I have these boots along with 18 other leather boots and few shoes as well and I keep shoe tree in all of them. It not only absorbs the moisture but also keeps the shape of the shoe
Not in my style wheelhouse, but the boots look great after two years of wear. Build quality should be a top priority no matter the purchase. Thanks Patrick for continuing to pump out content during the Christmas season!
I have this boot in crimson CXL and it is my city/travel/hiking/walking boot - I’ve had them for 5 years and have hundreds of tough miles on them. They were my daily exercise walking boot. They hold up extremely well in rough conditions and they brush up well enough to look semi dressy. Solid boot, for sure. I have CXL boots from Carmina, and the creasing is more like calf leather, on that pair. These are super creasy, but they are inexpensive and I like the look here, although I wouldn’t wear them to a nice steakhouse at this point lol
Hey! Thanks for the cool comment. Five year old GS is awesome! Don't see many folks with that long of a brand history. I looked back at my history, I bought these green ones in September of 2021, but didn't get until Christmas 2021. :) Thanks again for sharing! I haven't tried Carmina yet... maybe in the future!
@@rockymtnstyle oh man, I just checked my purchase history, and I bought these in Feb 2022, after purchasing and loving the blue suede loafer. Embarrassing. All the rest is accurate- mileage (based on hiking trips) and use type. Since then I’ve bought over a dozen GS pairs, but the crimson diesel are still my travel and hiking choice. I wear the Badelasi Carlo veg tan Diesel, and British tan cap toe for neighborhood/daily walking, just to break them in (the British tan is stern AF) and patina, but the CXL pair is the most comfy and versatile, and hard wearing. Cheers!
Mine are so old that I had to resole them twice. They look nothing like this.. thank god. If you send the boots to me I can make them look new again and send them back.😊
Thanks for the update, Patrick. I'm only a couple of months into my first couple of pairs of GS (Ottawa in black and natural CXL), so it's cool to see what mine may look like after a couple of years. I'm glad you brought up the sizing and eventual leather stretch. I was recommended 9.5E by GS after communicating with them on my Thursday and Allen Edmonds sizes. Overall I think the fit is good, but noticed with my preferred thicker socks, both of my pinky toes pinched and rubbed painfully after a few hours of walking. It's been getting better over time, but initially I was worried they weren't going to work. Hearing how yours have stretched out definitely makes me feel better about how they will eventually fit once fully broken in.
Hey, Joseph! Yeah I'd say 100% they'll keep stretching for sure. I've also found if you have different brands of shoe trees (or if not you can try a few brands) they'll offer differing amounts of volume even for the same stated size, so I always put the more bulbous shoe trees in newer boots I want to stretch a bit. Seems to help over time!
Great update, I just got the dune Ottawa boots on Saturday. I’m looking forward to your update on them. I hade a strange problem on sizing, I ordered 9.5D but they were rubbing my toes. But the 10D is so much roomier I’m wearing a thick sock and heel lock lacing them.
Nice!! I figure we are in a rare bunch going for this color first. Ostrich I hope to add to the collection at some point! Maybe not soon, but eventually!
Really great to see the color somewhere other than the website, thanks! Enjoying boots that you have is the main thing😃 I agree with one of the commentators, the vamp breaks probably would not have been as pronounced if you had your correct size. As far as the color, I bet if you asked Horween they would tell you the color can vary from batch to batch even hide to hide. Looking forward to your future updates on this and your Brass boot.
Hey Bob! Thanks for your comment! I think you've all converted me to that conclusion as well. I have my 2nd pair of Diesels in 10D so it will be interesting to see how they age in relation to these 10E Diesels. Spot on with your comments on the coloration. Thanks again!
Nice! I like the longer term review! My Oak Street Bootmakers navy chromexcel camp Mocs are much more blue! Interesting they’re both considered navy chromexcel. I have similar creasing on mine too. I don’t sweat it though. If you don’t want a lot of creasing I think go with a calf or tighter grained leather, but I mean they’re boots! I think they look better beat up and worn. I’m starting to get some teacore effect on mine but like a lighter blue/the brown is coming through.
Hey, Marlena! Glad to hear it! There will be a lot more longer term stuff coming since I've been around a while now! Next up will be One-Year for my first pair of Trumans (79 last) near mid-late January. Yeah - I'm 100% with you. I really don't mind the creasing at all. And since the boots are an oddball color, I actually think the wild creasing suits them! :) If you can, shoot me a pic of your camp mocs! Rockymtnstyle@gmail.com I'd love to see 'em!
