Feet Up! The Work Boot Thread

[Fifty150]

LaCrosse. A brand that isn't mentioned often.

This boot is good enough. Nothing great. Heavy. Hard rubber, long lasting soles. Waterproof membrane. Safety toes. Padded tongue and collar.

Nothing great, as in I don't enjoy wearing it. It doesn't hurt my feet. But it doesn't provide me with a soft bouncy step. Just a personal prejudice for Dr. Martens AirWair soles........ which no other shoe has...... but you have to wear a cheap boot to get that.

What I do like, and why I bought them, is that Helcor vamp. It's essentially cheap leather, which they have repurposed into something that will resist damage. No way rain will saturate or penetrate that stuff. More importantly, it will protect your feet. It's like the hard shell on a cockroach. Still crunchy even after you cook it.

 

[Fifty150]

I'm not working in an Iron mine in the 1930's. Nor am I chasing poachers through the African Bush. For me, these boots will go to The Bar. Where I might get a little action. As long as it's dark enough that nobody will look down and notice the bulbous capped toes of my clown shoes.


$150 shoes do the same thing as a $350 shoe.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

If JG tweaked their designs just a little bit, they'd up their aesthetic value quite a bit. A 5% alteration with a 75% return. The really small details that make them look clunky or cheap, and I don't think they look greatly clunky or cheap. They look like the strange boots I used to see at K-Mart when I was a kid, and with those little tweaks, they'd look like much higher grade boots. I'm not complaining here, for I'd wear a couple of their models as-is, but I'd also buy them with those tweaked detail wishes in mind. For instance, a different eyelet grommet or a small alteration on their tongue design or an added single stitch to the toe caps (I like toe caps).

 

[BernieH]

Current footwear of choice. Used to wear Alt Berg in my old life, find myself wearing them in my new life.
Robust comfortable and always reliable. https://www.altberg.co.uk/
Apologies for lack of polish, just come in from a job.

 

[dh66]

Wesco Jobmasters just celebrated a year on the job.

 

[Fifty150]

Here is an interesting look at 2 work boots.

 

[rotenone]

Any reviews on the Whites Perry moc toe or fit guide, there's no retailers in Europe to try them. Big investment buying blind

 

[DweezilMac]

Any reviews on the Whites Perry moc toe or fit guide, there's no retailers in Europe to try them. Big investment buying blind

I bought a pair same size as White’s 55 last per White’s advice… too small for me, so I’d advise 1/2 down from Brannock. (Mine are sz 9.5 and in Europe for sale if of interest!)

Good resource for sizing advice = http://weltedwiki.com/
Bit it seems they do not have White’s Perry…. Another = https://www.patinaproject.com/

 

[Fifty150]

I’d advise 1/2 down from Brannock

You hear that a lot about boots.

 

[Fifty150]

I have developed an odd habit of wearing shoes without socks. When I do this, I "feel" the leather. The veg tan insoles have a good "feel". I have also learned that the grain side of rough out leather has a good "feel". I'm not a fan of how rough out wears and patinas as it ages. But that's just aesthetics. It just looks like a beat up, old shoe. You can never clean it up to look new again. It's not like full grain where you can saddle soap, recolor, and polish it shiny. Maybe I will learn to like the look.

 

[Fifty150]

I don't own these shoes yet. Yet. I'm saving my pennies. I will soon. As soon as I land the right sugar mamma.

 

[Fifty150]

This is what it looks like when you work in Allen Edmonds.

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[Bfd70]

Redbacks. Popular in the fire service because you can kick them off.

 

[Fifty150]

Sears. Now that the stores are gone, this might be a collector's item....... Nothing special. Everything about this boot is cheap. The leather is real. There's an insert. On top of a synthetic lasting board. A plastic welt. Rubber midsole. Which is on par with Danner, Thorogood, Carolina, Wolverine, Georgia....... Except that I got these at a discount when the stores were closing. There were 2 pairs in stock. I took them both. Somehow, and I don't know how, the salesgirl who rang up the purchase charged me $10 for 2 pairs of boots.




