Exactly what a boot needs to be

Not thrashed, but not babied. Travelled in, hiked in, stomped through feets of snow in. Kicked around a few things. Worn most every day of the dome, a lot of sitting at bars and on buses.

The smooth wax layer softened up really quickly, and started to wear off most of the surface area of the boot after a few months. Still holds up well against water, but its let out a beautiful nap and lighter color. Picked up indigo to create a really nice greenish hue i quite like actually, usually i hate crocking on boots.

My feet are C width at the ball, high arch/instep and overall low volume. 618 fits great with thick/heavyweight socks, which has been great for the midwestern winter. In thinner socks my foot is swimming laterally and its quite uncomfortable. I’m torn on if i would get another boot on this last. In either case there is very ample room for toes to breath, the taper is deceptive due to the added width at the ball. Arch support is nonexistent imo, i usually dont feel much if its less than a pnw 55 last. its comfortable for what it is, lets your foot flex. The tight heel and waist work perfectly for me though, its just not perfectly dialed in for the forefoot. I’m a/b at the heel so i often get pretty bad slip/rub even in d width lasts. Lastly, my foot edges a full brannock size longer in HTT than HTB, which has led to poor placement in many lasts unless im willing to lose my toes. 618 feels perfectly placed at 1/2 size down from HTT still, ive been very pleased with that. It may be the extra width at the ball that makes it more forgiving? 618 is a winner in many categories, and you’ll be very happy it works for you.

Parkhurst craftsmanship is fantastic and arguably undervalued. These don’t have the SPI of Viberg per se, but it feels like im wearing Viberg’s in the sense of quality i get lacing these up each time. For this makeup, i think the chunkier look of the 360 welt too. Some folks do complain that the heel counters are less stiff/substantial than other makers, and i can confirm its quite soft and flexible. These are not work boots though, so i dont really see that as a downside. True cap toe construction makes me feel very confident that these can take a beating if needed, and the fact that these look as good as they do for the amount of moisture and salt ive exposed them too is very reassuring to the quality of materials.

Nothing special. On the harder end of lug soles imo, probably means theyll last longer. noticable wear after 6 months but i would give these 2-3 years of continued daily wear in my use case before needing s resole. Serviceable for walking on ice, excellent for climbing over/around rocks.

Parkhurst may be the best in their price bracket you can get, if the lasts work for you. A makeup like this waxy commander is exactly the kind of boot they make best, too. The 618 last really has a beautiful OVG 2030 kind of look to it in the cap toe pattern. i love this boot