Late to the Dome

Firstly I wore these boots a couple weeks before the late entry submissions and entered them into the used boot category for sake of honesty. So a new boot entered a month late into some stiff used boot competition. I wore them in the plumbing trades in Seattle Washington working on concrete and wood structures. Lots of time on ladders and my knees roughing in toilet carriers and shower enclosures. Yard work and general kicking around town on the weekends.

I found them to be a little stiffer than the brown waxed flesh for comparison. My daily routine was to brush them with a soft bristle brush, and sometimes a harder bristle brush after the workday. We really had a lot of rain this year in Seattle and found myself working in standing water which really did a number on the heel stacks. I used otter wax on the heels to try to prevent water seepage. The leather was very robust to the conditions and took everything that was thrown at it. I was really surprised. After a month or two it was clear to see they were going to take a lot of abuse to produce some patina. I didn’t condition or apply anything to the leather throughout the five months other than a brush.

I’m at the point where they’re very well broken in and you get that heel pop when you slip into them. I have four boots and the 55 last. And find them all to be very comfortable.

Built like a tank. I couldn’t be happier with this boot for work. It’s taken everything I’ve thrown at it.

It was a nice change from the honey lug on my builder pros. It made for a lighter boot, but still very durable and slip resistant. I was afraid the mini lug would wear down but it’s really done well on the mixture of concrete and wood structure I’m working on. I don’t think I’d wanna kick shovels all day in them because it’s a thinner sole but standing for 10 hours has been very comfortable.

I really enjoyed the process of the patina dome because it involves photography, wearing quality products, and the sense of a community of like-minded people who share the appreciation for quality goods. The team over at Nicks has been amazing to purchase from and have excelled in customer service. They also have a pretty amazing Reddit community.