Grant Stone Brass Boots (Honey Glazed Cordovan)

These have been on my feet pretty much every day. Whenever I'm not at home or on a run, I'm wearing these. I've worn them for Iowa football games, Iowa basketball games (I've even stormed the court at Carver Hawkeye arena in these), and the Houston Rodeo (which included a Creed Concert). If my tally is right, I've worn them in 5 states (Iowa, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, and Colorado) as well as 2 countries (Taiwan and USA). One perk of the thunderdome is I didn't have to spend much time thinking about which pair of boots to wear in the mornings in my every day life and on trips, but they really can do it all so they were never out of place.

I bought these and entered them into the thunderdome because I wanted them to darken. They did darken noticeably, but not as quick and as much as I would have liked. I'll keep wearing these and watch them patina and darken. As for care, mostly just a lot of brushing with a horsehair brush, and I've applied Bick 4 from time to time (especially during the cold and snow season because I know road salt does a number on boots). Not exactly the most breathable material between shell cordovan and the lining leather, but that's not too much of a concern in the Midwest winter

More generous than the Leo last, so I like the fit more than my grant stone diesels. Doesn't have the same arch support as some of my other pairs, but it's fine. The ankles are a bit loose where the quarters overlap, so I had to put in a kiltie to make it fit

Quality is great overall. The only complaint I had is one of my heel pads came undone/started peeling a couple weeks ago, but I glued it down and almost forgot about it until I had to answer this question.

Great traction but a bit heavy. But I need the extra traction during Midwest winters so I can't complain too much.

Despite picking this pair months in advance (I told myself I'd buy a pair of Honey Glazed Brass boots when GS opened the preorders), I honestly thought the design was strange at first, but as it broke in and started creasing, I fell in love with these boots. The cliche is a pair of boots only looks better with wear, I'd go as far as to say this particular makeup only looks decent with some wear (and then it gets better with wear) I'm honestly glad I entered these into the thunderdome because if I didn't, I'd probably baby these boots (and I honestly didn't really wear them as hard as I would've liked because I stayed indoors a lot when the weather sucked)