…yet.
Crazy crocs with flaming chainsaws! The night is dark and full of terrors!
Edit in: and thanks for the tales of being a steel worker, GeeWhiz. Sounds even worse than being a volcanologist without the scientific satisfaction.
Update time! It’s been about 16 months since I purchased the Thorogood boots up-thread and I have to say that I’ve been extremely happy with my purchase. These boots have been the most comfortable pair of footwear I’ve ever owned, and on top of that they’re still in excellent shape.
Well okay they’re kind of dirty and the soles are seriously worn. But apart from one little gouge that didn’t come close to breaching the nice, thick leather (I kind of dropped an industrial size fan on my foot, as one does), the structure of the boot has held up remarkably well. So well in fact that I intend on having them re-soled here soon (looks like that’ll run me about $60). I’ll probably go with more of a lug sole of a perhaps harder material this time.
However! I was kind of browsing Amazon the other day and I started glancing around the boot department. I’ve been wanting to try a cowboy-style pull-on boot for a while. And I saw these. I wouldn’t have normally purchased them you see, but they were running a 20% off promotion, so…
BAM
First impressions: I can tell the leather isn’t quite as nice as the Thorogoods. The fit seems pretty good, but it is different than your normal lace-up boot. I’ll have to give them a couple weeks to get a better idea, though. I hope they work well otherwise I just wasted $90! LOL! :(
Oh and Iron Laces kick ass. The laces that came with my boots were starting to show signs of fraying after a few months so I decided to nip that in the bud and buy a set of these. I’ve been using them for well over a year now and they are absolutely indestructible. I honestly think they could pull my car out of the ditch if the need arose (well not by themselves…). I was worried that they would be too stiff to tie well, but that didn’t end up being the case. The color on them did fade from dark brown to light brown, but it’s not like these are show-boots anyway so who cares.
The new thorogoods didn’t impress me. But seeing them after they’ve been broken in, now I want a pair.
I really need to get a new pair of boots. My old Doc Martens are really worn to hell but wearing them just about every day for 10 years will do that. Those Thorogood’s look really nice, I think I might have to give those a try.
Were your Docs manufactured in the UK?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen squared-off toes on shoes as squared-off as those boots are squared-off.
Basically what I am saying is that is pretty square.
An astute observation to be sure. I wore them to work today and the results were less than stellar. My right foot started to hurt a little and after a few hours it felt like I might start developing blisters. I’m going to try to wear a second pair of socks tomorrow to see if it improves. If so, I’ll look into getting a thicker insole. If I can’t fix it I’ll probably just relegate them to non-work duty where I don’t walk nearly as far / fast.
I know it’s only been a day, but I would definitely recommend Thorogood over Justin. Even without wearing them I can tell the materials and craftsmanship aren’t very close. I’d love to give the Chippewa boots a try as well, though, because they seem just as nice. Maybe I’ll give up this whole gaming thing and just spend all my money on boots.
And just to show you how far a little saddle soap and SnoSeal goes, here’s the “after” picture of the filthy boots up there. I actually clean them like this every few months since they get so beat up.
I have a pair of those Justins. Whatever you do,don’t wear them to mow the lawn.
I started to get sore feet for the first few weeks, but now they don’t hurt. I had to break them in slow. Another thing, it might be just how I walk, but I wear the heels down really fast. I don’t wear them all that often anymore, but only when I’m in a cowboy mood.
Haha, in addition to quit gaming, you could quit your day job and become a boot cleaner upper. Those boots look fabulous! I am impressed. I should send you my square toe, green-tinted cowboy boots for a clean up. :)
Haha, I remember that thread. I apparently walk on the inside of my feet, which Google informs me is something called “pronation”. As a result, the inside of my soles wear out faster than any other part (by quite a margin, I should add). Maybe I should look into finding a way of correcting this so I can get more life out of them.
Look into some insoles like Superfeet. You want some that provide structural support. Garbage like the Dr Scholls gel insoles don’t really do anything, but superfeet and similar ones that provide real arch support can help correct pronation.
