These boots have been super versatile for me. I’ve worn them to work in a dental office, hiking and walking around town. Also, for some light duty upland hunting, although the sole is definitely not meant for slick conditions.
This leather started out with a fuzzy nubuck nap with significant orange undertones, and burnished with wear to a beautiful warm brown with tons of character. I conditioned them with chamberlains leather milk early on since they seemed to have been on the shelf at the shop where I bought them for quite a while. I brushed them for 5 or 10 minutes almost every night that they were worn for the first couple of months, and then I conditioned them 2 or 3 times more with Bick 4 during the course of the 6 months. The initial brushing seemed to help lay down the nap and gave me a look that I really like. Break in was minimal and the comfort has been great all the way through.
Comfort is great. My feet are low volume and I end up using tongue pads and insoles in most of my footwear and these were no exception. In this case, I’m using a very thin leather insole and a thin memory foam tongue pad and the fit is spot on.
I love moccasin construction, and the way Russell does it really feels substantial and high quality. I think that this is an older design with a wider back stay than most of what is coming out now and I really like the structure of the heel on these.
This sole is super flexible and somewhat cushy (EVA), and I really like that it tracks zero mid or gravel inside, but it is suuuper slick in even slightly slippery conditions.