These have been my everyday boots for the office and weekends. I'm not particularly active or adventurous so they have only seen carpet, concrete, asphalt, and the occasional gravel trail.
Break-in for chromexcel has been the easiest out of all the leathers I've tried. During the winter, they tend to be stiff as I put them on at the start of the day but quickly soften up as I drive to work. Crimson (brown) chromexcel hasn't shown the level of patina I had hoped for. At most, the leather has lightened up a bit in areas that crease/fold. There's been a ton of creasing where the ball of my foot flexes and around the ankle. Care has been fairly simple and doesn't require much more than routine brushing. Scuffs buff out easily but dents are fairly permanent.
Being my first pair of chromexcel boots, I didn't properly account for the amount of stretch the leather has. The fit started out perfect but quickly became too loose as the leather stretched out. I had to resort to wearing thicker socks to take up more foot volume and added a kiltie to avoid having the quarters touch when lacing up the boots The Leo Last doesn't have much arch support and I would sometimes end the day with achy feet. There was also a major hotspot on the back of my right heel that would be agitated during long drives home. If I had to redo my sizing, I would probably size down my width from an E to D to account for the chromexcel stretch.
These were B grades, likely due to the multiple cuts in the leather near the welt, between the edge of the split welt and the uppers. I wonder if these are related to cutting/removing the plastic film that covers the uppers during the construction process. Other than that, everything else looked good. They've held up very well during these 6 months. Minimal loose threads, hardware is fully intact, and no heel separation.
The outsoles are very durable and saw very little wear at the studs and heels. They don't pick up rocks or dirt much. The only downside is that they are treacherous in wet/rainy conditions and I've slipped on multiple occasions.
These were my training wheel boots to see if I could wear a "heritage" style boot consistently for 6 months. One of my goals during this Patina Thunderdome was to change my mindset and try to simply enjoy life in my boots. To be comfortable with getting scuffs and scratches without freaking out. Unfortunately, I don't think I accomplished this. I still subconsciously baby my boots but I at least feel like I've moved in the right direction and am more accepting of it. Overall, these boots are a great value for what you're getting and have been a good learning experience.