Shinki Cognac Oiled Horsebutt
Right on day one, they fit better than any other boot/shoe I have ever owned before. I work retail 8 hour days and the have online computer coding classes (stand up desk) 4 nights a week. All of that I am up on my feet for. Instant comfort. No pains, blisters, arch or heel pain. Instantly my quality of life improved. i had the support and comfort I needed at just the right time. I didn’t need to waste any time trying to decide what boots to wear or if I was a shoe day or not. (An added bonus time saver element) Right away I received compliments right off the back from my fellow staff and often from my customers with good taste in footwear. Cleaning usually took place about once a month. I would condition with Clinch neutral boot cream after a brush and then once they dried (usually out in the sun), I would give them another once over with the brush again. If ever I got them a little too nasty or dirty/dusty I would make sure they were dry and brush them. I would keep boot trees in them over the weekends and make sure to let them get plenty of sunlight. My puppy got a hold of one of them one night when I was in my online class then after that I would keep them in a closet whenever they weren’t on foot. In addition to daily work/school life, these boots went with me on walks with my dogs, trips to the mountains. They made it to a wedding, the holidays, the 6 last months of my wife’s pregnancy and saw the birth of our first born daughter 2 weeks ago . These guys have been apart of my best life memories. I am happy to have bonded with my boots in ways I couldn’t have ever imagined. It has been some of the best, most magical 6 months of my life and I am one happy dude. I didn’t over baby them nor did I intentionally rough them up. I simply lived these boots the way they were meant to have been worn. I will continue to give them the respect, love, and wear them the way they deserve.
Written on April 4, 2023
2022-2023 Open Thunderdome, April submission