I have very flat feet, and so tend to over supinate (opposite of pronation), and had painful arch issues for years, which disappeared when I started getting better insoles.
I got some of those Thoroughgoods coming today. They should pay you a commission.
For leather care, I got some stuff recently called “Leather Honey”, and it makes leather very nice in terms of conditioning it. It’s a little weird to use, as it’s quite liquidy. For a day or so, it leaves the leather almost greasy. But then it ends up being super supple.
It sounds delicious!
I just got a pair of Docs on sale and holy shit, that was the most pain I’ve endured in shoes since the time I used to wear 5" stilettos to work. Now trying to figure out how to make them seem unworn so I can return them.
The Thorogoods came, and they are indeed nice freaking boots. Even unbroken in, you can tell the leather is real nice. I look forward to them after they have broken in some. Not actually uncomfortable even new though.
Yeah I started wearing them 8+ hours a day right out of the box and apart from a minor pinch in the heel for the first few days it really didn’t need any breaking in for me. After that I started wearing them outside of work as well, and since then I’ve barely touched my tennis shoes.
I hope you like them as much as I do!
Holy cow what did you get? I have a pair of 5 hole boots (I think 5), and even though they’re relatively low, they were a bear to break in. I’ve had them for like 15 years now and I still wear them from time to time. Rugged, rugged, rugged.
My understanding is that only a small batch of Docs are made in the UK anymore. I don’t think mine were from the UK. The Docs made in the UK are supposed to be higher quality. Maybe jsut take them back to the store and throw them at the clerk in disgust and say you want a pair from the UK?
They’re 8-hole boots and they look like this:
I also have a pair of John Fluevogs from the “Angel” collection which I got when I was 15. My mom bought them for me in the store and it was my first pair of boots and first pair of really expensive shoes ($150 at the time).
I still wear the Fluevs – in fact, I’m wearing them today! – because they’re super soft, they fit my foot perfectly, the leather feels amazing, and the sole is like a cloud. I used to take them dancing as a teen and I’ve gone through 2 or 3 soles that way. Last time I got the sole replaced, which must be like a decade ago now, the cobbler made a mistake and now the left boot has a squeak. I should get that repaired because it’s the single thing that keeps me from wearing them more often.
I’d wanted a pair of Docs for a long time now because it’s what all the cool/goth kids were wearing, but having worn a pair for a day I can now safely say they can die in a fire. Thanks for killing a young girl’s dream, Doc.
I think that part of doc martens is that they’re very sturdy boots, but that sturdiness means they are a little harder to break in, and potentially more uncomfortable when you first get them.
That being said, there actually a few shortcuts to breaking them in, if you want to try it. Although bear in mind after you do them, you will absolutely not be able to return them.
One trick that I’ve heard soldiers sometimes use to break in leather combat boots is to soak them completely in water, and then wear them all day until they are dry. Apparently this does the job and breaks them in. However, it can also potentially lead to deformation of the leather.
Generally, you want the boots to stretch out more to fit your feet right. Over time, this will happen naturally, but anything that helps soften the leather and make it more stretchy can help expedite this process. That’s what soaking does.
Another potential option, which can expedite the process more safely, is to apply some sort of leather conditioner. The Leather Honey stuff I mentioned earlier can assist with this. It’s some sort of oils and stuff, and it soaks into the leather and makes it more supple. Application of this can potentially help make the leather more stretchy, and thus more easily formed to fit your foot.
Doc Martens are kind of famous for being uncomfortable at first though. Not really what I look for in a boot, but hey, whatever. I suspect that once they are finally broken in, they’re extra comfortable, as they really will fit your foot perfectly. But getting there can be a pain.
Aw, man the 8 holes look sexy as hell. You should definitely keep that in mind as you make your decision. Foot pain goes away with inexpensive pain medication, but you can’t buy sexy as hell anywhere.
Also, I have a similar pair of Fluvogs! Mine have the same stitching, but are not boots. My wife made me get them the last time we went to Canada.
EDIT: how do you keep the white stitching so white?