Fifty150 Posted October 13 Share Posted October 13 (edited) The first was acquired last year. Black Friday. I liked them enough that I bought a second pair in July. I now have 3 pairs. The leather is thick, heavy, and stiff. They take a lot of breaking in. Not for those with delicate feet. Not for the "woke" crowd. Especially if you care about things like race relations, politics, sustainability of shipping consumer goods across the globe, etc. Due to the exchange rate of the Rand versus the Dollar, the sale price is on the low end for the quality of the product. Comparable quality could cost twice as much from other shoe companies. The most interesting thing is that they have a custom boot builder on the website. You can pick your own last, leather, sole, color, etc. They will custom build your boots to order. https://jimgreenfootwear.co.za/ https://jimgreenfootwear.com.au/ https://jimgreenfootwear.com/ https://jimgreenfootwear.co.uk/ Edited October 13 by Fifty150 typo mrtn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted October 13 Share Posted October 13 Never even heard of the brand before. Have had just a few pairs of hiking boots (for winter mostly) and these have been hi-tech, not traditional (Columbia, Halti and such). Fifty150 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 14 Author Share Posted October 14 (edited) When they first came on my radar, I was attracted to the stitch down construction and the single piece of leather used for the vamp. Most of the quality shoes use what is called a Goodyear welt to build the shoe. The upper part of the shoe, is stitched to a welt, which is stitched to the sole. In my small corner of the globe, Pacific NorthWest shoemakers use a process where the upper part of the shoe is directly stitched down to the sole. When The US military needed "rugged all terrain" footwear, the military boots were engineered using a stitch down construction. Most shoes are built from sewing together different pieces of leather for the vamp, toes, heels, shaft, etc. A single piece of leather is stronger. No worry of the shoe breaking stitches and bursting open at the seams. No chance of water leaking in through the stitches. A lot more expensive to cut big pieces of leather and trim, than to cut out a lot of small pieces and scraps. The double layer of leather construction, with a full leather lining, makes the shoe twice as thick. The double lasting process uses 2 layers of leather under the foot. Pacific NorthWest shoes such as Frank's, Nick's, and Wesco are literally a small fortune. I've always admired from afar. I just couldn't spend 2 weeks' wages. If you've never heard of Pacific NorthWest boots from The USA, don't look into them. You will wonder why every shoe isn't as well built. Then you will plot on selling blood plasma to raise money for a pair of shoes. The backstory is that I have South African relatives. That was how I heard of the brand. A relative was wearing a pair. But I never wanted to call long distance over the phone, to place an order at the factory, and then pay for shipping across the world. If I simply asked my cousins to pick up a pair, it would have been simpler. But I didn't want to burden my relatives with spending the equivalent of 2 weeks' wages, then paying for the shipping. As my relatives are generous to a fault, they would have declared it a gift, and would refuse my money. When the company got their world wide web commerce sites, I looked at them again. When they started stocking via Amazon, it became more viable. When Amazon had Prime Day and Black Friday....... I bought. Edited October 14 by Fifty150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtn Posted October 14 Share Posted October 14 10 hours ago, Fifty150 said: If you've never heard of Pacific NorthWest boots from The USA, don't look into them. You will wonder why every shoe isn't as well built. Then you will plot on selling blood plasma to raise money for a pair of shoes. Have not. But then again, I shop at a supermarket or sports outlets, not specialty shoe stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted October 15 Author Share Posted October 15 It all depends on lifestyle. Some people don't own any boots. One of my cousins only wears sneakers. Even in a suit. I "get it". Sneakers are made for comfort. Why wear shoes that hurt your feet? I only have 1 pair of athletic type shoes. I wear them for riding my bicycle, and when I go to the gym. Years ago, I made the "executive decision" that I was no longer wearing "shoes". Dress shoes. They didn't provide any ankle support. Leather bottom soles are useless for me, because I want traction. I added rubber bottoms to the leather soles, then eventually phased out my "shoes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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