So far I have worn these pretty casually. I’ve only had them about a week, and have worn them mostly in and around my house. Walks outside and on dirt roads.
Just breaking these in, so really no patina and they’ve hardly even begun creasing yet. The Chromexcel is quite soft, supple, and easy to break in.
Of all the John Lofgren lasts I have tried, the 120 feels best for my feet. For this reason I am considering more JL’s in the 120 such as the Donkey Puncher and Steel Gang (I want to try something with that heel). It is interesting that I went a full 1.5 sizes down from my Brannock. I am a 9D Brannock and these are a 7.5E. Fit feels really nice with plenty of room in the toe box both top-to-bottom and side-to-side. Instep feels nice which is great because I have high arches. There really isn’t any arch support, which is ok but would have been an added bonus for my high-arched feet. Heel feels fine and is not tight at all. If you like a boot that hugs your heels, this ain’t it, or perhaps I just have slightly narrow heels (not sure).
Everything about these is what you’d expect from JL. Design is very well thought out and everything flows together very nicely. The construction is top notch and finishing looks excellent. I cannot find a stitch out of place or loose. The hardware feels solid and the clicking is very good as far as I can tell. One nice little touch is where the welt meets itself on each boot. These have a 360 degree storm welt and on each boot it meets itself very cleanly on the arch of the boot right where the heel starts. This means that it cannot be seen on the pinky toe side of the boot. Hope this makes sense. It’s a nice little touch and very cleanly done. I also really enjoy the brown Vibram soles on this boot as the subtly contrast with the black Chromexcel. You can tell every aspect of the boots is thoroughly thought out to create a seamless design and aesthetic.
Love it. One of my favorite soles. It provides a good level of traction, but does not allow anything, like little rocks, to get wedged in the sole.
Love it.
I am excited to continue to break these in and see what the black Chromexcel looks like after a few months of wear. These have me excited to get another pair of JL!