The goals for this boot were mostly around winter and hiking. I wanted something that would hold up well in Buffalo winters including the endless piles of salt my work throws down. I went a bit higher than I normally wear for ankle support, and to balance out a big lug sole and double row of stitches. Fire and ice V100 seemed an obvious pick for a mix of hiking and winter. The natural CXL was a choice made on this app. I loved the way it aged and figured all the oil and wax would hold up well against the salt. I went for the lower heel so I don't start having issues in doorways. There were lots of reasons for the block vs logger heel. It's more stable, I'm on the east coast and I think the logger looks better on shorter guys/smaller feet. The cap toe gives a bit of structure to the unstructured toe and visually breaks up a larger boot.
Bakers did the sizing and it was perfect. I sent in my tracings, brannock measurements and gave a bit of guidance as far as what I liked. Ended up with a different width ball and heel.
I worked with Baker's over email after sending in my tracings. It was super straightforward and they nailed the fit.
These got less miles on them than expected due to some health issues. But they still got a lot of wear and did a great job making it through a buffalo winter. They saw some hiking, shoveling, walking around the city, a lot of salt and time in the office.
I actually have some questions around this leather after seeing pictures in this app and then having my first pair in person. A lot of the pictures I've seen had strong grey tones that were much more subtle in mine. I don't know if I got a particularly nice piece of leather or auto white balance has been doing peoples pictures of this leather a disservice. The care on mine has just been wiping off salt and regular brushing. I conditioned with Venetian shoe cream and used beeswax on the heel and midsole before the final pictures. The leather has held up great. I love how nicely it has rolled.
This was my first pair on the 55 last. Arch support on the inside of the foot is actually not that crazy. Didn't really require any getting used to. On the outside of the foot, damn. It is a painful break in. My left boot took maybe a month to break in. The right is still only 75% of the way there after 6 months. I am a 14.5 heel to toe, 15 heel to ball, A/B width and relatively low volume. The 14 C/D was perfect. Not too loose with light socks and not too cramped with heavy ones.
These things are tanks. The weight is pretty remarkable. I'm not sure if they had changed the midsole construction yet on my pair but I haven't had any squeaks. The finishing was very good for a work boot but not at dress boot standards. Clicking was really great. All rolls no creases.
It is super grippy. Works amazing in the wet and ice. It does wear down remarkably fast though.
So this was basically my last shot in the field of nice boots. With my size a lot of makers like Red Wing, Grant Stone, etc aren't an option. I tried a couple Indonesian MTOs but the first wasn't anywhere close to fitting and the second pair were almost there but too tight in the toe. Being at the upper size range of what they work with was probably a factor. I heard from a couple people that Baker's was the way to go for larger sizes and they had a sizing guarantee so I rolled the dice one more time. I'm glad I did. They fit perfectly. Couldn't ask for better. The leather is thick and has rolled beautifully. The sole can handle anything. I'm really looking forward to a few decades with these boots. I don't think a boot collection is in the cards for me but I'm glad I finally found a good fit. Also, thanks for the thunderdome. These were a lot to break in and it was a great incentive to keep getting out there.