Service Boot

Made to order in Dayton Boots' Vancouver facility, the Service Boot follows the company's established production process of over 230 handcrafting steps. The boot is offered with customizable leather and sole options, reflecting Dayton's made-to-order manufacturing approach developed since the company's founding in 1946.

The Service Boot is built on the 11377 last, a pattern based on a vintage Canadian Military boot design. The boot employs Goodyear welted construction, a method that bonds the upper, insole, and outsole through a sewn welt strip, providing durability and enabling multiple resoles throughout the boot's lifetime.

Construction features include 6 to 7.5 ounce full-grain leather uppers selected for durability and fit. The boot incorporates a full-length quarter-inch cork fill layer between the insole and outsole for cushioning, along with a steel shank that runs through the arch to provide structural support. A bellows tongue design extends from the vamp to provide weather protection by preventing water and debris from entering through the lacing area.

Interior components consist of leather lining, a leather insole, and leather heel counter stiffeners that provide support and shape retention. The company's construction specifications exclude leatherboard, cardboard, plastic, synthetic liners, and foam or gel filling materials.

Each Service Boot is handcrafted through a 230-step process in Dayton Boots' Vancouver factory, following the traditional bootmaking methods the company has employed since 1946. The made-to-order production model requires approximately four weeks from order placement to delivery, as each pair is built specifically for the customer rather than from existing inventory.

The manufacturing process involves hand-lasting the leather upper over the 11377 last form, attaching the welt through a combination of stitching and nailing, and assembling the layered sole construction. Heel stacks are built from multiple leather layers and secured with brass nails, while the outsole is attached to the welt through a lockstitch or rapid-stitch method depending on the construction specification selected.

Service Boots are offered with customization options for leather selection and sole configuration, allowing buyers to specify materials based on intended use and aesthetic preferences. Leather choices and sole types are selected during the order process, with buyers working from standard size options rather than fully bespoke measurements. The customization program does not accommodate steel toe modifications, orthotic adjustments, or custom last development.

Sizing follows UK men's measurement standards, which typically correspond to one full size smaller than North American men's athletic shoe sizing. Standard width offerings include E and EEE volume configurations, with additional width options available through the made-to-order system. The company does not offer half sizes in all leather and configuration combinations.

Current pricing for made-to-order Service Boots is $1,091 USD, with a 72-hour approval window for order confirmation after purchase. Build time begins after the customer finalizes component selections with the company's production staff.

The Service Boot design originated from a 2008 collaboration between Dayton Boots and wings + horns, a Vancouver-based clothing brand. This partnership introduced a service boot pattern to Dayton's product line, which had historically focused on logger boots, motorcycle boots, and engineer boot styles developed for industrial and safety applications.

Following its introduction, the Service Boot expanded beyond its initial collaborative release to become a core product in Dayton's catalog. The boot's military-inspired design and made-to-order availability positioned it within the heritage workwear market segment that developed in the 2000s, attracting customers seeking traditionally constructed footwear with customization options.

The model's commercial success led to it becoming Dayton's highest-volume product, representing more than half of the company's total boot production. This shift reflected broader market changes in the heritage boot industry, where service boot patterns gained widespread adoption across multiple manufacturers during the same period.