Hard wearing, good looking, and damn comfortable.

These have carried me through the last six months in materials reclamation and reuse. I spent a majority of my time doing field work - driving, residential materials pickups, commercial pickups. We had an unfortunately warm and dry winter in CO so they mostly spent life in dry and dusty conditions with a few wet days thrown in the mix. I’ve been in and out of roll offs, forklifts, trucks, and my office chair averaging maybe 13k steps a day.

The Predator line for Nicks is special. I fell in love with the first batch of Predator Orange, but the Predator Natural checked the boxes for me. The lasting process really highlights the pull up and its unique on each boot. The light natural color grabbed my attention, but man has the rich caramel brown been amazing to see develop over time. The leather wears lighter than a Nicks 64 work leather but that has not compromised the durability on a work boot. Horween and Nicks did a great job with this leather!

Fit with the ThurmanNW last has been exactly what I was after. I’m a solid 8D in most PNW boots and have 8D TNW Nicks. I decided on an additional half size down based on instep volume, heel measurement, and skinny ankles. As someone that grew up with leather soccer cleats and climbing shoes, I wasn’t afraid of a tight fit and tough break in period. The only tough spot was on top of the in step where the side panels and vamp meet. It relax after a week or so and didn’t give me any issues. I think Nick’s advice of staying with your size is probably appropriate for most people.

Overall, Nicks did a great job. It’s definitely a work Chelsea. The craftsmanship, construction, and finishing are great. I do think the pattern could be refined and updated to make a dressier option.

The Honey V100 is probably the best work sole I’ve ever worn. It balances comfort and traction. I’m fairly light on my feet and light so I haven’t seen any premature wear. I know it won’t last as long as the classic black v100, but I think it’s worth the improved comfort.

I started with Blundstone then moved to Red Wing and have landed on Nick’s. Nick’s build a boot to get work done. I never worried about my boots or feet while wearing them. They just became an extension.