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[Fifty150]

We've all seen it on television, in the movies, and in real life. Cops in jeans, with a windbreaker or tactical vest. Some of those guys were called in off-duty, and that's just how they showed up. Some of those guys work in jeans. They roll around in street clothes, with the windbreaker and tactical vest in the trunk of their car. For some of them, that is the uniform. That's how they roll.​

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I'm the guy with a Panda Express raid jacket in the trunk of the car. Waiting for the call up. That's how I roll. I report for my routine shifts at the dishwashing station. Usually in my blue jeans. Ready, at a moment's notice, to don the windbreaker and put my life on the line. When protests and riots are breaking out, I get the call. Protesters need food. Rioters need food. Cops need food. And I'm ready to respond, when they call for the delivery. I will go right to the front of the skirmish lines, and breach it if need be. And I wear my issued duty boots. With their sneaker like build, uniform boots are best suited for the job.

Yes, the supply contract bids are usually selected by pricing. So these are the cheapest shoes that they can find. But they do need to meet certain specifications. We get new shoes every year. So they have to last at least a year. They need to be comfortable for running, climbing walls, jumping fences, fighting...... right out of the box. These really are the best boots that a Panda Express delivery boy could wear.


Today was one of those days. Protests and riots were everywhere across the country. I got the call. This is my boots in the staging area, awaiting deployment.

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[Boyo]

^Thank you for your service.. I hope they were generous with the tips

 

[Fifty150]

In the world of Food Service, myself a proud dish washer, people often forget that we are there for them. We are there to serve the people. I'm not zipping up my boots every day, because I love chemical fumes and steam of the dishwashing station. I'm not there for the prevailing wage paycheck. I'm doing it for everyone in my community. Everyone deserves fried rice.





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[Pandemic]

We've all seen it on television, in the movies, and in real life. Cops in jeans, with a windbreaker or tactical vest. Some of those guys were called in off-duty, and that's just how they showed up. Some of those guys work in jeans. They roll around in street clothes, with the windbreaker and tactical vest in the trunk of their car. For some of them, that is the uniform. That's how they roll.​

View attachment 709693 View attachment 709700 View attachment 709694



​

I'm the guy with a Panda Express raid jacket in the trunk of the car. Waiting for the call up. That's how I roll. I report for my routine shifts at the dishwashing station. Usually in my blue jeans. Ready, at a moment's notice, to don the windbreaker and put my life on the line. When protests and riots are breaking out, I get the call. Protesters need food. Rioters need food. Cops need food. And I'm ready to respond, when they call for the delivery. I will go right to the front of the skirmish lines, and breach it if need be. And I wear my issued duty boots. With their sneaker like build, uniform boots are best suited for the job.

Yes, the supply contract bids are usually selected by pricing. So these are the cheapest shoes that they can find. But they do need to meet certain specifications. We get new shoes every year. So they have to last at least a year. They need to be comfortable for running, climbing walls, jumping fences, fighting...... right out of the box. These really are the best boots that a Panda Express delivery boy could wear.


Today was one of those days. Protests and riots were everywhere across the country. I got the call. This is my boots in the staging area, awaiting deployment.

​

View attachment 709695 View attachment 709697 View attachment 709696



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Gobless Are Troops!!

 

[Fifty150]

The uppers have an extra piece of leather. The backstay is a 3rd piece of leather, over the other 2 pieces. Goodyear welted to a rubber midsole. Synthetic Faux Norwegian Welt. Synthetic lasting board with poron, and an insert. Vibram wedge sole. Eyelets, speed hooks, then an eyelet at the top which I never use. Typical Thorogood build. Comfortable. No painful break-in. I expect to own these for the rest of my life. They can easily go through a resole where the worn sole is pulled off, and a new sole glued on. Then a cobbler can stitch on a new midsole for another resole. After that, the welt can be changed, and the shoe is rebuilt with a leather insole and leather midsole. Only problem is that all of those resoles will cost more than a new pair of shoes.


Thorogood offers a budget Made in USA shoe. Maybe not the best components with the synthetic lasting boards and poron. But certainly a lot lighter and more comfortable out of the box. You can spend more for shoes with leather insoles. But if you're actually working, the synthetics may be the way to go. If you have a requirement for orthothics or special orthopedic footbeds, then these may be the better option. When you need arch support, a doctor will not point you towards a flat piece of hard leather.​

 

[Fifty150]

^Thank you for your service.. I hope they were generous with the tips

Gobless Are Troops!!

my issued duty boots​

The beginning of this clip shows what issued duty boots are made for. Running, and resisting arrest.

These are not heritage or PNW boots. Overbuilt with a lot of leather, to last for decades. Boots are issued once a year, and nobody resoles them. They have to be comfortable out of the box, without break-in, and can take abuse. Modern law enforcement and military boots are not what they were decades ago. Nobody is wearing boots for parades anymore. The modern duty boots has to be practical.

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