Have We Reached Peak Boot? A Discussion on the Continued Rise in Popularity of Well Made Boots
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ค. 2024
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The more I spend and wait the more I appreciate mid tier brands like Red Wing, GS etc.
Yes, 100%! I value my used Merchants as much as my pair from NF. Nice to have a variety.
Yes, doesn’t always have to be hand lasted/welted. Machines save a lot of time.
Every time I get nicer stuff I think about how I could buy 2-4 pair of Grant Stones for the same money. Definitely cooled off my boot and shoe buying.
The bottom WILL fall out. The people who get newly exposed to quality boots will buy one, two, or three boots probably then be done. Even people with the "collector gene" will slow down because at some point there's only so much space, so many different styles, and so many different leathers you can have before every new boot will be redundant.
lol tell that to the edhblvd guy on here. He’s purchased like 6 brown nicks prospectors.
As someone who is a part of a different side of clothing being Avant-garde designer stuff, it's interesting to see even in my scene a lot more people are into avant garde style footwear now too. A lot of it is made in these old school ways that adds to the appeal.
I'm also currently trying to learn boot making here in Australia but it's very hard to come by the skill set here only one or two people do it here.
Great video Jake & I concur. It's just mind blowing how the boot world is exploding. I wish that I could support all these new up & coming handmade bootmakers, but I'm running out of room over here! Ha. Thanks, when watching you I feel like I'm hanging out talking to my friend about our common interests.
I'm up to 306 days waiting on a pair from Sagara, 161 days waiting on a pair from Fortis. It's crazy how many orders the bootmakers are taking at this point. I've wondered myself if this "boot" thing will level off.
For me Grant Stone is about as good as I need. I’ve got really wide feet and I know they fit. I do want a pair of their Shell cordovan Edward boots though. I think the explosion of people buying well made boots is because they’re getting tired of more consumer known brands charging more and more for disposable goods whose quality is getting worse and worse.
I've had three pair of their shell boots and they are a STEAL. The quality, in my opinion, has only gotten better as they've grown. My most recent boots from them were the best ones I've had.
As someone who started my boot journey last year, I must say, this is such a great time to join the hobby. The community is growing and boots are still attainable. But soon, lead times will be far too long, and inflation will price boots too high.
I agree. We can’t go much higher from here. There are so so so many amazing makers doing different as well as similar things. Prices are everywhere. What a time to be alive.
I love this boom. I like hefty quality stuff. I’m hoping it brings me new business as I learn how to make more!
Keep up the good work. Maybe make a video on the different leather options out there. I'm curious to see more content on brown waxed flesh specifically. I think it makes for a high quality yet casual appearance.
I started leatherworking a bit and now the price for the higher end brands like Viberg seem far more reasonable to me now 😂. Incredible amount of time and effort put into making leather goods.
Perhaps also a shift in consumer culture, I own much less but better things. The journey has been expensive no doubt, with sizing and other type of mistakes along the way.
I think because it is primal, a man puts on a nice pair of boots, and theres nothing like they've ever felt before and they are hooked.
Thanks Jake! I’m keeping it at two pair for now, both local. Did have Whites and Viberg years ago, but am happy with the qc on my current pairs that are about 1/4 the price.
I welcome the competition. The more brands the better. It might even help some of the wait times. I’ve been collecting boots since 2001 and the amount of brands you have now in comparison to back then is astounding. One thing I hardly do is order anything MTO or bespoke. I get most of my boots off the rack so there’s zero wait time. If I want to customize it later, that’s later.
I hope the orders keep coming for all the brands, even the ones with growing pains. I started working part time at a local shoe repair shop with hopes to bridge my leathercraft into shoemaking, so it would be nice if there is still the same enthusiasm in the industry down the road to share with everyone.
I think most boots are similar. Now it is all about the aesthetics and comfort. Like with high end dress shoes. Imagine an Alden indie with superb materials, looks, workmanship and provides super comfort with it's orthopedic lasts.
One of the most impressive low end makers is Meermin. With new line they even upgraded materials for almost the same price
I have a pair from them in shinki shell that I will be wearing for the next thunderdome and I'm really looking forward to them.
@@StarWarriorMusic wow, are those they're last run of work boots?
I bought a pair of Wesco Mr. Lou’s from S&S about two years ago and they were in stock. I didn’t realize there was a wait now.
I have had good luck with Indonesian craftsmen, having bought two pairs from Sagara that each took about 6 months. My latest order is from Imperium and I paid $615 for a pair of black Shinki Ropers. Kevin, who is super easy to work with, told me the wait time is 2-4 months.
