Light Orange Menaces

I like these boots, but living in the midwest, they unfortunately ended up sidelined in favor of my engineer boots this winter. As a result, they didn’t get nearly as much wear as I would have liked, but as stated in the title, these are closer to barrack shoes than combat boots.

Essex didn’t age as well as my mystery english tan wallet, but Essex has a very interesting, almost rubbery feel to it: it’s very supple and well-nourished, which is pleasant to the touch, but on the other hand it isn’t quite as “thirsty” for life as drier vegetable tan leathers, meaning it didn’t soak in as much patina as I would have liked for them to. I think this was another factor in them not getting as much wear as they should have, the bright orange simply clashed too often with the rest of my wardrobe, they didn’t darken as fast as I would have liked.

I found these lasts on Ebay, so I couldn’t tell you exactly what they are. They fit me well, however, for a seemingly dressier shape.

I intentionally made these very light, and light they are. They’re very comfortable to walk in, though I think I’ve misplaced the shank a little bit. I couldn’t tell you exactly what’s wrong with it but it feels a little strange. The heel counter also feels a little flimsy, but that is entirely the fault of my own design decisions

Started seeing slight separation, which is largely a skill issue on my part.

Wonderful. Very happy with cut and dry slabs of good rubber here

I’m happy with these, but I think they are definitely summer shoes rather than winter boots. They serve the design parameters they were built to, but I think those specific parameters were simply chosen poorly for Patina Thunderdome in the midwestern winter. I definitely learned a lot from these and will be scheming for next year’s dome.