These have been my daily boots since day one. Rain, snow, ice, creeks, yard work, office work, they go where I go. I cut down a tree in these boots. I worked on the car and went on a road trip. I show them off to family. When I walked around the lumber yard for a weekend project they made me feel like one of the guys. When I wore them to drop the kids off at school I walked with a purpose.
Beautiful leather. It was a little stiff at first but it's well broken in now. After wearing this leather for 6 months I have wondered what it would be like to have the thicker work leathers instead. I pretty much just wore the boots and didn't do much. At the 3 and 6 months mark I rubbed some mink oil into them to give them some conditioning and freshen them up. Otherwise I've just put them on and not really thought about them. I did notice the brown got a little darker with the mink oil, and they have picked up scuffs from me wearing them and kicking things. It took about 2 months to really break them in for me. I did find that in the winter they were a little cold on the toes while the snow melted on them at my desk, but there isn't really anything you can do about that. I did let them get a little salty from the road salt in the snow but they really seem to shrug it off once you clean them up.
I bought the 55 last specifically for the arch support. This is the first pair of boots I have ever worn when I did not need special orthopedic inserts. The more I wear them the better they get.
I did have a piece of the sock liner on one boot start to come up after a couple months of wear. Luckily I do leather work myself so I have some leather glue lying around, a little dap and it was right as rain. I think what happened is whoever on the assembly line glues them down didn't apply just a hair less glue on the one foot over the other foot by mistake. But it's a super easy fix. Otherwise these boots have been nearly indestructible. I can't say anything else against them. They are easily the single best pair of boots I've ever worn.
I did lose traction on ice and snow occasionally, the rubber just seema to freeze up into a hockey puck in cold temperatures. But I mud or sand or gravel or anything else they were great.
Because they take a few minutes to lace up I have a little speech I give about these boots to friends while I'm putting them on at the door. I feel like wearing these boots you almost become an ambassador for nicks and pnw boots in general. I learned about these boots on the rose anvil YouTube channel and took 3 years to save up for them. Besides my car and my house this was one of the biggest single purchases I've made in the last decade. I was very excited when they arrived and I cannot help but go on for hours when I get to explain to people who great they are. I've got a pair of boots that will last me until the end of my life and I couldn't be happier. They have amazing arch support, they're hand made, it's a true craftsmanship piece that I get to wear and tell the story of my journey in. My only regret is not buying them sooner