NNNN

Just got these from the recent trip to Japan...

 

Really like the unique touch from the Kohaze hooks fastener.

Cannot wait to see the aging potential with the Kakishibu canvas & leather combo.

Haha are those Kapital? Looking good! It's strange, I found out about them last night- a lot of their stuff if sort of shabby-chic but they have some really solid shoes/boots/hoodies/etc. I literally just came here to post a rakuten link to a rad pair of engineers:

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/branding/item/s3453/ in case someone feels like picking them up. Doesn't look like they're in production any longer. Here's the pic:

I agree. Wesco charges you for every little tweak, I can understand charging more for special leather but for thread color, heel lift, etc that's lame and it can really add up. But you might as well pony up the extra cash to get exactly what you want.

Yeah, I think we are spoiled by White's decision not to charge for many customizations, but there are a lot more options with Wesco (leather choices aside), like getting the boot shaft on the Engineer 1" narrower- it's expensive, but I don't think White's will do it at all. 

The Dayton's look nice, but is the cap on the right foot a little skewed or is that a camera artifact.

...just camera trickery

7" Black Domain Wesco Packers:

(last pic featuring Dayton Parade Boot)

Those look great. They look a lot better after some wear (apparently) than they do in person. I wish more boot makers would offer monkey boots...they'd be pretty high on my list.

 

Nice looking boots but they are approaching Viberg prices...

 

That brown rough out is pretty though 

They're only that expensive if you get them through 3rd parties that have boots in stock or do special makeups. Wesco does charge for "upgrades," but for the most part they are on par with White's ($400-$500).

Another good example of a decent bit of kit under $500!

 

Under $300, for that matter.

 

Sorry to hear about the sizing, did you go true to brannock?

Strangely, I don't know what my brannock size is. I went with the smallest size they had, but it was still too large. Stupid petite feet. Oh well, they've probably saved me from spending a ton of money on awful shoes over the years.

For red wing and chippewa, unless you're going to ebay and getting a used pair, seconds, or aren't very particular about which style you get, it's difficult to find cheaper alternatives. It's not like checking out electronics at best buy then going to amazon. I did however do that with Birkenstocks. Oh well.

Update on WWII Impressions Boondockers:

They came, they looked great, they went. The construction was mostly decent, with some spots of glue at the midsole and a couple stitches that didn't take well, but the stitching was straight and that's an improvement. The rough out nap was perfect- not too short or long, and the corded Dr. Sole's looked great. I would have kept them except I should have sized down more so they were just too large. I will to put an order in for the correct size next time they do a run. 

I am aware of McCoys. The construction and materials are probably much better, but I'm not a fan of the toe profile, and considering I'm bitching about $300 Boondockers, I don't think the solution is $1000 Boondockers. You'd make a good automobile salesperson though.

So I think the new WWII Impressions Boondockers are finally shipping, as I noticed the charge on my card. I put myself on the wait list back in February of 2013 when the price was $179. The new batch has raw corded soles, which is cool I suppose, but they boosted the price to $250. Whatever, I've been on the wait list for over a year and a half, and I'd still like a pair. The charge on my card is $307.39. Holy damn. I guess they are charging sales tax because I'm in CA, which would be just under $25, so they must be charging $35 to ship them.

I assume they are still made by Corcoran, and I assume Corcoran's quality and quality control have not improved. I remember previous Boondockers having lots of loose threads and less than exemplary stitching, but for a decent boot made in America for $179, it was easy to look past those issues. Even the picture of the new ones they used for the website shows a burn mark on the edge of the midsole:

I swear if these things aren't perfect or don't feel rock solid they're going back and I'm getting a Hathorn Rainier, or possibly a faux Flightmaster.

Some 7" Flightmasters in black with the MP toe.

Siiiiiick. Regular black or black tie? 

pardon the shit quality

 

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bought these about a year ago, but they've seen maybe six months of wear all up, so pretty pissed the outer sole has already worn through.

Also, concerning the RW sole:

I'm surprised that the Heritage Chukka sole is like a thin sole on a thick sole- it totally invalidates having a thick sole in the first place, unless you're supposed to wear through it entirely and into the thicker part. Or maybe they're planning for a flood of lucrative resoles at $100 a pop.

I have the 595 Chukka (non-heritage), and while the sole is different from a Christy, it's one solid piece. As I mentioned, RW does a resole for $100, which I think includes cleaning and all-around sprucing-up, and I think you can request a different sole while you're at it, but they shouldn't need any of that after a year. You should show them to a RW dealer or wherever you bought them and cause a (considerate) fuss. If that doesn't work, maybe post that picture on twitter and tag RW Heritage and see what they say.

Thanks for this images GNIS- the boots are looking good! ...The CXL isn't nearly as beaten up as I thought. Coincidentally I think my favorite parts about are the lowered heel, natural edge, and half sole. As for the celastic, I know what you mean, but I wouldn't go out of your way to fuss with the boots unless they need an overhaul anyway. I've seen a lot of examples of the toebox flattening out nicely with wear, and yours seem like they've got some of that going on. What about the Oxfords, though? They are much more bulbous that the Bounty Hunters, right? I don't know what last they use for those, and if you can request a different one. You should post some images of those too, when the child allows it.

nota bene: the boot you posted in a 7" height, which (along with the MP and 1339 lasts) is not an available option for the Packer boot on Wesco's site. You must add special request at the end. Or order through Bakers (b-ewing @ styleforum has a pair like this, he went through bakers. Much of this info is via his experience ordering.)
 

Wesco does some "custom" makeups for their Japan branch, such as the Flightmaster (the picture) and the Narrows engineer boot. They tend to have proprietary lasts and things like triple stitching, which you wouldn't be able to order in a custom makeup yourself, but you could get close. The two boots mentioned cost between 3 and 4 times what a regular Wesco boot would cost (so about $1600). The Flightmaster is basically a Packer boot on a last called "Narrows" (or 1339) which is a modified Motorcycle Patrol last with a taller heel. The Flightmaster came out several years ago, and at this point you can order custom boots with it, and the lower heel Motorcycle Patrol last, though they are not advertised on the site. You can basically customize that exact boot now for $450 or so. This info is as I understand it, and might have some inaccuracy. I don't own any Wesco boots.

ALSO, Garden Gnomes In Space: do you have any recent (or broken-in) pictures of your black cxl Bounty Hunters?? They are one of my favorite White's makeups, and I'm curious to see how they'e turned out.

I am in this wesco boat as well. I think the faux Flightmaster just replaced the black Bounty Hunter's in my boot queue.