Natural Dublin, The heritage leather that could...

09/26/24 - Hurricane Helene made her devastating landfall in the South Eastern part of the U.S. dumping more than 40 trillion gallons of water upon the North Carolina, Tennessee border. Max sustained wind 140 mph. 10/05/24 - Hurricane Milton followed suit in St. Pete, Florida. Max sustained wind 180 mph. This pair of Natural Dublin, Builder Pro's were carried around from bucket truck to hotel room for six days before they were thrown into the carnage that was Hurricane Helene and Milton. These Builder Pro's started life off hard and fast, building powerlines across the country. From storm events such as the twin major hurricanes mentioned above, to lake effect snow and ice storms in Upstate New York. Climbing poles and digging holes to set new poles were frequent tasks throughout the restoration efforts. One thing to note was the hellish terrain this pair had to endure for the first three weeks of their life. From right of ways down in the Western North Carolina hollars, filled with huge, fallen pine trees in sea of unforgiving briars. To back yards in South Western Florida where they navigated through an obstacle course of cypress trees, which lay snapped between backyard properties. After returning home, they experienced primarily bucket work, which can be quite the abrasive environment for any pair of boots. Copper and aluminum wire scraps are cut and typically discarded into the bottom of the bucket. They can be extremely sharp objects that are residing with your boots for hours at a time. Temperature ranges were all over the map from high 90°F in Florida to single digits in New York. As for weather, we got to experience a little bit of everything, from down pouring rain and heavy snow to a month long dry and dusty drought. They handled all I and mother nature could throw at them...

10 Inch foot yams... I was told that by the end of this competition, these would turn into 10 Inch foot yams, and boy, did these really metamorphisize into just that! The fossilization process starts off very light in color with a matte like . Once the wax coat on this veg tanned leather begins to warm up with heat, and friction, it starts to darken, burnish and shine. Break-in was relatively painless, surprisingly, as they were subjected to 16+ hour shifts on storm for their first 3 weeks of life. They only further became more comfortable throughout the six months. Care routine is as follows; brushed every day, wiped down as needed. Very light conditioning at the 3 month mark and a final conditioning at month 6. A gripe I could say about the Dublin is it seemingly has an endless amount of stretch to it sometimes. I prefer lacing up fairly snug, and at some point, I had to accept the level of snugness these allowed.

The fit and comfort in a Thurman 55 Last for my duck feet is unlike anything I have experienced so far. Hugging my heel and instep while allowing my toes to breathe has been a godsend. The arch support is as to be expected from the legendary PNW 55 last, and the overall wear experienced has been one to set the standard for all my builds to come.Darn Tough, over the calf Paul Bunyans are my go to socks and 4mm Buffalo Wool Company inserts were added in January to combat freezing temps.

The design of the Builder Pro is a classic, but the subtle changes I was able to add to this pair has really put them on top for me. The cut top allowed for calf comfort. And the dogger heel with a honey vibram outsole combination has allowed comfort while both standing and walking. Construction and finishing from Nicks is as to be expected. Subtle imperfections remind one that actual human hands were involved with building these works of art. I'll take the durability and quality of construction over a stitch out of place a fraction of an inch.

The V 100 Honey Lug Outsole provides enough squish and durability for all day use. The softer compound allows more grip in colder temperatures.

This has been my go-to walking heel for a while now, and they did not disappoint on this build.

Natural Dublin, a heritage leather by day and a sleeper work leather by night. While a 7-8 oz. work leather could do a blue collar job a 5-6 oz. Heritage leather could do just as well and, subjectively, look even better during the process. This pair of boots has really changed my perspective on leather and how durable it can be regardless of weight or thickness. As long as Nicks keeps choosing to use the best quality materials and craftsmanship, I should have zero issues using heritage leathers for work in the future. Thank you, Nicks, for the quality products and thank you, Stitchdown, for the amazing competition. It has been an experience I won't soon forget. I'm already eagerly awaiting next October.