Brilliantly Designed With Minor Execution Issues
I got engaged in these boots so they'll always be sentimental favorites of mine.
They're built like handsome tanks, and they've handled the "rigors" of daily office wear plus a few transcontinental trips (with 10-plus miles of walking a day) without breaking a sweat at all. I'm on the lighter side when it comes to how hard I wear my boots, but even so, I can't imagine these lasting me anything less than a lifetime. They're wildly overbuilt for what I put them through.
Despite their issues (and from what I've heard, the hardware problem has been corrected on newer IB x Ostmo models) these were well worth the price I paid. Maybe the best compliment I can give them is this: I hope one of my kids ends up a 10.5D so I can hand them down.