My Navy Horween CXL boots are far more blue in hue, perhaps like a dark seafoam? Hard to describe. In some lights they even have a pearl-like iridescence. They are also hitting the 2 year mark. You got some solid creases going, it's interesting to see how different the colour can be comparatively.
It really is! Do you have any pics online anywhere I can see? If not, would love it if you'd be willing to shoot me an email (rockymtnstyle@gmail.com). If not, that's cool. Thanks man!
I suspect the creases would not be as bad if you bought a slightly smaller size. On a side note, I would love to own these if they offered them with a leather sole. The color is nice.
Boots are looking great. I'm surprised there's not more "teacore" showing through after 2 years and all that creasing. I know they are very different, but I'm looking at your boots to sort of see how my Thursday Indigo CXL boots will age once.
Thanks, Adam! Yeah - I think it has to do with the fact that these have been worn way less over 2 years than a normal person would wear a pair, because about 9 months after I got these I started this channel and since then I've been trying to spread my wears around so I can have more content for the channel. Hoping to eventually get them super tea-cored out! I think that would be pretty unique. Good luck on your Thursday Indigos! I would have gone with those over Color 8 if I didn't already have these. Thanks!
sorry if youve answered this elsewhere but I am considering the chelsea boots from grant stone. have you tried those and if not do you still recommend the brand based on your experience with the other boots?
Hi! I have not tried the GS mens Chelsea. However, my wife gas the women's version and it seems very well made just like all of GS's boots. I do still recommend GS. I think they are a great option in the mid-tier of price and if you like the silhouette and leather options for the boot, I say give them a try.
Oh, I don't know how much of that creasing is because too wide, but I imagine that's not the only reason shoe trees are recommended. I'm not a huge fan of the shiny Chrome XL, but I guess it won't matter for a while because I still have four pair of Thurs boots and some others to get through, but I did have the thick socks required issued with Oliver Cabell and Caswell more than others so far.
I didn't watch your Caswell or other vids yet, but so many of these brands have somewhat redundant styles already, as you know, so I've collected a fair portion for now that I think will work...
I guess I am less likely to treat boots like dress shoes, but some pairs I want to "baby" just to see how long they look less like beat up boots or something?
Makes total sense. I'm way less into babying them than I used to be (probably because I have so many pairs) but I agree it's nice to have a few pairs that always look "newer."
Yeah, I hadn't considered the extra width being a contributor to the creasing. Definitely seems plausible. Shoe trees did nothing for these, really. I had trees in them for a long time and this still happened, so I quit worrying about putting them in and kept them in other boots that are still looking newer. In a perfect world I'd have 26 properly sized trees... but alas, I do not! :)
These boots look awesome after 2 years of use! I do warehouse work so these look like a pair of boots I could rock! How is the comfort on them after 2 years?
The comfort is outstanding. Like I mentioned, got them 10e instead of 10d but wearing thicker socks (I prefer camel city mill heavyweight) makes them really good actually. 👍👍
I have 26 pairs of boots I've acquired in the last 2+ years to feature on the channel as best I can. I can't wear them all a ton. I probably have 70 wears on these if I had to guess. I did mention in the video I didn't wear them anywhere close to daily.
@@rockymtnstyle I’d suggest wearing them. Show everyone some real wear and tear. This is great content but missing that real authentic feeling. Not a dig, just hard to get a good feel for how these boots will hold up, thanks for the info too.
I wish I could wear everything all the time. And I don't take it as a dig, so don't sweat it. For me it's a balance of acquiring new things and wearing them enough to have an opinion (say 10-15 times) and wearing the same stuff over and over to have a long-term opinion. It's a balancing act and I may not get both right... but I'm still trying to figure out my optimal mix of stuff that the audience wants and that I enjoy making. I think I will be leaning more into the long-term stuff now that I actually can do it. Last year when I first started the channel I coudln't even do long-term. Now I can! Thanks for the suggestions and comments.
Perhaps! But I'll be honest, I really actually like how these look. Maybe I'm crazy! I think the weird color makes it OK to me. If these were brown it would probably bug me a lot. Thx for the comment.
The lines are called loose grain and is a sign that the leather is not the best chrome excel. Grant stone is really bad at leather selection. All of my chrome excel from them have loose grain. Their leather clicking is not good at all. They use everything, the bad parts good parts dont matter.
