I wore these Vibergs everywhere, but most of the action took place in the cockpit. For the first two months I wore them to the training center every day, into the flight simulator, and out at night. For the next couple months I wore them on all my airline trips. Between the rudder pedals, and cramped spaces of a Boeing cockpit, they got banged around quite a bit. As they began showing their wear I retired them from work trips, put in some brown laces, and began wearing them for everything while home.
The leather on these boots is a force to be reckoned with. To say these boots were tough to break in is an understatement. In fact, they’re still a very stiff set of boots that feel like I’m sliding into a pair of ski boots every time I put them on. Although they don’t flex or bend easily, they’ve conformed to my foot and are not uncomfortable to wear. These boots will never have that “comfortable pair of slippers” feel that you get with other, more pliable leathers. The upside is that they feel indestructible. I could probably hand these down to my grandkids someday. Because of the tough leather I was worried it’d take years before the brown undertones began peaking through. Instead, the brown base began making appearances early on, first on the inner heals (where they received the most wear), then along the toes. My care routine was minimal. I’d brush them if needed, and the only cream I applied was a small amount of VSC just before taking the final pictures.
This is my second pair of 2030s, and I decided to go with a EE this time. In hindsight I think I would’ve been fine with their standard width. The extra room did make for a bit more room in the toe box, but I think the 2030 was designed to be showcased in a standard width. Visually, it created a more flared out fore-foot look, which sharply came back in at the waist. Or maybe it was just my imagination, and my size 13 is what made it seem so pronounced. Fit is so subjective, I hesitate to make any proclamations here. Bottom line, Vibergs fit like the majority of heritage boot brands—size down 1/2 to a full size and stick with your usual width. Support and wearability was good. They took up a lot of space, which caused me to bang them into things more than usual, but that was certainly due to the extra width.
Viberg’s craftsmanship is usually second to none (or very few). With these there was a bit of loose grain on the right vamp straight out of the box, which surprised me with a cordovan leather (see month-1 pics). I know Viberg typically takes great care in avoiding that so it was a bit of a surprise. I’m not one to fuss though, and I knew I’d be wearing these hard, so I overlooked it. Also, after sitting in the box a few months they developed a greyish, chalky film around the entire boot, almost like the fat drained from your cooked ground beef solidifies after awhile. Initially I was pissed and tried calling them, but after setting them in the sun for a while I noticed it started to disappear. I used a hairdryer to warm them up all the way, gave them a good brushing, and it never re-appeared after wearing them regularly. Still not sure about the science behind that, but maybe give the buyer a heads up next time. The eyelets tore the heck out of the laces. I love the look of the 9 eyelet boots, but I’ve probably replaced laces 4-5 times already! Not sure if there’s a burr on one of them, or if this is just normal for small diameter boot laces. As far as stitching, etc, everything was on point.
I love the Dainite soles. They’re durable, provide sufficient traction, and look great. I wish they went exclusively with these soles. I’ve passed on previous Vibergs solely because they had the other, goofy looking soles on there. Maybe it’s just me, but stick with the studded Dainites Brett.
My quest for this year was to find my perfect pair of black boots. I’m very happy with how they’re aging, just what I wanted with a “teacore” boot. Horween’s “double cordovan butts” might be the toughest Horween leather ever, which is good for obvious reasons, but not-so-good for others (ie, everyday casual wear comfort). As far as looks go, it’s hard to compete with these, I think they’re stunning. As long as you’re willing to put up with some of the “crazy” attributes of such an intense leather, you’ll reap the rewards of having a “hot” pair of black teacore boots to help you look good for years to come.