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Magnoli Adventure Boots - Krunch's Review

Captain Krunch

Familiar Face
Messages
85
Location
Virginia/WDC
Today I received my Magnoli Clothiers Adventure boots (Alden/Indy clones), which I had ordered during his recent $220 a pair sale. I ordered on May 12th, so it was only a three-week turnaround. As a made-to-measure shoe, I followed the measuring instructions as provided on Magnoli's site, and had no problems with any of it (Although I must admit feeling foolish making a tracing of my foot and emailing it to him).

I already had a pair of Aldens which I purchased about 6 years ago, during their "pumpkin orange" phase (Which have darkened to a more acceptable color by the use of Pecard's brown-tinted leather dressing), so I was confident knowing what type of shoe I would be getting. Since I already had the Aldens, I passed on getting the "saddle" color, which would otherwise have been my first choice, and got the "mahogany" ones.

Out of the box, the shoes I got are the color I expected, and they match up well to the color as shown on his site. They have a slight purple hue to them, but you have to be right on top of them to see it. My photos below don't show this purple hue at all.

The leather is very soft and comfortable, and is much softer than the leather on my Aldens. I actually prefer the softer leather - but then, I intend to wear these more as dress or casual boots, not as work or hiking boots. FYI, my Aldens are 1 lb 14.5 oz, while the Magnoli's are slightly lighter at 1 lb, 11.25 oz.

I was very apprehensive putting them on, as I was afraid how well these made-to-measure shoes would fit, but I am very happy with them - they definitely do fit me like a glove! There's plenty of wiggle-room for the toes, and as I said before, very soft leather. But what I appreciate most of all is the fit over my instep. As you can see in the photos below, my Aldens are laced tight over my instep, yet there's still a large gap between the eyelets. But on the Magnoli boots, the eyelets are right next too each other, yet the laces aren't very tight, so there's less pressure on the instep, thus a more comfortable fit (This close lacing should also help the sliding tongue problem which I had on my Aldens. You can see the fix I had to make on one of my shoes to prevent the tongue from moving to the side). It's clear to me that made-to-measure shoes are the way to go.

The bottom line: I am *very* happy with these boots, and I'm looking forward to wearing them out and putting them through their paces. And I have no doubt that I'll be ordering some more Adventure Boots from Indy Magnoli sometime down the line. And thanks, Indy Magnoli, for offering these boots in the first place; it's very much appreciated!

Here are the photos:

1) Alden & Magnoli, taken outside:


2) Alden & Magnoli, taken outside:


3) Alden & Magnoli, taken inside:


4) Alden, taken inside. Note width between leather/eyelets, as well as poor-man's fix to tongue problem to shoe on left:


5) Magnoli, taken inside. Leather/eyelets close together, fitting perfectly over my instep:
 

Flitcraft

One Too Many
Messages
1,037
Mr. Magnoli is defintely establishing a great reputation with his products!
Its great to see him doing so well!
 

Captain Krunch

Familiar Face
Messages
85
Location
Virginia/WDC
I just want to add that I may have misspoke regarding the stiffness of the leather. The leather might not actually be softer than the Aldens, but that the construction of the Magnoli boot led me to perceive is as such. If you look at the first 3 pictures, you see that the Aldens have additional strips of leather around the inside part of the boot that covers the ankle area, while the Magnoli boot does not. This makes the Alden boot stiffer in this area. I actually prefer the Magnoli approach, as I like to have easier movement in this area. When laced up, the boots still provide support to the ankle, but just aren't as stiff as the Aldens.

Krunch
 

GearHead

One of the Regulars
Messages
111
Location
NJ
Man I have to get me a pair. I've been putting off picking up a pair of Aldens becuase of the orange hue to them and of course there's always a hat or something I see and buy but these pics and review have convinced me that those boots need to be my next purchase.

Erick
 

Indy Magnoli

Vendor
Messages
600
Location
Middle Earth, New Zealand
A few people had requested to see these boots without the toe stitching, so here they are. These are made in a "chocolate" calfskin:

adv-boot-nostitch1.jpg

adv-boot-nostitch2.jpg


Kind regards,
Indy
 

cookie

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,927
Location
Sydney Australia
Magnoli Stuff

They are awesome and have convinced me to get me a pair of his shoes.

Now when you have about 3 or 4 different ideas at once....

By the way when was the USD220 sale????
 

Indy Magnoli

Vendor
Messages
600
Location
Middle Earth, New Zealand
The sale was quite a while ago; I did it to get a few sales and reviews as few people were ready to "take the plunge". Since then prices have actually gone up for me, but I've still kept the same prices for most of my footwear.

Love your new avatar, by the way!

Kind regards,
Indy
 

Captain Krunch

Familiar Face
Messages
85
Location
Virginia/WDC
Ooooh, those stitchless boots look really nice! I think I'm going to have to place another order one of these days. Magnoli, do you keep the customer's foot sizing information from previous orders, or would it have to be submitted again?

Anyway, since we're revisiting this review thread I started almost a year ago, I'd like to offer a suggestion regarding them. Last year I wore the boots while manning an exhibit booth, and I ended up standing most of the day. Unfortunately, these boots don't have much padding, so my feet got pretty fatigued. When I inserted some simple insoles to prevent this, they threw the perfect fit off a bit. The insoles eventually get compressed enough, but it would have been nice to have a bit extra room to accommodate them from the get-go (And sometimes they still feel a bit tight). I'm not sure if this should be taken into account when the person measures their foot, or when the boot is produced, but it's something to keep in mind.

Otherwise, a great pair of boots. I have only worn them in casual settings, and not as actual work boots, so I cannot comment on their durability for rough wear, but for everyday use they're ok.
 

Indy Magnoli

Vendor
Messages
600
Location
Middle Earth, New Zealand
Yes, I keep all measurements on file for future orders.

I too wear insoles with my Adventure boots, but they were made a bit looser from the beginning, so it worked out perfectly for me. On your next order we could make them a bit looser if you want... no problem.

Kind regards,
Indy
 

Lionheart

One of the Regulars
Messages
101
Location
Metro-Boston
They look really sweet.:eusa_clap

I may have to consult thier website for more info. I've been toying with the idea of custom shoes for a while.
 

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