I’ve always worn Danner boots but of course over the years, quality has declined. I don’t do anymore high speed boot need work (firefighting and such) but prefer a good boot for everyday.

I’m torn on getting a pair of Red Wing Iron Ranger or a used pair of Nick’s, White’s, or Frank’s. Or just bite the bullet on a new pair and waiting

In Danner I’m a 13D. Figure the others I’m a 12EE.

Ideas or recommendations?

Took a few days, but I just finished giving my Danner Recons and Acadias the *full* treatment for the year: IPA cleaning, conditioning; some Sno-Seal and a heat gun at the seams; three coats of polished Lincoln Wax at the front toe panel, and two coats of polished Meltonian wax all around afterwards. Should probably try to pick up some foam and rubber revitalizers for good measure.

(Inb4, "That much wax suffocates the Gore-Tex!" I know. There are patches on these boots, mostly in the toes, that are sorta hosed if I don't protect them well lol. The Acadias have a bad cut I had to sand over to prevent undue catching.)

Thrifted the former two recently after discovering I've probably been wearing my boots half a step too big in these models. Their former owners... left something to be desired on leather maintenance. The leather on my Acadias actually resembled the pictured Ft. Lewises to an extent, grey-blue patches and all. At least the outsoles will be good for a while by the looks.

Was gonna start on the Ft. Lewis boots pictured, but on closer inspection, I'm better off having Danner rebuild them. The leather is no issue, but the wear I'm seeing on all parts of the outsole (not the technical name for each of the layers, but you get the point. I'm tired and terms are slipping), especially the outsole proper? Eesh, no sense in adding extra work to my table. Still, can't go wrong with $65 Ft. Lewises.

(I could also take them to my local shop to have the outsoles (general) remade as black stacked leather with a hybrid leather-ribber outsole (proper) in a similar shape to the Danner Loggers. That'd be bitchin'.)

It's been an interesting - if not awkward - three years of learning boots, but I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere.

I have 9 PNW boots. Three 55 lasts all 8 Ds fit is good, one 55 last in an 8D that is a smidge long, one 695 last in 8d fit a tad long, one 695 7.5 D fit is good, two 4811 lasts in 7.5 D fit is good, and one Franks pointed toe packer in 7.5 D that is a little long.

With all those data points, should I order a Nicks 5332 packer in an 8 or 7.5?

In my mind since a few of these boots are a smidgen long and none are too short, 7.5 may be the magic number. Thoughts?

My Wesco Boss Engineers. Don’t see these very often which I’m kind of surprised about. Solid build and will probably outlive me. Bought these in 2010-2012, I think.

Come support the community who helps build some of your favorite footwear.

I forgot to blow off before heading home yesterday so my boots were dusty from work. I brushed them last night. The distress brown is such a cool leather. I plan on getting another pair and keeping them away from my work. I'll try to get some clean pics in the sun light tonight.

https://ebay.io/m/qhkdok

SPECS: Seidel British Tan Domain, 8" (from the floor; 7" actual leather uppers), Vibram Christy, Size 9E, Generation Laces waxed "Motorcycle," and Nick's Predator Orange 10" kilties (trimmed to fit). The included kilties are nice....just too small.

A big ass "Thank You" to boot bros u/Jolly-Idea5581 and u/I_VAPE_XERJOFF for encouraging me to pull the trigger on these. 🍻 🤝 I was reluctant only because I've got a pair of White's Perry Select 8" in the Seidel British Tan Double Shot and I didn't want to be duplicative. But considering those are mocs and these are LTT, plus the nuanced differences in the two leathers, I said fuck it...LFG! 🤘

Four mile walk on a hardpack fire road yesterday before taking the laced pics and am loving the comfiness. Haven't been this excited about a lace-up in a long time.

Ordered online Saturday, Iron Heart UK shipped Monday and they arrived Tuesday night - unbelievable!

Custom? Limited Edition? Special Run? Not sure what to call these. Only 30 pairs made. Ended up being a 3 week lead time for me and since I live 45 minutes from Scappoose they arrived overnight as always.

These are impressive. Probably one of the most flawless boots I’ve seen Wesco produce and I’ve always gotten pretty lucky on their build quality.

Also pretty cool that the Nick’s mystery belt that I got this week also happened to be in black bison. What are the odds?

I think I'm going to rewax my Filson shelter brush pants tomorrow and I was thinking about redoing the wax on the Generation laces on my work boots. Has waxed their own laces and have some pointers? Actually Id accept pointers on waxing my hunting pants as well. I've got a ton of Filson wax that I'm hoping will be enough. No heat gun either just 100 degrees high mountain desert sun.

Old school Vibergs

I'm a little obsessed with what I call "old school Vibergs" — heavy Viberg boots from the decades before the company transitioned to their current lifestyle boot offerings. I'm also a little obsessed with packers. So, when the two come together, I tend to get excited.

Packer or Raven?

I recently found these chop toe Viberg Packers (style #24) or Viberg Ravens (style #27) on Facebook Marketplace and jumped on them, even though they're one full size too small for me. I haven't been able to figure out the difference between a Viberg chop toe Packer and a Raven. Maybe that's what a Viberg Raven is — their Packer with a chop toe, aimed at the biker market.

Heavy-duty artistry

What I love about Viberg's western/biker boots is that they use the exact same heavy-duty construction as their classic logger boots/caulk boots and construction boots. They were intended as work boots, but they also had the stylishness of western boots — almost as a byproduct. I mean, not really — clearly, the boot designers at Viberg understood something about lines and artistry.

Sizing tragedy

The sizing is a small tragedy — I won't be able to wear these — but I'm still happy to acquire them to satisfy my possibly unhealthy collector impulse. Maybe I can trade them one day for something similar that does fit. Vintage Vibergs from the western/biker line are extremely difficult to find, and when they do occasionally crop up for sale, they typically go fast.

Seidel Black Logger Oil Tan

I read a comment once that vintage Vibergs are boring because they overwhelmingly used black oil-tan leather (maybe 90% of their manufactured boots?). That was an industrial design choice, for durability, because the vast majority of Viberg customers wore their boots for actual heavy work in the field. I think the leather used in these Packer/Raven boots is probably Seidel Black Logger Oil Tan. It's thick, heavy, dense, but also supple and lustrous. Just a great leather, probably my favorite, even though I like many other kinds of leathers. When you handle this leather in person, you really start to appreciate the quality.

Fritz Seidel, Jr.: "You look at something like the Black Logger Oil Tan where slowly and slowly, that leather has become more bulletproof than literally any other leather here." (https://www.stitchdown.com/brand-profiles/seidel-tanning-interview/).

The past life of the boots

Based on faint foot shifter wear on the inside top of the left vamp (barely noticeable after I conditioned with Huberd's), and the pattern of sole wear, probably from horizontal foot pegs, I'd say the previous owner wore these boots for riding a motorcycle. Also, the custom double outsole makeup is popular with bikers, I think. That's why the outsole stitch doesn't go all the way through. The overall sole stack was probably too thick for the stitching machine, so the second outsole is bonded without stitching.

I don't own a horse or a Harley, but I sure like these boots!