My daily commute takes me from the breakfast table to my garage and the most dangerous thing in encounter in my day is the wheel of my office chair. With that said these boots have traveled the Americas crossing the equator about 4 times including walks in a few Andrea cities. These certainly have a bit of that TSA patina.
My care routine was pretty standard, brush every night and let them air out. The leather looked really thirsty very quickly and these were conditioned once to make sure the leather didn't crack or break. I would have conditioned again because the leather looked dry but felt good but I was worried about over conditioning. I picked up a small gouge on the outside edge of the right foot but it didn't puncture the upper. I didn't do more than brush it but will keep an eye on this spot to prevent any further breaking.
I love a little heal slip if I'm honest. These had some but it was minimal. These did grip my Instep tightly early on and I worked on the removable outsole by skiving it down a mm or two to get a bit of space and that worked nicely. I got caught in big down pour early on the boots got soaked. I didn't have the option to remove them to dry so they dried on feet. After this they were absolutely perfect. Aside from molding the Instep, the break in was unnoticeable.
The design is classic and these will take a beating for a long time. The cunstruction is what you would expect from a PNW boot. It's just solid. The finishing is nothing to write home about. It also is standard PNW grade, no missed stitches or crooked lines. Sole stitching is not dense and there were a few wayward threads in the upper and shaft that were nothing a thread zapper couldn't handle. What matters the most is that these will last a long time. Finishing won't rival the best but that's not the point.
I mean what's to say that hasn't been said about these Dr soles. They look cool. They are very durable and the break in was unnoticeable. I never slipped on anything and the heel took a bit of a beating on one occasion climbing over rocks. Any lingering chips or gouges were, again, unnoticeable.
These boots have been a treat to wear. Someone said that we are just stewards of these boots because they will outlive us and I can't agree more. These boots may not have gotten the hard miles being in an office all day but they were part of some big life experiences. They walked the halls of a hospital as we waited to hear if a loved one would make it through the night. They traveled the hemisphere to some really special parts of the world. And, they did the boring stuff - they get stood on daily as my youngest boost themselves up to give me a hug and they show one or two scratches from the stray my kids brought home. These have been a companion and really surprised me with how much you can see that in the patina they carry. I'll cherish these for a long time. I don't think I'll ever pass them on because of the things we shared. These Mr Lous survived the January that lasted a year, as my mom put it.