These were my 1st pair of high quality boots and a big investment for me. I decided to go with an Indonesian brand as it made it more affordable for me and I knew the quality was very high. It was was such an enjoyable process but the sheer amount of choice was the hardest part! I decided on a black waxed flesh as I love rough out leather, it never creases and just has the best character. The only issue was always watermarks…..waxed rough out meant a degree of waterproofing I just wanted to try! I knew I wanted a boot with an unstructured toe and was laced, the Boondocker just lends itself so well to this style and is a classic shape. It’s rugged but has a dressy edge which helps as I work both in and out of an office.
I had an issue with sizing as this was my 1st pair of high quality boots. My reference was a pair of iron rangers and a pair of Pecos and a drawing around my foot. I don’t have access to any brannock device, in the uk it’s just not a common thing. Having got in touch with Bagus at Sagara he was very helpful and obviously knew his boots well. He recommended a size for me and I took the plunge, no modifications were needed and the fit very well.
Daunting. Speaking with someone via instagram in a country far away across a language barrier and numerous time zones! I was worried about sending the money and it was partly why I chose Sagara (along with a Stitchdown discount!) They are one of the most well known Indonesian builders, have been around a while, and had a degree of online professionalism, that said, it was still worrying, waiting for responses and hoping the boots fit with no real ability to return them! I would say that Bagus was very helpful and responded pretty well considering it all! I would def buy from them or another Indonesian brand in the future.
I genuinely worn them nearly every day. I work in an office and out and about but not in any real rugged environment, more a city dweller. 8 - 10 hours a day. They’ve also been worn on weekends to watch the football and nights out on the beer! Amazingly without trying they’ve never really seen rough weather which is ironic as that’s mostly why I went with waxed vs regular roughout!
I can’t believe how well the leather has held the wax considering the amount of wear. Literally in the past 2 months I’ve started to notice areas of heavy wear / movement is starting to show the browns and nap of the the roughout. I can’t wait for the next 2 months to be honest! As I’ve not got them particularly dirty I’ve not had to brush regularly or use any products so maybe that’s why they’ve held up so well. I do really like the way the leather has folded and moulded to my feet including the way the toe has collapsed slightly.
The fit from the start was spot on. Simple. I would say that once the toe collapsed I started to notice the way the leather rested on the top of my toes which does take some getting used to! The width and the length was and is perfect.
The quality of the build and the pattern / last was as good as I’d hoped. I knew the boondocker was a specialty of Sagara and it was another reason I chose them over other builders patterns. Small details like the lining, the insole, and the curves are all very cool. There is some slight separation of one of the heels from the sole but nothing that’s ever bothered me and I tore through 2 pairs of laces until the inside of one of the lace holes smoothed through properly. The rest of the stitching etc is perfect to my novice eye.
I guess there are 3 aspects to the sole. 1 - the look stunning, end of. I love the raw cord look and the colour. 2 - the grip very well, much better than the 2 pairs of RW I have. 3 - the wore down much faster than I was expecting if I’m honest. I have worn them daily so maybe that’s to be expected but I was expecting something more similar to the vibram on my iron rangers. These are much softer than those tbf and much more grippy so it’s not a complaint, just not what I was expecting. All in all I’d probably choose look and grip above longevity anyway!
All in all I’m happy with the choices I made. The builder was very good, the price was very good, the pattern was very good, and the price was very good! If you were to push me to change anything I don’t think I would. As an all round boot these are up there, I’d love an engineer or a Chelsea but they just wouldn’t have that do it all feel for me.