Hmmm. Good to know. Makes sense now. I had the same deep creases on my thorogood beloit boots. They were horween black cxl leather but the leather was very thin. After a while they didn't look good hence why thorogood's 1892 line haulted production.
Completely different experience for me. I have ten plus pairs of GS and all of them bar none have superb CXL clicking. In fact in my experience GS has among the best CXL clicking in the business.
Hey Mark! Appreciate the post. I've seen so many different things called loose grain I've never actually been fully sure what is and what isn't. I guess it makes sense as my other old pair of cxl boots (natural from Thursday) don't exhibit nearly the lining/creasing as these. A lot of folks commenting they look bad, and I'm actually OK with it! I wouldn't want every pair of boots I own to age like this but I think the weird color and the weird leather actually kind of fit each other. 👍 Thx again bro!
I have these boots along with 18 other leather boots and few shoes as well and I keep shoe tree in all of them. It not only absorbs the moisture but also keeps the shape of the shoe
Good deal! Didn't work for these ones. ;) I keep a tree in most of mine, too.
Not in my style wheelhouse, but the boots look great after two years of wear. Build quality should be a top priority no matter the purchase. Thanks Patrick for continuing to pump out content during the Christmas season!
I figured that's true with many! They definitely get a lot of attention. And no prob! I'm taking a few days off work so I got a little time! 😎
I have this boot in crimson CXL and it is my city/travel/hiking/walking boot - I’ve had them for 5 years and have hundreds of tough miles on them. They were my daily exercise walking boot. They hold up extremely well in rough conditions and they brush up well enough to look semi dressy. Solid boot, for sure.
I have CXL boots from Carmina, and the creasing is more like calf leather, on that pair. These are super creasy, but they are inexpensive and I like the look here, although I wouldn’t wear them to a nice steakhouse at this point lol
Hey! Thanks for the cool comment. Five year old GS is awesome! Don't see many folks with that long of a brand history. I looked back at my history, I bought these green ones in September of 2021, but didn't get until Christmas 2021. :) Thanks again for sharing! I haven't tried Carmina yet... maybe in the future!
@@rockymtnstyle oh man, I just checked my purchase history, and I bought these in Feb 2022, after purchasing and loving the blue suede loafer. Embarrassing. All the rest is accurate- mileage (based on hiking trips) and use type. Since then I’ve bought over a dozen GS pairs, but the crimson diesel are still my travel and hiking choice. I wear the Badelasi Carlo veg tan Diesel, and British tan cap toe for neighborhood/daily walking, just to break them in (the British tan is stern AF) and patina, but the CXL pair is the most comfy and versatile, and hard wearing.
Cheers!
Mine are so old that I had to resole them twice. They look nothing like this.. thank god. If you send the boots to me I can make them look new again and send them back.😊
Shoot me a pic if you don't mind. Interested to see. Rockymtnstyle@gmail.com
Update videos are where it’s at, thanks for the upload.
Yessir! Plan on a lot more long-term updates as my fleet of boots age!
Thanks for the update, Patrick. I'm only a couple of months into my first couple of pairs of GS (Ottawa in black and natural CXL), so it's cool to see what mine may look like after a couple of years. I'm glad you brought up the sizing and eventual leather stretch. I was recommended 9.5E by GS after communicating with them on my Thursday and Allen Edmonds sizes. Overall I think the fit is good, but noticed with my preferred thicker socks, both of my pinky toes pinched and rubbed painfully after a few hours of walking. It's been getting better over time, but initially I was worried they weren't going to work. Hearing how yours have stretched out definitely makes me feel better about how they will eventually fit once fully broken in.
Hey, Joseph! Yeah I'd say 100% they'll keep stretching for sure. I've also found if you have different brands of shoe trees (or if not you can try a few brands) they'll offer differing amounts of volume even for the same stated size, so I always put the more bulbous shoe trees in newer boots I want to stretch a bit. Seems to help over time!
Good call. I’ve got a bunch of different shoe trees, so I’ll give that a shot.
Great update, I just got the dune Ottawa boots on Saturday. I’m looking forward to your update on them. I hade a strange problem on sizing, I ordered 9.5D but they were rubbing my toes. But the 10D is so much roomier I’m wearing a thick sock and heel lock lacing them.
Thank you! Hopefully when yours get fullly broken in they will be perfect for you!