I definitely think you’ve contributed to my love for boots and leather jackets. I think your influence is a big reason a lot of brands blew up and continue to. You’re doing awesome things for little brands! Keep it up! 👍🏻
I got into the boot journey my freshman year of college with a pair of Thursdays. I’ve then since given away my second pair of Thursdays but I still have my first pair for sentimental reasons. I’ve sold my Parkhurst boots due to sizing issues and my Grant stone kangaroo boots also due to sizing issues. As of now I have a pair of Grant stone Chelsea’s, a pair of GS diesels, and pair of 875s, a pair of Nicks Officer boots, and a pair of Whites MP boot coming in sometime next month. I’ve been seeing the super high end Japanese boots but they’ve always been out of my budget. I’ve been wanting a pair of engineers but the wait time is crazy for all makers and the price is really high. As of right now, my grail boot is a pair of Rolling Dub Trio Griffin Casper boots. It’s a different version of their Casper boot and it’s absolutely perfection. Doubt I’ll be getting a pair anytime soon though given that I think it was a limited edition model. Boot collecting has definitely been a marathon not a sprint for me.
It’s pretty cool that it’s no longer a trend in our community this has just been going on the rise for years and years now and yeah doesn’t look like it’s going to start. I think a great topic to hit on is who started the rise of the popularization of well made boots? Who was the entry point to people going on the hunt to high end boots?
I have definitely noticed the lack of supply but it hasn't affected me, probably due to luck and timing. Two years ago I purchased a pair of Lofgren Engineers but they proved to be a poor fit for me. Looking for a pair with a lower instep was initially a challenge; Wesco, Clinch, and Attractions are currently unattainable. However East West got in a huge shipment of Zerrows over the last couple of months. Zerrows' flat toe last has been an ideal fit for me. I have been very happy with the quality of the construction. Like I said luck and timing is the reason I've been able to get the boot I want.
I just came from the hobby of 'High End Vaping' and our bubble did burst... like a year ago..
Mods made in small batches of rare, expensive materials... costing up to $1k... accessories like mouth pieces.. (drip tips) cost $100... well..., mods that were once selling for 800... you can't even get 200 for now.. recession, inflation, etc.. hit hard... and its causing the whole scene to die out... i even do reviews for these products.. its quite sad.. also, China crept in,, and made 'clones' of all these limited European and US made atomizers.. that seemingly look the same.., which jacked everything up as well.. plus the politics of vaping in the last few years.. its been bad.. but boots.. you KNOW where its coming from.. and you KNOW the quality very well.. its easier to trust and rely upon.. we've had brands go de-funct and rip people off for all their money even.. def a bad look for expensive vape stuff
I think it's a drive for quality. I see it in every aspect of the apparel industry. People are buying fast fashion or designing brands. They're buying vintage or modern boutique brands like Imogene&Willie, Freenote, 3sixteen, RRL, etc... This translates to boots. It starts with Red Wing, and you know the rest of that story. It will calm down once Tik Tok, Instagram and TH-cam says so.
I do think that your video is on point. There is a bit of lunacy mixed in with market economics in the trendy boot market. I also think that Social Platforms influencers/ reviewers like you and so many others are key drivers for the frenzy machine (good and bad and inevitable) in this era of online retail advertisement and hyper-consumerism (specialty shoes and boots, fashion clothing, wearable acccesories, personal electronics, etc, etc., etc). I had been looking to buy a pair of Clinch judhpur boots but found it impossible to find any in stock in any of the Brass-Tokio US or European dealers as they would usually be sold out from the moment the stock would be released so I went the used boot route and finally got lucky a few weeks ago finding my size boots in nearly a brand new state in Grailed for a 39% reduction in price….. That is the reality of our time.
I started my boot journey in November... because of stupid Doc Martens..lol.. and Rose Anvil..
now I have every PNW brand.. and multiples of some.. (expect Franks yet) have Viberg, etc.. looking into the Indo brands now.. but the extra fancy stuff like Clinch, FP, WK, and Role Club, etc.. im just not gonna be doing that.. hah,, too much time and money to invest.., and so, I did just buy brand new Mr. Lou's yesterday ,, that were in stock.. horsehide and all.. can't wait! you got me into engineers heavy
It’s great to see this much support for small bootmakers but at a certain price point and wait time, I need to bow out. Price increases do not keep up with wage increases, at least not in my case 😅 It would be nice if it is actually a sign that fast fashion is in decline but I doubt it. Most people don’t consider even paying 200$ for a pair of boots. And the adagio buy better buy less isn’t really honoured with the boot aficionados, I’m guilty to that as well 🤣
I see some connections with the ultra running scene. The sport continues to grow and races are becoming way more difficult to get into. Years long batters to get into some, lotteries for many etc. Causes a lot of introspection and opportunity for smaller mom and pop race orgs to flourish much like these smaller boot makers.
