A boots thread

[bykfixer]

For anybody wondering if Bick 4 will stain a lighter colored boot…

Before,
Brand new out of the box

After
20 minutes after applying a thick layer that was massaged into the leather. The leather was very thirsty so some areas were coated twice.

Edit:
The double H boots are getting so comfy I can wear them with no socks except for……

A fold at the ankle on the right one while wearing them.
After 30 minutes it becomes aggrevating. Painful by days end. Enter Bick 4. Rubbing the area on the inside (since they are leather lined) and on the outside in about a 3" circle around the fold has softened the area around the fold in minutes versus months.
It helped a lot!!
I'll add more over the next couple of days.
End edit.

Edit 2
It's called ankle bite and is apparently pretty common. Here's something I'm going to try.


End edit 2.

 

[AstroTurf]

very very nice!!!

 

[bykfixer]

I tried the seam softener trick in post #61 for my double H ankle bite issue. I did not have a baseball bat handy so I used a 4D Maglite instead. I did not have a $12 can of boot stretch spray, nor did I feel like holding the boots over steam so I used leather conditioner.

While applying upward pressure on the boot shaft I pushed the flashlight up and down the seam about 50 times. Now they still have a little bit of ankle bite but it's a toothless bite thanks to softening and stretching the leather. I'll do about 50 more later today.

Amazing!!
I've been wearing them for 30 minutes without socks and there's no more discomfort. Now if you do it long enough the shafts will begin to sag, so there is that. I read you can store boots with a "pool noodle" in them to help with that.

 

[bykfixer]

Seen in the photo is how excersizing the leather at the ankles causes it to relax. When new, these boots stood at attention like the Marine at AirForce 1 where now they are in "at ease" mode. By the end of the week I didn't want to take them off because they had become so dang comfy. Ankle bite has practically turned into ankle massage. That issue still remains but it is no longer a discomfort, but the boot still folds against the ankle on both boots.

And the coating of Camp Dry causes them to shed dust and dirt like new teflon. I wore them all over the construction project all week. At first they were strangely stiff through the sole while walking on uneven surfaces, like having 2x4's under my shoes. As the week progressed they became less rigid and by Friday I felt confident walking up and down steep slopes of loose dirt next to pipe trenches.

There was one crew of young bucks who work hard and play even harder after work who took note of my boots and acted like King Neptune wears double H boots……one skeptical fellow looked at the foot print I left and says to another "yup those are double H" lol. Apparently I dethroned some guy on the crew who wears Ariat Workhogs.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

It's good to be the King.

 

[bykfixer]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown……or so they say. My thought is how easily I'll abdicate the throne to a bunch of 20 something year old alpha male wanna be construction workers.

There was a time I'd search for a puddle to jump in so my shiney new boots would look like they're being worn by a real man……all 16 chin hairs and all. Yet now that my grandson says I look like Santa Clause I prefer my boots to stay all Santa Clause shiney-like.

So next week I'll wear the Thorogood boots I bought recently. Trouble with those is an issue with the type of leather means they scar easily.

Patina is the word used by saddle bag makers when they receive scars from useage.
Still when a crazy horse leather boot is brand new it kinda seems like a new brightly colored shiney new bowling ball where every scratch seems to stand out like a sore thumb.

I could oil them up or add wax but that would take away the dull finish I liked so much when they were on display at the store. So there goes keeping them all Santa Clause new looking.

But I bought the Thorogoods for playing in the mud like a 4 wheel drive pickup truck.

 

[AstroTurf]

nice

 

[bykfixer]

I wore the Thorogoods all week until today and no issues at all. They fit great. No rub from the safety toe cap. No binding or biting. And they grip my feet nearly as well as lace up boots.
Today I wore the double H boots and no ankle bite was noticed at all. The leather stretch at the ankle stretch did the trick.

So if you have a pair of boots (pull on or lace up) that bind or bite using a ball bat or similar and leather conditioner to stretch and work the leather is definitely something worth trying. For tight areas way down inside the boot a hammer handle might do the trick. That is providing the boot is the correct size to begin with.

Sometimes a boot just does not fit well. I have a lot of trouble with casual shoes being too narrow across the toes even though they are the correct size in every other way.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

IT'S TIME!

 

[bykfixer]

I was wearing these

Until the weather got all hot and humid.

Then went to these

Which are much cooler.

I noticed my knee hurting after the switch. Today a thunderstorm was dumping water in 5 gallon buckets in the morning. Top pair is water proof. Bottom pair is not.
Went back to the top pair this morning. Feet stayed dry, knee pain was gone.

 

[bykfixer]

Back to US built Wolverine Ram X boots

The most comfortable work boots I own but man I just don't feel right getting them dirty....

 

[bykfixer]

Almost 6 months after buying them

These double H boots have gotten more and more comfortable. Heck I wear them to work nearly every day anymore. I read reviews where people said they got more and more comfortable but I did not imagine how much more comfortable they would become.

The camp-dri works great at keeping dust and dirt from sticking.
I'm supposing one day the top portion will sag enough to fall over but so far so good.

They wear like iron but are not hard at all.
The urethane sole shows hardly any wear at all after 50 or 60 or so miles. That's chewing gum on the heel.

No more ankle bite, no chafing even when my socks fall down, these are a great value.

 

[bykfixer]

The weather is getting cool south of the Mason/Dixon but not cold enough to whip out the winter gear just yet. So I've switched from the double H boots to the Thorogood Wellingtons since they have a thin waterproof "gore tex" type of liner to wick away moisture very well. The idea paid off wearing cotton/polyester socks so far.

