Broark

I'd just hold out for a pair of LIVE'S, 517 repro that will be a fraction of the cost...and likely more accurate repros.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure. I probably know more of what I don't want than what I do. I know we've discussed the "merits" of a lot of tea-core horsehide. I don't want something so exaggerated as this, I find these garish and over the top: However I do want leather that go from this, a nice dark black: To this after several years of wear:

These look nice, not a bad option! The leather looks very shiny though (honestly all his boots appear very shiny). Yeesh, full payment up front and a 4+ year wait? I'm patient but I don't know about that... I've thought about buying some sandals from HJ in the past. Wonder if they have any other leather options besides CXL. Skoob got back to me. They can have a pair custom made for me with about a 6 month lead time. Pricing is reasonable, ¥79,000 + shipping. These are in contention. And Attractions has told me to reach out to a US retailer (S&S, SOP or Brogue). They have a large backlog for JP buyers so they aren't shipping the Lot 444 internationally. Nothing wrong with that, might see if any of them have plans to order the Lot 444 in size 12 soon.

I think I'm after a full length boot, either 9" or 11" in height.

Ideally I wouldn't mind waiting for a pair of Ol Shanks, but that seems like a pipe dream. I think I'll either wait for a pair of Attractions in size 12 to pop up or another round of Clinch. No response from anyone I've reached out to yet, but we'll see. I'm in no rush.

I'd prefer horsehide (cxl doesn't do much for me) and I can't tell you the last time a size 11 fit my foot. The smallest boot I wear is an 11.5 in the Viberg 2045 last which is quite full.

No response from Ol Shanks yet sadly, out of all of the brands discussed I like the shape of them the most. Keystone seems to be a good price honestly.

At that price you might as well get a pair of Clinch? And aren't all Visvim shoes made in China?

@mlwdp Oddly enough I remember seeing a pair of these at a Nordstrom Rack years ago. They were nice enough (don't think they were my size) but some of the stitching and finishing was a little wonky.

@Cold Summer you seem to have definitely won the grain lottery with your pair of Lofgren's, I've just seen some photos online that make me think twice. How difficult is your pair to get on and off? I have a pair of the Devil's Causeways and the right boot is still very difficult for me to get in an out of. This might be caused my an ankle injury that I suffered in high school, but I figured by now I'd have broken them in. Guess I just need to keep at it and see. Once they're on my feet they feel great, I just dread putting them on / taking them off. I think for now I'll probably either try Attractions (if I can ever find a pair in size 12, Attractions hasn't replied to my email) or hope I score a pair of Clinch I guess. The left boot in this product shot from S&S is a good example, I don't want anything this pronounced.

I'd prefer it go to a Sufu member rather than some random person on Grailed or eBay. Love the jacket, I just have too much other stuff.

Adding some more stuff in the new year, just send me a message if you're interested in anything. Prices include shipping within the US, however international shipping can be arranged. Payment to be sent via PayPal F&F. Warehouse DD 2001, size 46. $250. Purchased from Warehouse direct back in 2020, jacket was raw originally so it's been through one initial wash and one subsequent wash. Haven't worn it much in recent years at all, I just have too many denim jackets. Rare size that isn't always produced. Shoulders: 21 in. Chest: 24 in. Length: 24.5 in. Sleeves: 25.5 in. RRL limited edition N3 jacket, size XL. $200. This one is interesting, actually made in the US. Shoulders: 21.5 in. Chest: 24.5 in. Length: 28 in. Sleeves: 24.5 in. Tender Co. Lot 900 10th anniversary edition, woad dyed, size 4. $400. SOLD I just don't wear this one enough sadly. This version includes the removable blanket lining as well. I can throw the anniversary tote in as well if I can track it down. Shoulders: 21 in. Chest: 24 in. Length: 27 in. Sleeves: 24 in. Tender Co. Weaver's Stock Type WS922 curved front jacket, size 4. $225. SOLD Shoulders: 21 in. Chest: 24.5 in. Length: 28.5 in. Sleeves: 23.5 in.

Never been much of a Nick's fan for whatever reason. I think I'm just not all that intrigued by any of the PNW bootmakers.

I shot Skoob an email, we'll see if anything comes of it. Makers makes a nice one as well, but same story as a lot of JP brands: no size 12 available.

@beautiful_FrEaK I was peeping a few of those web pages just now, but no size 12 available. According to Skoob's Instagram they do offer the engineers up to size 12.

Good call out, however I've been confused about how I would go about ordering from them. Is the best way to get in contact via email?

Yeah if Motor did a size 12 I'd give them a try.

