Roughly 1000 city miles for this pair. Took them on a few hikes and they walked on three continents during the dome. My pair saw quite a bit of rain in the winter time, but mostly it was sun and miles that led to the wear on this pair.
The tochigi leather that I chose is a veg tanned calf leather and used the roughout side. No break in needed, these were soft out of the box. I asked WMB to use a slightly different nap on the quarters vs the vamp in order to see how each of these panels wear over time. The thinner nap on the vamp was largely lost and flattened down whereas the Harry quarters still retained some nap and stays this way so long as you take a brass brush to them from time to time. As for care of this leather, outside of a nylon or brass brush to keep the roughout from flattening, I applied some bick4 around the 4 month mark after quite a bit of rain. This was the extent of the care that had to be done for this pretty hearty leather.
Fit is unlike any other boot I own. Honestly feels about as close to bespoke as I can imagine that feeling. There is a sort of pass through where the rivets are and you initially feel some resistance in getting your foot in, however when your heel pops in, you get a real sense of just how well these fit. Absolutely no complaints at all and they nailed my sizing. The fit alone makes me want to buy another pair of 115NR WMBs. I will also say that this last is a VERY anatomical last and doesn’t really leave much room for activities anywhere. The toe box is short and low and the heel is not wide. The boot is MTM so I am sure there are accommodations to the last that can be made but probably only within a certain limit. WMB will let you know what is possible.
Construction and finishing is what I would expect from a boot that costs this much. Throughout the dome, despite all the miles put on them, not a single stitch has snapped. The finishing when new was absolutely immaculate.
Worst part about the boot. I did a full leather sole with a leather half sole and completely wore through the leather half sole after 1 month. The outsole leather WMB uses is too soft and cannot take concrete/asphalt well. I had to replace this half sole with something far more durable otherwise I would have worn through the entire sole in a couple months.
A very very hard compound that lasted me the remainder of the dome. This sole is not great for any sort of weather bad weather conditions and would not recommend for snow/ice. But for city walking it was spectacular.
Given the price you pay for a pair of WMBs, the expectations are incredibly high. I am really happy that when I took delivery, the construction, finishing, and design made me feel like it was money well spent. And now that I have put a 1000 miles on them over the course of 180 days, I feel this even moreso. These boots are not a typical PNW boot that are a hundred pounds and constructed to withstand a nuclear blast. These are light, anatomical, and dressier than your average pair in the closet. This made me wonder whether they could withstand the wear that happens over the course of the dome. I am really really happy not only did the pair survive the dome but they thrived and look even better than they did when new. The transformation has been incredible which is a testament to the leather, the pattern, the construction, and the thought that went into designing and making this pair. This for sure will not be my last pair of WMBs and I am really looking forward to what else they come up with.