The $2000 custom made boot market may fall out but reasonably priced brands like Nicks will continue to get more popular and see even longer lead times.
I hope that this will save the local cobblers from closing there doors because they can't make a good living Right now where i live there are zero good cobblers and I have to drive 2 hours or mail my boots to have them worked on . I hope the desire keeps going
With the Yen in a currency depreciation, Japanese makers are paying more for materials and are likely raising prices to sustain previous profit margins. We're going to see this with all of the Japanese makers, no matter their scale. That said, all of the makers you're particularly fond of are worth every dime.
I have 19 pairs of boots at this point, I will buy one more boot for an even 20 and it will probably be a high end engineer boot (role club) or maybe a Russell moccasin. I have more boots than I need for the rest of my life. At this point, I will turn to other hobbies such a denim and maybe a few cool jackets. Not a big fan of PNW boots(brought a pair of drews logger), too heavy for me, prefer lighter boots. Truman's are the heaviest I will go, they struck a nice balance between weight, leather thickness and price. Grant Stones are my favorite all around casual boot, they were the company that got me into boots as well as Redwings (2022). Eventually there will be market saturation and then the boot market will cool down (it will probably be caused by a serious recession). But people will eventually buy boots again and the market will eventually pick up, everyone that sees a well made boots will be moved to own one. I am starting to show my older brother the difference in quality boots and I sure he may pick up a few pairs. Big fan of Redwings, can't wait to customize my 875 Moc toes and Iron Rangers. I think that if I want custom boots, I'll do it when I have to resole them. All my boots are pretty comfortable and they get more comfortable as I break them in.
the peak is still a few years away i think. I think that as the market expands more people will come but part of the allure is the "buy less, buy better" mentality, and this makes it so eventually there will be less customers. It's also important to remember that some of the hype going on right now is a fad. There will be loads of people who are on the fad train for a couple years then move on. This won't make the market disappear but it will make the market pull back, just like in loads of other parts of the world. You make a good point of bringing up video games, many studios are starting to cut back because overall, the market is starting to move away from certain styles of games. WoW is a great example of the biggest game ever that is a shadow of it's former self as people moved on to other games or stopped playing due to just moving on from games in general. Eventually, the same will happen to the boot market.
Not exactly on the topic but, when did the change from an actual boot for engineers designed in the 1930s with reinforced toe cap to a way more casual boot that you see from some makers now?
While the Lofgrens still have a shape reminiscent of engineers, Clinch and others have a substantially more dressy look to them.
They are copying the 1930/40s engineer boots. The steel-toe engineer boots emerged in the 1950/60s.
How do R.M.Williams Australia rate by your reconing?
Not reached peak boot yet, but the market is definitely finding its feet.
In my opinion we haven't seen peak yet, if anything I think we're super close to something new. Now what that is? I have no clue but I just have a feeling we're going to get more "Mid-tier" priced boots. So instead of having 200 -300 price versus 600 - 2,0000 (or more) priced boots, I believe we'll get more of a pricing variety soon. Also there might be more leather options for lower end brands depending on how things go and if there's another boom of interest in boots. However like I said just my opinion and not anything close to fact lmao.
as someone who doesn’t know how to discern the quality of all these boots, what would you recommend for a hard labor boot? going to start a construction/plumbing job in a couple months so just trying to prepare for that
Red Wing 2233
When will the boot bubble burst?
there has to be a correction soon for the wait times. one year on a pair of Nicks and their is still no end in sight. it feels like im done with mto. been collecting rios of mercedes and fengolio boots, so many different options and styles, some hidden in obscure places.
If the wait is longer than a year, you don't make boots for me. I like Nick's, their lead times are reasonable and have a decent balance of quality and price, but im also not afraid of a wonky stitch every non and then
Its the internet bro. The internet has wrecked everything.
In some ways yes
This because of TH-cam…..you guys are creating hype.
Would you say covid made the boom?
just like the sneaker craze! thing have to slow down , who out there is buying these 5,6,7 hundred or more dollar boots? and why do you find them on ebay in almost new condition, soon after their bought? you can only style and do a video so many times,its not that these boot look all that different from brand to brand either, cost stops me from owning them ,retired guys can't afford em, but that's ok i still have my basic issue army combat boots from june of 1969 and only waited 17 years to get them hahaa. the new boots are sharp love to own a few pair,but i like to eat and pay bills too.What do all you boot guys do for a living?
I my opinion we are no where near the top these boot makers are going to keep popping up and orders are going to keep coming in. It’s not even close.
The jacket looks utterly ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing cool or flattering about that set up. Sorry for my opinion but wow, that is really awful.