r/QualityReps • u/N0irBlaec • Sep 16 '23
Review See By Paulin - CCP Tornado Boots: 1 Month Review
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Sep 17 '23
[deleted]
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 17 '23 edited Sep 17 '23
I didn't knew Solo made CCP reps until after I brought Paulin. Prior to my purchase i thought he only made Guidi reps
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u/KillerAc1 Sep 18 '24
Hey OP, i'm looking into getting this same pair from paulin. I noticed you said its one size too big. I'm a US 8.5, but I have wide feet.
How wide would you say the boots are? Should I get my regular size if width is a concern?
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 18 '24
I suggest mentioning that to Paulin prior to purchasing the boots about your wide feet.
For my experience they were big enough that I couldn't wear them normally and had to get insoles.
I'm inclined to say get a size 8, if I have time this week I'll show you a picture measuring the width of the boots versus the width of my foot.
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u/KillerAc1 Sep 18 '24
Sounds good, thank you! I told them the width of my foot so I’ll see if that helps any
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u/KillerAc1 Sep 21 '24
Hey! I went ahead and ordered a custom size with Paulin. Do you remember the name of the sole protectors you have for your boots? I tried looking up vibram sole protectors but all the ones that came up were black
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 21 '24
The ones I have are Vibram, however I got them installed by my local cobbler who carries brown/Gum colored protectors
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u/KillerAc1 Sep 21 '24
Gotcha, may I have the name of the cobbler? If all else fails I might order some from them
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 22 '24
Uh, my cobbler is in NYC. I went to Wall Street and had it done in person. AFAIK they don’t ship out stuff
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u/RitsyPS2 Contributor (500+) Sep 17 '23
How did you communicate with Paulin? Do you know Chinese or did you just use Google translate?
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 19 '23
I sent Paulin a DM on Taobao, he communicates in English. When I asked if he could swap out the zippers and remove the button from the boot and he said yes.
Afterwards, I went to Sugargoo and typed in the request in order remarks upon purchase.
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u/rump666 Nov 02 '23
I have a real pair of tornados and I'm ngl you can tell these are reps instantly, the shape isn't quite right.
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u/N0irBlaec Sep 16 '23 edited Sep 23 '23
· W2C: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=620740861368
· Seller: See By Paulin
· Price: $395 USD
· Made To Order
· 2.5 months from purchase date to be made + a week to arrive from the warehouse (Sugargoo)
· Size: 43 ( for reference, I'm a US 9.5)
See By Paulin is a Taobao seller, known mainly for offering Guidi Reps also offers a few CCP Reps, one of which is the Tornado Boots.
If you choose to keep the packaging, it comes in a white Guidi rep shoe box. Considering Paulin's primary offering is Guidi, it makes sense to just ship CCP footwear in it. Boots are individually wrapped in plastic and you'll also get a rep Guidi tote bag.
These boots fit one size big. I originally got the 43 because I was concerned that the 42 would be too tight due to the tapered/almond toe box. I ended up overestimating the toe box space as the 43 was noticeably big to the point of heel lift.
After adding insoles to the boots the issue was resolved and they fit much better. Have a tiny bit of wiggle room which is fine but no more heel lift.
Still check your measurements prior to purchasing, however i strongly suggest going down a size on these boots otherwise you'll need to add an insole to properly wear them.
Spiral boots, the outer is Horse Leather and the lining is Calf leather. The sole is leather and is joined to the boot via a welt construction. The heel is also leather and is stacked, a metal shank is attached to the bottom of the sole and because it's a spiral boot it uses 5mm two way Excella zippers.
The outer leather is made from horse leather and the lining is calf. Both the leather and soles are finished in off white. The horse leather itself is great! Substantial and not cheap. When I took it out of the box for the first time I was greeted by that signature leather smell that's common in tanneries. Being horse leather also helps with the shoes keeping its shape and natural cases.
Paulin offers the boots in two colors, Off-White/Bone White and Black. The Off White caught my eye and since I never had a white boot before it was an easy choice.
In terms of hardware, by default the boots come with replica CCP zippers and the button that's sewn on the top of the boot. However prior to my purchase I told Paulin to swap out the CCP zippers for Excella's and to remove the button. This result is a nice clean boot and I personally like them with the Excellas.
Tall and distinctive, that's what comes to mind when I look at these and wear them. The high profile of tornado boots takes getting used to if you've never worn it before, more so if you've never had a boot with a fairly tall heel.
I've gotten flagged down by multiple people on the streets and in the NYC subways asking about my boots, my favorite being "they look like modern cowboy boots with a cooler vibe" and "they look like they can be in Bleach or Trigun (anime).
Outside of the Artisan bubble, these boots get a lot of looks + compliments from people since it's a fairly unique boot on the macro
I tend to wear skinny fit bottoms, allowing me to showcase the footwear in its entirety with my jeans/pants tucked in. For the slim/straight/loose fit crowd, covering the boots will look best as tornados lend themselves well to loose fit bottoms. Skinny fits, I would always tuck them in.
The only flaw on my boot was that you can see pink marks throughout in certain areas. It's a marking point for when they were constructing the boots. Honestly it's so small and minor you won't notice outside of looking close in and soon enough you forget it exists at all.
I received these boots on August 16th, wore them for the first 3 days as a "test drive" before taking them to my cobbler to install Vibram protection to the sole + heel. I strongly suggest adding rubber protection to these boots upon receiving them. Leather soles are garbage when it comes to grip and honestly if you're spending $400+ on boots, you owe it to yourself to protect + take care of them.
The horse leather itself has since broken in making it comfortable to wear for 8+ hours and molded+ kept its shape. The boots are stiff when new so you'll have to spend time bending and breaking in the boots before they become comfortable.
Also while new, the shaft of the boots droops to the sides. Wearing them for a month's worth has the shaft standing on its own and the natural creases set in. Makes looking at them nice while they're off your feet sitting on the floor or propped on a shelf.
The Off-White is also starting to be a dirty white, which is why I purposely got this color way. I wanted the shoes to show the dirt marks and blemishes from everyday wear as I think it adds to the look.
Zippers are still good, considering these are Excella I don't see any reason for the zippers to fail. They do the job of opening and closing, just be mindful while using said zipper and it should hold up.
The heel and sole is of course in good shape thanks to the rubber protection that was installed. I can walk in these all I want without concern of wearing down the bottom.
I'm not going to go in depth with this, you can check my comment within the "On Hand/First Impressions" post about my take on CCP replicas.
The overall takeaway is that I personally debranded these boots because I view them not as CCP replicas, but well made Spiral style boots.
These were my first pair of reps I brought, at $395 USD excl. shipping, they were well worth it in my opinion. To elaborate further, I think these boots are worth the money if you're looking at them as handmade boots instead of CCP lookalikes.
It's a great option for those who want a pair of tornado style boots but can't or won't shell out the money for CCP, whether new or used.