A pleasant and enjoyable journey in a pair of Oak Street Trench boots.

These were a near constant companion every day with me at work. That is why you can see the strong "office" patina on these boots. These were a part of my life for the last 6 months and accompanied me on all my adventures. -Hiking around Acadia and then Vermont and New Hampshire -When I met my current significant other, I was wearing these boots. -When I visited family for the holidays, met my new niece for the first time, and traveled to my brother's wedding, i was wearing these boots. Like every year, these dome boots have a place in my heart, given the life events that they were apart of and will be in the rotation because of it for many years to come.

The break-in of this Tempesti leather was fairly easy, especially once the shaft loosened up and conformed to my ankle. The leather has resulted in a beautiful looking boot. The overdye gave way to really show the wear patterns unique to my feet. The leather was extremely resilient and took a beating and was only conditioned once at the end of the dome. Though I would brush the boots at least once a week.

The shape of the last is comfortable, and I personally didn't have any major issues. I do think the design could benefit from additional arch support for my particular feet, and while I haven't added one, maybe a delta arch could be nice.

Overall, the trench boots construction held up. There is a section where the split wealth was sanded down during the manufacture of the boots and is a defect, but nothing that affected the durability of the boots. I had heard and seen horror stories from other SDP members in the past, but these took a beating and kept going.

I have had no issue with the dainite soles, they have held up and still have life left in them. I will note that after heavy rains and the worn down state at the end of the dome, they can be slightly slick compared to when new.

The toppling has held up throughout the dome without issue. It will need to be replaced with additional wear in the near future, but that should be expected with the miles I have put on them.

These trench boots surprised me, I have thoroughly enjoyed wearing them for the last 6 months. I will admit i was nervous given the issues other SDP members have had with Oak Street's in the past. However, other than a slightly sanded/damaged welt that didn't affect the durability of the boots, I didn't have any other issues with my pair.