Great boot at a great value crafted by great people in a great company with great customer service.

Willowover 1 year ago
Jim Green African Ranger Barefoot BootFudge Crazy Horse
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Maker

Jim Green

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Model

African Ranger Barefoot Boot

Leather

Last

Zero Drop Last

US Men's Brannock: L 9D, R 8.5E

Zero Drop Last: 9.5

Sole

Purchased from

Jim Green Footwear

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More about this item

Well, I got these a full size larger than I should have by accident in the first batch of orders sent but decided to suck it up in order to compete in the dome! A pair of the 15oz insoles from Dale's Leatherworks did just the trick in making these boots wearable (thanks, Dale). I have a really wide toe splay, so even with these being a full size larger my toes would still need to splay out at the end of the day haha.

Why I own this

Ready To Wear
Style
Outdoor Activities
Other

It seemed really cool, the concept that is, and I had never owned a barefoot shoe/boot before so I thought I'd give it a try!

How I sized

Online Guide
Brannock Measurements

Jim Green has a size guide for all their footwear on the site, and it corresponds to what last the footwear uses.

Ordering process

Purchased from Jim Green Footwear
Online Store
Customer Service

It was interesting since when the Barefoot African Ranger was released, the site had crashed due to traffic haha. When I realised I had gotten 1.5 sizes too large, I emailed asking for a size change and it then became just 1 size too large which was at least wearable.

Use & wear

Outdoor Activities
Leisure
Wet Conditions
Extreme Conditions

As a foreword, I have never worked in this pair. I wore these to do everything in my life, from light hiking to walking in extreme weathers of wet, hot, humid and dry (Australia, baby) and they held up fairly well. Given that the stitching and midsole are waxed when received, these keep everything below the ankle fairly dry in rain and puddles. Sand, dirt and small rocks stay out for the most part, and they wouldn't be able to get in at all had I gotten my right size. Extremely comfortable for everyday use and very (surprisingly) light.

Leather

Fudge Crazy Horse
Break-In
Patina Process
Color Change

From my experience in leather footwear, this pair of mine have been the most breathable all-leather footwear I've owned, not only due to thinner thicknesses being inherently more breathable, but also the nubuck aspect itself acting as a tight mesh yet mesh nonetheless in comparison. Break-in of the leather was easy; it wasn't stiff much at first and it only got easier to flex over time. This applies for nearly all nubuck: scratches show easily and can be rubbed out easily. However, for 'Fudge Crazy Horse' it almost retains a memory of where the scratches were, causing it to become lighter or darker depending on what happens to the leather in that area. For all leather, it gets darker or lighter at rolling parts, in the case of 'Fudge Crazy Horse' it becomes darker. The colour changed significantly when conditioned, almost looking like Jim Green's 'Houston Brown'.

Sole & heel

Traction
Comfort
Design

For grip, it does well in the conditions I've been in and even on wet tiles in a rainy city (went there with friends), to me it performs better than some lug soles due to the softer Shore Hardness squishing and wrapping around what's underfoot more. The squishiness of the sole certainly does help with comfort as, from what I can tell, it aids in displacing my body weight across the whole sole. Unique sole, and triangles are cool :)

Final thoughts

Other
Good Value
Would Recommend

The worst part of break-in for the Barefoot African Rangers would have to be on my instep for the first 2 weeks, the pain was unbearable if I laced even slightly too tight. My guess for this pain would be the unique eyelet pattern piece and gusseted tongue not being formed to my foot and laces, causing a high pressure point. It's an all-leather, barefoot, resoleable footwear and there's nothing else like it on the market being made at this scale or cost. "You can get it fast, cheap, or good, but you can only pick two," is something which is nigh universal except when it comes to Jim Green, in which case you get all three.

Written by Willow
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