These also my first pair of Grant Stone boots and I’ve very happy them. I just got there Tobacco Ostrich and they are extremely comfortable.
Nice!! I figure we are in a rare bunch going for this color first. Ostrich I hope to add to the collection at some point! Maybe not soon, but eventually!
Really great to see the color somewhere other than the website, thanks! Enjoying boots that you have is the main thing😃 I agree with one of the commentators, the vamp breaks probably would not have been as pronounced if you had your correct size. As far as the color, I bet if you asked Horween they would tell you the color can vary from batch to batch even hide to hide. Looking forward to your future updates on this and your Brass boot.
Hey Bob! Thanks for your comment! I think you've all converted me to that conclusion as well. I have my 2nd pair of Diesels in 10D so it will be interesting to see how they age in relation to these 10E Diesels. Spot on with your comments on the coloration. Thanks again!
💪Great looking pair of boots aged very well💪
Thanks brother! Appreciate you saying so.
Nice! I like the longer term review! My Oak Street Bootmakers navy chromexcel camp Mocs are much more blue! Interesting they’re both considered navy chromexcel. I have similar creasing on mine too. I don’t sweat it though. If you don’t want a lot of creasing I think go with a calf or tighter grained leather, but I mean they’re boots! I think they look better beat up and worn. I’m starting to get some teacore effect on mine but like a lighter blue/the brown is coming through.
Oh and Happy Holidays to you and your family! Merry Christmas if you celebrate it!
Hey, Marlena! Glad to hear it! There will be a lot more longer term stuff coming since I've been around a while now! Next up will be One-Year for my first pair of Trumans (79 last) near mid-late January. Yeah - I'm 100% with you. I really don't mind the creasing at all. And since the boots are an oddball color, I actually think the wild creasing suits them! :) If you can, shoot me a pic of your camp mocs! Rockymtnstyle@gmail.com I'd love to see 'em!
And same right back to you! We do celebrate. It was a good time for us and the fam! Kids were crazy as usual. ;)
These are going to be my next pair of boots for sure
Nice!! You won't regret it. I certainly don't.
good to see you back. iono why but it feels like forever since you posted lol
Ha! Thanks! Although I have posted 10 vids in the last month... 👍😎
Great boots and they aged with beautiful patina. I have 4 Grand Stone boots and love them all. Thank you for the video.
Thank you for the kind words! GS is good stuff! GS. Good. Stuff. Hah! I didn't even plan that. Cheers, mate!
My Navy Horween CXL boots are far more blue in hue, perhaps like a dark seafoam? Hard to describe. In some lights they even have a pearl-like iridescence. They are also hitting the 2 year mark. You got some solid creases going, it's interesting to see how different the colour can be comparatively.
It really is! Do you have any pics online anywhere I can see? If not, would love it if you'd be willing to shoot me an email (rockymtnstyle@gmail.com). If not, that's cool. Thanks man!
I suspect the creases would not be as bad if you bought a slightly smaller size. On a side note, I would love to own these if they offered them with a leather sole. The color is nice.
You definitely could be right. And I hadn't thought of it but I agree, this would be legit with leather soles!!
I just got a pair of Diesels in Crimson and Ottawas in Dune. just starting to break them. Thanks for the video on what to expect.
Sure thing, Jeff! And great pickups for sure. Love the Crimson and have the Ottawas in Dune too! Wonderful boot.
Boots are looking great. I'm surprised there's not more "teacore" showing through after 2 years and all that creasing. I know they are very different, but I'm looking at your boots to sort of see how my Thursday Indigo CXL boots will age once.
Thanks, Adam! Yeah - I think it has to do with the fact that these have been worn way less over 2 years than a normal person would wear a pair, because about 9 months after I got these I started this channel and since then I've been trying to spread my wears around so I can have more content for the channel. Hoping to eventually get them super tea-cored out! I think that would be pretty unique. Good luck on your Thursday Indigos! I would have gone with those over Color 8 if I didn't already have these. Thanks!
Awesome boots. It's my personal opinion, but I'm not totally a fan of how chromexcel ages - those creases on the vamp are not attractive.
I can see that... For me, I like variety and these are the only boots I have quite like this so im OK with it! Thx for the comment!
@@rockymtnstyle Makes total sense, and that's all that matters. Rock on!