Yeah, I'm kind of feeling the same way honestly. Not sure how much of it is real versus fabricated scarcity. Hadn't really heard of these before, seems like they might be full up at the moment.

I think this is going to be the year I finally get some black engineer boots. Walking around Paris, I gained an appreciation for all the people wearing chunky soled black boots. While that's not really the same vibe, it gave me some inspiration to seek something similar out. I'm not into side zips or anything more hip like that, so black engineers seem to fit the bill. On the short list I'm looking at Attractions, Clinch, Ol' Shanks and maybe Lofgren. Attractions seem to be the best option, decent price and they go up to size 12. Not too pointy of a toe or too narrow. Clinch seem to be very pricey these days and almost impossible to get ahold of. And even if I did get a pair I'm not sure the last would work well for my feet. Ol' Shanks seems to be an outlier, I saw an international guy on Instagram was able to get a pair. I just reached out to see if it's possible to order, I don't mind a long wait. I find the black horsehide leather that Lofgren uses to be a bit too irregular in grain, which is why they're probably at the bottom of the list. And the pair that I have are so difficult to get on and off, causing me not to wear them often. So that might just eliminate them entirely. Any other brands that I'm missing? Maybe Keystone? Not really interested in Wesco or Brian the Bootmaker.

Interesting, never heard of that varietal. I'll keep my eyes peeled! Typically most shops here focus on domestic craft beers, most people (at least in Texas) don't typically seek out Guinness.

Evidently there were two separate collisions with people that impacted the trains that day in the same region. Our friends were heading from Manchester to London and we were supposed to meet up with them, didn't end up getting in until super late that evening. We sat at Reading station for like...2 hours waiting for the train to arrive. Once we were able to get on we just went one stop up to Oxford and said that'll do. Pretty town at least!

Every pub we went to I tried to get something different. I don't think I captured every one, but here's a few: St. Austell Tribute, Fuller's London Pride, had a few different styles at Battersea Brewery, Nicholson's Pale Ale, loads of Sam Smith and of course many pints of Guinness. I much prefer these to the IPAs that we seem to love brewing stateside.

To be fair any place with more than the occasional shower is more rain than we get in Texas.

Recapping from our trip to London and Paris, had a great time in both cities and thoroughly enjoyed both for varying reasons. Thanks to everyone who reached out and suggested places to go and things to do, 10 days wasn't enough time! A couple of notes, won't overload the thread with too many photos but here we go. 1.) Y'all deal with a lot of rain! The N1 held up well, in hindsight something a little lighter weight but water-resistant would've been better. 2.) Everyone we ran across was very friendly, would definitely visit both cities again in the future. The whole "entitled Parisian" thing is completely overblown by people online. 3.) We had to deal with some serious travel and transportation woes. We were supposed to visit the Cotswolds on the 28th, but someone was tragically hit by a train. So we tried gaming the national railway system and going around through Reading, only to get stuck there for hours. Missed the tour we had booked, ended up exploring Oxford instead. Then on the 30th we were supposed to head to Paris, but there was flooding on the line, total chaos at St. Pancras. Couldn't book another train until the 1st (the whole point was to spend NYE in Paris) so we booked a stupid expensive one way flight to Paris on the 31st...but we survived and have the stories to tell of it. 4.) Food in both cities was fantastic, gotta give it to Paris though. It felt like it didn't matter where we ate, the food was amazing everywhere. Same goes for shopping, didn't do much in general but looking around some of the shops in both cities was really fun. The 45rpm shop in Paris was so well merchandised, everyone at Son Of A Stag was super friendly. 5.) Love having accessible public transit no matter where you go. The London Underground was top notch. I enjoyed walking and getting around without a car, we averaged about 20k steps a day, the Limmer Lightweights didn't skip a beat. But by the end of the trip my feet were exhausted. 6.) We love visiting old cities so the history that was everywhere was very enjoyable. And just the sense of history and culture everywhere was refreshing. Everything in Austin feels so new and fresh, so it was nice being in a place where there was some real history. 7.) I love English pub culture and French dining culture. Take your time, enjoy it with the people that you're with and don't rush off like us Americans are always seeming to do. 8.) It was refreshing being in a place like Paris where nearly everyone seems to care about how they're dressed. No workout clothes, yoga pants or joggers in sight (outside of people actually working out). And the Parisians really do love their super chunky black Chelsea boots / side-zips. Made me want to get a pair of black engineer boots. Next trip I think will be Tokyo, trying to scope flights out already!

Happy New Year! Technically this is from a few days ago but who's counting. FW watch cap, N1, heavy sweat, 661xx. Limmer Lightweights.