A half year in the life of a Nick’s Packer 55 Last

From dancing, yoga, store runs, traveling the New York City streets, visiting Yale in New Heaven Connecticut, seeing the monuments in Pensilvania, birthday cabin walks and hikes in Oklahoma and many many dance floors around the US, Nicks Packers saw it all in snow, sand, heat, rain, dirt, mud, ocean water, lakes and even my yoga mat. I used Nick’s in everything and everywhere. If it was hot in Katy, Texas, wear I live, I was wearing thin shorts a t-shirt and proudly displaying my 10 inch Nick’s Packers with a little bit of white socks peaking out above the rim.

Tough and durable, is how I describe W&C. I did not condition them at all these six months. I did a true testament of the leather’s stock capabilities. It felt like the massive amounts of oils and waxes in the Wicket & Craig protected and reinforced the leather greatly. I think now that the competition is over, they are surely due for their first good conditioning. As a dancer, the term break-in goes to a whole new level. I’m not just walking, climbing and bending. You have to add spinning, twisting, lunging, toe-pointing, side crossing, and many other unique movements in the cha-cha, Waltz, country, Latin and line dances that I teach, compete and social dance in. I pulled, pushed, stretched and squished these babies to lengths and small spaces that they have never seen before. Don’t get me wrong, logging is hard work, but the amount and styles of dancing I do every day isn’t a walk in the park either. Since this was my first pair of nicks, I do believe I ordered a whole size too large in length. This created an extra set of challenges due to extra leather around my feet and empty space in the back of the heel. Since I do point and extend my toe, along with stepping sideways in a rolling in-and-out fashion, the extra leather had to go somewhere as I stretched and pressed the boots in odd shapes. My left boot’s heel counter started to unfortunately curve inward and began bruising my heal immensely. I don’t believe this would have happened if I chosen the correct size for me. I still pushed through the pain, but after seeing the bruising getting worse, I couldn’t risk injury. If I would have continued using my boots dancing an average of 13 hours a day, it would have ended in an achilles tendon injury for sure. I had no choice but to remove some of the leather that was three full grain layers thick at my achilles. After I modified and sowed a patch on myself with thin leather I purchased, I was able to relieve the odd pressure and heal my foot and continue wearing the boots. The necessary modification gave me the relief I needed to dance another day. If I would have had more time, I would have taken it too a cobbler, but desperate times… Since I wore my boots constantly, I would go home and brush the floor wax, dirt and grit every night. Sometimes I would do it multiple times a day if necessary. A handful of times I used water and a cotton cloth to clean. I never conditioned, fully expecting the stock wax and oils to deliver enough protection.

First and foremost, I recommend getting your perfect size if you are wearing a 55Last. Having a perfect length, I believe, would make the backstay for ankle support fit just right. If you are not used to the high heal, like I was, then it may seem like a shock when trying boot on and wearing this last. I country dance, mostly two-step, but prefer a “roper heel”(shorter) rather than a usual “cowboy heel”; which itself is slightly shorter than a packer 55 last stacked heel. I feel as if the stability that Nicks construction and materials is what makes the last feel far more wearable for someone new to heels. I never felt wobbly, unsafe, or as if the leathers and constructions would not support me…ever. After wearing this last for 6 months, I have grown accustomed and liken to the height it gives. I dance for a living so it makes dancing with tall or taller girls a lot easier and more comfortable. Considering I wore the boots non-stop for hundreds, if not thousands of hours, this Thunderdome, I did notice weakness building in my achilles due to never truly bending the ankle upwards in my usual fashion. Instead, I always had my feet in a decline. I would not just dance, walk around and work in my boots, but I worked-out and did my yoga classes in them. I did… everything, in my Nick’s. I noticed after the third month I had to set a side time daily to keep strength in that part of the foot with small workouts so that an achilles tear does not occur. The only downside I can say, is that the boot carries with it some weight. I got used to it of course, but there were those once in a blue moon days where I could feel the 7-8lbs when I first put them on.

Nicks Packer is beautiful. I say beautiful and not handsome, because even my father asked me if I was wearing women’s boots when he first saw me wearing the high heel and keltie. You can’t take note that packer boots are not the norm here in Texas. I was not much of a kilt man myself either when I first saw them, just like my father, but now I am. The packer design is solid in itself. The test of time clearly shows it. Every nail and stitch was perfect. No error that my diligent eyes could see. The Wickett and Craig leather is what truly completes i for met. I can’t imagine a packer without the waxes and oils to back up the tank-like construction it has.

I ordered my packer in leather sole. I know it might seem like putting racing tires on a souped up truck, but it worked for me and what I needed in my boots. I wore through my outsole within three months. I purchased a strip of leather, cut it to size and cemented it to the bottom as a makeshift bottom. Once I was at my last month, I tore the used outer sole I placed and rode the packer to the end. Having only one strip of leather to protect me wasn’t the most comfortable. I could feel every pebble or curve on the floor, but I couldn’t afford sending my boots to Nick’s for a resole. Even if I hoped they could come back in time, those three+ weeks are also full of precious wear time I didn’t want to lose. I may not be able to having them resoled now, since I wore into the last strip of leather below my feet. I just wanted to complete the Thunderdome as strong as possible until the end. The stacked heel itself is a whole other topic of conversation. I’ve never wore such a durable piece of leather on me. The rubber was hard and didn’t wear easily. It was a fact that I used to my benefit to spin on the tip of my heal easier, something I wasn’t able to do in other dance footwear. I felt the safest, the height gave a delightful addition, the custom width is almost impossible to find for me as I am a FF. Everything worked perfectly for me, I couldn’t be happier.

I have no regrets about my Nicks Packer. Nothing I would do different. Nothing I would add, change or alter. I left everything on the veg tan leather outsole for a Thunderdome. I can now tell people that Nick’s Packers gives the best quality per dollar than any other boot I have worn. Every scratch, stain or wrinkle on my Nick’s tell a story for me. One I will cherish for years to come. I can’t wait to get my next pair.