If you had to wear just 1 pair of boots for the rest of your life, what would they be?

[rotenone]

William lennon Canadian combat or 78 tc

 

[r.biker]

William lennon Canadian combat or 78 tc

Interesting William lennon getting another mention. These do look great especially for the price!

 

[Burnsie5463]

Yes, price is a killer. Always worth keeping an eye on sales, though. I've seen a lot of very nice new Trickers selling for half price in occasional sales as well.

I usually get my Trickers from the Factory Shop, a lot of good bargains to be had and they frequently have 20% off sales on the Factory Shop prices. Delivery from there is always very quick also, first place I look for new shoes.

 

[TartuWolf]

If you're gonna stick with one pair then why go for the budget options like RW and WL?
Might as well go for the top dogs, whatever your taste is - PWN chunky boys, JP/Indonesia/High end China Sleek boys...

Obviously something stitched for re-soling as you have to stick to that pair. Goodyear, stitchdown, hand stitched, blake stitched, rapid stitched.. I guess hand welted would be the best option as that puts the least amount of strain during re-stitching assuming you can get that done by hand as well.

In terms of leather I'd probably go for something like Horween waxed flesh for the durability and water resistance. Likely something teacore to have the best of both worlds - both black and brown. Kills the fancy/dressy occasion vibe though.

In terms of model it would be either a 6" lace up, a 8" lace up or a pair of engineers.

Healthy Munson style last to not fk up your feet like 95% of regular lasts will do long term.

Chunky lugged outsole for off road utility but have to deal with all the rocks and mud that you bring everywhere with you. V-bar style or mini lug moderate outsole to make it as universal as possible. Half-sole for looks and boot flexibility. Unpopular opinion - leather sole with a glued on topy for extra simple, fast and cheap "resoles" without damaging the other layers as you would normally do with regular resoling.

Just some thoughts yeah.

At the end of the day if I were to be spending most of my time "off-road" then it would probably be a logger style 8" lugged horween waxed flesh PWN overbuilt beast.
But since I'm a city slicker it would make much more sense to get a pair of engineers in something like black CXL or some fancy thick durable horse butt with a leather sole + topy.

 

[jfive67]

Really depends on your use case here. For desk to dinner versatility i would say a pair of RM Williams Gardeners in Black or Dark Brown. I added vibram raptor topys to mine for more traction in the snow and wore them year round for years before I really started building out my boot quiver. They are rugged enough to do field work/ride moto, and can be cleaned up to wear with slacks (and even a suit if youre feeling rakish).

If you wanted something erring more formal but still practical, I would either go with a viberg 2030 in a chromexecel of your choice or a C&J in scotch grain leather if you skew more english in tastes.

If you wanted to go fully rugged, agree with those above that a waxed flesh work or service boot is your best bet. I've got a pair of whites MPs that are seemingly indestructible but dont really make it to the office outside of casual fridays

 

[Faux59]

Viberg or a PNW brand

 

[Wellfounded_60]

Considering I do home renovation work, am more an outdoor person, and will never have an office job, I'll go with White's 350 Cruiser in Cinnamon WF. A boot I already have and go to more than any other in my collection. Versatile, comfortable, built to last..Second would be an engineer, which is my favorite style boot, but not very practical for an "only boot".

 

[RustyM]

I like Redwing Iron Rangers, they are pretty comfortable once you get them broken in.

 

[TartuWolf]

Considering I do home renovation work, am more an outdoor person, and will never have an office job, I'll go with White's 350 Cruiser in Cinnamon WF. A boot I already have and go to more than any other in my collection. Versatile, comfortable, built to last..Second would be an engineer, which is my favorite style boot, but not very practical for an "only boot".

Love my White's Cruisers as well! What makes you say that a (well fitting) engineer is not a very practical "only boot"?

 

[Aloysius]

Healthy Munson style last to not fk up your feet like 95% of regular lasts will do long term.

I don't think any reputable shoemaking firm (or bespoke maker) would be neglecting the insights of Munson before the First World War.

Even cheaper boots I've had feature the things he pointed out for ergonomics.

 

[Edward]

I usually get my Trickers from the Factory Shop, a lot of good bargains to be had and they frequently have 20% off sales on the Factory Shop prices. Delivery from there is always very quick also, first place I look for new shoes.

I was aware of the factory shop, but not seen it online - is there a link? I'm fortunate that I'm a UK8/US9 in (almost all) shoes, which I gather is the industry norm for samples and such. I've had a few bargains with various brands selling off that sort of thing over the years as a result.

 

[rotenone]

Interesting William lennon getting another mention. These do look great especially for the price!

Interesting William lennon getting another mention. These do look great especially for the price!

For price vs quality W.L simply can't be beaten imho