Soon the wool socks will come out along with insulated boots.

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Good old jungle boots.

(right jeans leg rolled up for view )

I spent yesterday from around 5AM to 9PM (various activities) with them on, and I'm very glad they were my choice of footwear. I have sneakers less comfy than these bad boys. Normally they're my pick for rainy days, as they're the only shoes of mine that don't deal badly with rain, and I bike to work in sunnier times.

 

[bykfixer]

I have worn lace up boots for decades and will continue but man, the pull on boots being made today are pretty good. With winter coming on I looked at all of my current boots and found none of the pull on are insulated. One year I bought some Wolverines from a local work boot store with 400g thinsulate and found it to be just right on the coldest days but not too hot indoors. They are lace up type. But I wanted pull on type.

I spent the better part of 3 evenings looking for insulated pull on boots practically to no avail. I called my favorite work boot store and asked what he has in pull on. "Well we have some carbon toe waterproof Wolverines with 400g insulation". My first pair of boots from him were Wolverine hikers that fit that description but they stopped making that boot. Anyway I said "got 'em in 10-1/2?" He says "yes, several pairs, they just arrived today". Nice. I said "see ya in an hour". See I was enjoying a fresh made double McCheese burger, which is part of the reason for pull on boots being my favorite these days.

I try them on. Perfect! But being insulated they had a good grip on my foot so I stumbled about trying to pull them off. He hands me one of the best inventions I've seen since the boiled egg slicer. A boot heel puller....

and says "it's on the house you loyal customer you".

You step on one end, slide the heel in the other and give it a gentle pull. The boot comes right off. No more crashing into walls or furniture while trying in vein to pull off my well fitting boots. Now you want to be careful though as pulling to much may rip a tendon if yours are old and brittle like mine are.

The boots

Same soles pretty much as my lace up version. I have never had a traction issue with them, even in snow. I'd avoid walking on a slope of wet grass or loose gravel though. But I already knew that from my Red Wing days.

Kinda pricey at around $200 but should last me a good long time.

I've been wearing them for a few hours now and have marveled at how comfy they already are. Light weight thanks to weight reducing hard toe and shank. Spongey, yet solid at the same time. They're not like cowboy boots in terms of how it feels to walk around in them. It's just a natural feel like they were made for my feet. Another winner by Wolverine.

 

[hsa]

That boot jack is the only way to go. I store mine in the shaft of a boot in the summertime so that I remember that I need it or I am not getting out of the boots without ending up in traction.
The last boots I bought were Cabellas Snow Runners with the Boa lacing system. A ratcheting device that is a miracle.

 

[bykfixer]

I got my first gore tex boots from Cabellas during the blizzard of '96 on the east coast of America. They are 12" tall hiker type with 800g thinsulate that I only wear in blizzards. I'll never forget the UPS man slid past my house trying to drive that big brown 2wd box truck in 3 feet of snow.

 

[bykfixer]

"Frost is on the pumpkins" they say.

In late Fall just south of the Mason/Dixon the average weather is between cool and cold. Feet can tell it's not summer anymore. Maybe it's the air temperature, maybe it's the surface of the earth that has cooled enough to penetrate the shoes we wear. It's not so bad that it's time to wear winter socks yet but the ole tootsies can definitely feel the change.

The Wolverine Raiders provide a sense of wearing foot warmers by keeping that chill out.

 

[SamKormak]

I have worn lace up boots for decades and will continue but man, the pull on boots being made today are pretty good. With winter coming on I looked at all of my current boots and found none of the pull on are insulated. One year I bought some Wolverines from a local work boot store with 400g thinsulate and found it to be just right on the coldest days but not too hot indoors. They are lace up type. But I wanted pull on type.

I spent the better part of 3 evenings looking for insulated pull on boots practically to no avail. I called my favorite work boot store and asked what he has in pull on. "Well we have some carbon toe waterproof Wolverines with 400g insulation". My first pair of boots from him were Wolverine hikers that fit that description but they stopped making that boot. Anyway I said "got 'em in 10-1/2?" He says "yes, several pairs, they just arrived today". Nice. I said "see ya in an hour". See I was enjoying a fresh made double McCheese burger, which is part of the reason for pull on boots being my favorite these days.

I try them on. Perfect! But being insulated they had a good grip on my foot so I stumbled about trying to pull them off. He hands me one of the best inventions I've seen since the boiled egg slicer. A boot heel puller....
View attachment 35641
and says "it's on the house you loyal customer you".

View attachment 35642
You step on one end, slide the heel in the other and give it a gentle pull. The boot comes right off. No more crashing into walls or furniture while trying in vein to pull off my well fitting boots. Now you want to be careful though as pulling to much may rip a tendon if yours are old and brittle like mine are.

The boots
View attachment 35643

View attachment 35644


View attachment 35645
Same soles pretty much as my lace up version. I have never had a traction issue with them, even in snow. I'd avoid walking on a slope of wet grass or loose gravel though. But I already knew that from my Red Wing days.

Kinda pricey at around $200 but should last me a good long time. After all I've saved a bit on going for banded waterfowl( https://gritroutdoors.com/banded/ ) this season, a bit more budget compared to Sitka and other stuff.

I've been wearing them for a few hours now and have marveled at how comfy they already are. Light weight thanks to weight reducing hard toe and shank. Spongey, yet solid at the same time. They're not like cowboy boots in terms of how it feels to walk around in them. It's just a natural feel like they were made for my feet. Another winner by Wolverine.

Wait... Do they sell those boot pullers in the stores?! I NEED one

 

[bykfixer]

Welcome to CPF Sam

Red Wing stores probably sell them.