan, keep us posted on these. I am sure my comments will ultimately be wrong!!!!

 

[Thomas Koehle]

I did the same thing after I read Burt’s challenge. Flakmagnet’s boots are really nice and they indeed have the look of boondockers. There are others out there that can play the part pretty well. But, what sets “Burt’s” boots apart is that the RLs have genuine corded-soles, a feature exclusive to Marine Corps boots during WWII. I snagged mine on eBay, NIB, for the same price Burt paid, $125. If you’re familiar with corded soles, you’ll realize what an absolute, hands down, STEAL the RLs are. In fact, it baffles me as to why RL went through the expense and effort to use those soles, as I bet most consumers wouldn’t know or care. I have a pair of “WWII Impressions” corded-sole boondockers which are spot-on repros (they emptied my wallet in 1999). The RLs are a bit lighter in weight but are otherwise damn close.

I was remiss in not thanking Burt for posting that challenge, because these boots are the absolute BOMB. Get them while they’re out there!

I own a pair of USMC Boonies made by ATF - i got them almost 20 yrs ago as far as i remember and i was highly disappointed with the quality of them - the "RALPHs" are much better - and pricewise remarkably below the ATF version. Well ATF is out of BOONDOCKERS anyway so there is source there anymore.

The RLs even have the same number of eyelettes like originals ...

Just checked the same boots made by "SM WHOLESALE" - twice the price of RL but not as accurate IMHO

 

[Jennison]

Thomas, are your ATFs corded? If I recall, their out-sourced boots just had plan rubber soles, but then they had a short run made in the US with corded soles and the price nearly doubled. I don't know about SM Wholesale's boondockers, but they do make a fairly accurate Type II Army service shoe. I say "fairly" because the construction is excellent, but the color is off. They too, are not at all cheap.

 

[Thomas Koehle]

Thomas, are your ATFs corded? If I recall, their out-sourced boots just had plan rubber soles, but then they had a short run made in the US with corded soles and the price nearly doubled. I don't know about SM Wholesale's boondockers, but they do make a fairly accurate Type II Army service shoe. I say "fairly" because the construction is excellent, but the color is off. They too, are not at all cheap.

Nope - the soles on the ones i have are plain rubber ...

I don't even remember when i got them - still they where kinda pricey back then even with those standard rubber soles

 

[Jennison]

No surprises there. I don't believe you can get the corded boondockers from WWII Impressions anymore either, because of the cost vs consumer-acceptable price. Glad to see you scored a pair of "Burt's Boots" too!

 

[mulceber]

............... in re Thursday Boots, Jan, nice sneakers. However, the Horween Cacao is odd to me. I had the same sneaker. They looked great at first but then as I wore them, they developed a rough out texture, they were no creases, it just got kind of rough. Hard to describe. Its like the smooth leather suddenly broke down/apart. I have noticed this on all of the photos I have seen of the Cacao of shoes with some wear. I am sure its just my perception. I am not being critical, its just they arrive looking so nice and then the leather gets weird IMO. If one looks at online photos, the leather doesn't develop the character one might expect hope for. Jan, keep us posted on these. I am sure my comments will ultimately be wrong!!!!

Oh I’ve no doubt your right, since the Cacao is a Roughout that has been waxed up so that the surface starts to resemble the outer surface of the leather. Of course, after a while, the wax starts to wear away. I’ve found you can mostly maintain it, if you want, by working just a little bit of pecard’s into the leather when it starts scuffing (my Whites are a waxed roughout).