Sempiternal behemoth of a boot. This boot will outlive you and your kid's grandkids.

I wear these boots daily in a construction site. I've been doing steel framing and wood work (hoarding, carpentry). I walk around 20,000 steps a day in these boots.

Leather is thick, not too hard not too soft. I did struggle a little bit through the break-in period, though playing with lace tightness got me through it. For contest purposes, this leather doesn't seem to develop much of a patina (as compared to others I see), for plain longevity, this is like some kind of magical elf-tanned leather. Hence the title "sempiternal". Look it up if you don't know what that means. Of course it's scuffed where I've scrapped it (mostly around the steel toe), and there are a few rolls here and there, but other than that, you'd think I wear these boots to go sit at the office all day.

Here's where I have an issue with the boot. Length wise they're spot on with size, however, Dayton's work boot allegedly all come in EEE width. I thought that would be too much for me since I normally fit between D and E. For my surprise, out of the box they felt like a D width, maybe E. Just snug enough to be comfortable but not to the point where my feet moved inside the boot. Now, the actual issue is the steel toe. Even if the boot is wide (or not), the steel toe seems to be made for a D width if not a B. After a bit of walking, my toes feel cramped. Badly. There's no point in making the boot (allegedly) EEE if the steel toe is super narrow. My previous work boots were Dakota's with an actual wide last and a super wide steel toe. Like, you could spread your toes inside. That's my one and only complaint about these boots.

Design wise, I just have one comment about the shape/size of the lineman's patch. Because of where it ends the side closest to the toes, it kinda forces where the boot flexes a bit too much to the front whereas, if there was no patch or if it was placed further back, it would flex more naturally. As for finishing, all is well. Maybe a couple threads loose but really nothing to complain or nothing that looks sloppy. Stitches are all even.

This sole is amazing. I don't know if it's a different compound from other Vibram soles, but it checks all the boxes for me. It's comfortable to stand on concrete all day, it has surprising wear resistance and grip in wet and dry conditions.

Overall it's a great boot for most work conditions. The lack of lining might not make it the best for extreme cold weather, and they're also not waterproof (though they're somewhat water resistant). They're as tough as boots can be. That comes with a break in process needed, but once the rite of passage is completed, you'll be pleased to step into these boots every morning.