Those look awesome and are aging gracefully 🎉🎉
Thx brother! They are a fun pair for sure.
sorry if youve answered this elsewhere but I am considering the chelsea boots from grant stone. have you tried those and if not do you still recommend the brand based on your experience with the other boots?
Hi! I have not tried the GS mens Chelsea. However, my wife gas the women's version and it seems very well made just like all of GS's boots. I do still recommend GS. I think they are a great option in the mid-tier of price and if you like the silhouette and leather options for the boot, I say give them a try.
Oh, I don't know how much of that creasing is because too wide, but I imagine that's not the only reason shoe trees are recommended. I'm not a huge fan of the shiny Chrome XL, but I guess it won't matter for a while because I still have four pair of Thurs boots and some others to get through, but I did have the thick socks required issued with Oliver Cabell and Caswell more than others so far.
I didn't watch your Caswell or other vids yet, but so many of these brands have somewhat redundant styles already, as you know, so I've collected a fair portion for now that I think will work...
I guess I am less likely to treat boots like dress shoes, but some pairs I want to "baby" just to see how long they look less like beat up boots or something?
Makes total sense. I'm way less into babying them than I used to be (probably because I have so many pairs) but I agree it's nice to have a few pairs that always look "newer."
Yeah, I hadn't considered the extra width being a contributor to the creasing. Definitely seems plausible. Shoe trees did nothing for these, really. I had trees in them for a long time and this still happened, so I quit worrying about putting them in and kept them in other boots that are still looking newer. In a perfect world I'd have 26 properly sized trees... but alas, I do not! :)
These boots look awesome after 2 years of use! I do warehouse work so these look like a pair of boots I could rock! How is the comfort on them after 2 years?
The comfort is outstanding. Like I mentioned, got them 10e instead of 10d but wearing thicker socks (I prefer camel city mill heavyweight) makes them really good actually. 👍👍
they creased so i didn’t use shoe trees 😂 bro what are you reviewing boots for
Not what I said.
Do you really even wear them? 2 years they should be more wore in then that
I have 26 pairs of boots I've acquired in the last 2+ years to feature on the channel as best I can. I can't wear them all a ton. I probably have 70 wears on these if I had to guess. I did mention in the video I didn't wear them anywhere close to daily.
@@rockymtnstyle I’d suggest wearing them. Show everyone some real wear and tear. This is great content but missing that real authentic feeling. Not a dig, just hard to get a good feel for how these boots will hold up, thanks for the info too.
I wish I could wear everything all the time. And I don't take it as a dig, so don't sweat it. For me it's a balance of acquiring new things and wearing them enough to have an opinion (say 10-15 times) and wearing the same stuff over and over to have a long-term opinion. It's a balancing act and I may not get both right... but I'm still trying to figure out my optimal mix of stuff that the audience wants and that I enjoy making. I think I will be leaning more into the long-term stuff now that I actually can do it. Last year when I first started the channel I coudln't even do long-term. Now I can! Thanks for the suggestions and comments.
@@rockymtnstyleoutstanding I look forward to seeing that
My boy lost the cxl lottery
Perhaps! But I'll be honest, I really actually like how these look. Maybe I'm crazy! I think the weird color makes it OK to me. If these were brown it would probably bug me a lot. Thx for the comment.
The lines are called loose grain and is a sign that the leather is not the best chrome excel. Grant stone is really bad at leather selection. All of my chrome excel from them have loose grain. Their leather clicking is not good at all. They use everything, the bad parts good parts dont matter.
Hmmm. Good to know. Makes sense now. I had the same deep creases on my thorogood beloit boots. They were horween black cxl leather but the leather was very thin. After a while they didn't look good hence why thorogood's 1892 line haulted production.
Completely different experience for me. I have ten plus pairs of GS and all of them bar none have superb CXL clicking. In fact in my experience GS has among the best CXL clicking in the business.
Hey Mark! Appreciate the post. I've seen so many different things called loose grain I've never actually been fully sure what is and what isn't. I guess it makes sense as my other old pair of cxl boots (natural from Thursday) don't exhibit nearly the lining/creasing as these. A lot of folks commenting they look bad, and I'm actually OK with it! I wouldn't want every pair of boots I own to age like this but I think the weird color and the weird leather actually kind of fit each other. 👍 Thx again bro!
They are made in China, guess they ate the cow and used the scraps 😂
@@spursdynasty7378 what do you think happens to the rest of the cow from American made boots? 🤔