These boots go on my feet @ 5am and on a good day are off by 6pm but 9-10 is not unusual. I’m a printer by trade 8 hours a day, but after work is when the real work starts. Everyday is different construction, auto repair, welding, plumbing and electrical to name a few. They were in campgrounds, and on the beach, but airports are probably the biggest hassle. Being a mild winter not many extreme conditions experienced.
I’ve had crazy horse before although this pair turned a bit darker than in the past, but they were brushed every few days as opposed to hardly ever on other boots. I love the contrast between the exposed leather compared to the tongue and upper. As with all my boots the toes take the worst punishment but held up well for the time frame (6 months) break in was a breeze no complaints.
The footbed is a little flat compared to say a 55 but the D width left lots of room in the toe. The boots were lined ( not insulated) and quite comfortable and given the width I could have added an insole but opted to stay stock because there was no slipping in the heel.
I was drawn the the”look” of the boot and found them to be very well constructed (in the US) and stitched pleasingly and had none blown out. The lining was comfortable and durable. I experienced no problems with the hardware and no unwanted (strange) noises.
The sole was a little harder than I’d normally prefer, that said I found the heel hard on impact with concrete and at times uncomfortable. The hardness contributed to little wear and I didn’t notice any traction problems. The Austin design sole didn’t hold rocks or debris.
I enjoyed the boots overall and actually have recommended them to coworkers. For the price I believe they are money well spent. My goal was to throw an inexpensive non mainstream boot in with the big boys and see what happens. I’m not blind I know there are some awesome looking boots in this contest. But I’ll just say I had a lot of fun on a pretty cheap date! I have some NIB 13 year old Red Wings ready for next October, see y’all then.