These are my highest boots, very cool with a 13 inch high tanker boots model

Briselblack The Hanker Tanker Boots in S.B. Foot Black Dawson
By januardwijuang • October 7, 2025"I wear these boots for outdoor activities, riding a motorbike, and other extreme activities...."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: These are my highest boots, very cool with a 13 inch high tanker boots model
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Brilliantly Designed with Minor Execution Issues

Iron Boots Type 1 in Horween Pioneer Hatchgrain
By nikolanottesla • August 31, 2025"There's no need to wax poetic about Lars' (or Ostmo's) design prowess - if you're enough of a sociopath to be on this platform, you already know. And if you've handled these boots (hell, even if you've only seen them in photos), the design speaks for itself. From the last to the pattern: everything is streamlined into a beautiful final product. The IB team nailed the execution in a lot of ways. The stitching throughout, especially on the stitchdown to the sole, is about as flawless as you could ask for. The clicking (save the tongue - I'll explain why below) and the hand-applied patina finish were handled with a level of detail I haven't seen on some boots costing twice as much as these. That said, there are a couple of misses. The eyelets, while beautiful aesthetically, were installed in a way that mushroomed the metal on the backside of the facing - leaving sharp edges that shredded through a few pairs of laces and forced me to have the issue repaired by a local cobbler. On top of that, the right boot suffers from pretty significant tongue slide, which causes some comfort issues after longer days of wear. I can't say for sure, but it may be tied to the noticeable difference in tongue leather thickness between the right and left boots. Either way, it's a clear miss...."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: Brilliantly Designed with Minor Execution Issues
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Despite their differences...I'm really happy with this pair of service boots.

White's MP-Sherman Plain Toe in Horween Color 8 Chromexcel
By a1moyer • April 3, 2025"I was pretty strict about only using these boots for work. I'm a delivery driver...you know the guys in those brown trucks. In and out of the trucks, diggin' around in the back, and to the door steps of many a house/buildings in PDX. Over and over and over again. Too many steps and stairs to count. We got lots of rain and a little snow during the Thunderdome season and this pair exceeded my expectations. Feet were dry all season and no slips and falls. I can't ask for more out of a work boot. Usually I bust my butt at least once during the winter...not this year! They did great on the vast variety of surfaces in an urban/suburban environment. From asphalt to mossy stepping stones to gravel this pair has seen it and everything in-between. They did go on a few forest trail hikes and some casual days of wear...."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: Despite their differences...I'm really happy with this pair of service boots.
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> V****g (I Am Ready for Your Hatred 😂)

XBXS Derby Boots in Horween Ultraviolet Shell Cordovan
By nikolanottesla • September 1, 2025"I know XBXS holds a (to put it kindly) divisive place in the welted footwear enthusiast community... and the criticisms about plagiarism and IP theft are, in a lot of ways, reasonable. My intent here isn't to mount a defense of XBXS's less reputable practices, but rather to point out that, whatever inspiration they're drawing from: these guys are really damn good at making boots. This pair was modeled after a 2018 Viberg MTO that was, frankly, the most disappointing boot purchase of my life. Not only did Viberg have to remake them twice, but the final pair was a decidedly "meh" end result: poorly clicked leather on the toe, binding stitches that busted loose with brushing and visible stitching between the welt and insole. The design itself was so good, though, that a Viberg shell derby on the old 2030 became somewhat of a white whale for me. Naturally, Viberg discontinued the derby boot model. So, if I couldn’t get it from them… Enter XBXS. After learning about them and reaching out via IG, I coordinated a custom derby boot build in Horween UV shell. What I received blew away any of the 3 Viberg attempts in attention to detail and in finishing. And they landed on my doorstep about 7 weeks after my first DM. The 007 last is close enough to the original 2030 that the differences are negligible to me, and I actually think it looks better than the tweaked 2030 Viberg uses now - especially in the curvature at the back/heel of the boot. The pattern pretty much nailed the look I wanted (the facings sit closer when laced compared to a mid-2010s service boot example and the vamp might be a touch short, though that could just be the half sole playing tricks on the eye). Stitching throughout is spot-on and the shell is very well clicked. My only "real" critique is that the backstay pieces are skived a bit thinner than I'd like at their far edges. Yes, these were modeled after something else, and some may call them whatever lies beyond being "inspired by." But the quality not only exceeds their design template: it allows them to stand on their own. It's obvious a substantial amount of time, craftsmanship and attention to detail went into making sure these left the shop done right. My favorite boots I own, "knockoffs" or otherwise 🤷‍♂️..."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: > V****g (I Am Ready for Your Hatred 😂)
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Tiger Stripes and Indigo Whispers: A Dialogue Worn Into Leather

Flame Panda Service Boot in Maryam Natural Horsebutt
By chilly • March 28, 2025"A conversation isn’t just words—it’s experience, exchange, and transformation. These boots, a gift meant to carry good energy forward, have spent the past year speaking through wear, shaping themselves to my life as I, in turn, shaped them through use. They quickly proved themselves not just as footwear, but as steadfast companions in the work that builds a life. Within weeks, they were caked in dirt from installing a long-overdue 75-foot French drain—a project of sweat, stone, and shovels. They’ve absorbed the weight of homeownership, bearing down through fall yard cleanups, snow shoveling, and roof raking. When my snowblower broke in the dead of winter, the boots took their place in the drift, gripping frozen ground as I knelt in the cold to wrestle it back into service. They have traveled for work, stepped through countless airports, and even been present for an unexpected moment—when a recruiter tried to enlist me into the Navy (I declined, but the boots, perhaps, stood ready). Through it all, they’ve responded, their leather flexing and evolving, each mark a quiet reply. The brutal cold of Midwestern winters left them stiff and unyielding at first, but they adapted, softening as I did to the rhythm of the seasons. The indigo crocking from my jeans has settled deep into the grain, a subtle but undeniable reflection of my own choices—what I wear, what I value, the craftsmanship I seek. And then there’s the most unexpected part of this dialogue: each boot has worn differently, one carrying more of the strain, the other holding onto its original form a little longer. Just as no two conversations unfold the same way, these boots have taken their own unique paths—two voices in the same ongoing story...."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: Tiger Stripes and Indigo Whispers: A Dialogue Worn Into Leather
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the faint pattern of the upper part is increasingly visible, it is like a leopard

Briselblack The Keeper 'Type 2' Engineer Boot in Toscanello Waxed Horsebutt Maryam Tannery
By januardwijuang • January 1, 2025"In Indonesia the weather is very extreme, sometimes the sun is very hot then a few moments later heavy rain, I work as a delivery person riding a motorbike..."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: the faint pattern of the upper part is increasingly visible, it is like a leopard
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I think these boots have matured in terms of patina, comfort. flexible, but strong enough

Briselblack The Keeper 'Type 2' Engineer Boot in Toscanello Waxed Horsebutt Maryam Tannery
By januardwijuang • March 31, 2025"The weather in Indonesia is very supportive, in the last 6 months there has been a rainy season and a dry season which can be said to be very extreme..."Read the full review
Thumbnail of review: I think these boots have matured in terms of patina, comfort. flexible, but strong enough
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