What kind of boots?

[boo]

i remember a post not too long ago about buying more than 1 pair of boots to work in. sorry i dont remember who posted it, but "props to you!"
i found a good deal on boots shortly after i read the post, so i purchased 4 pair.
2 sets of spike boots, and 2 sets of lock-foot boots.
i have realized through the years that, no matter how comfy the boot, after a few hours you can start to know where the "ALMOST perfect" spot in any boot is.
change to your other pair, and it's like a fresh start.
much easier on the dogs, and boots seem to last longer too.
very worth the space in a truck.

 

[Davey Dog]

The NCFS used to get White's, but Nick's has had the contract for the last 6 or 7 years.
The FS used to buy use the Hotshots, but in the last two years they've got us the Foresters. What we've seen is the hotshots hold up a lot better than the Foresters.
My Boss's favorite shoes are his 8 year old White's and says the Hotshots are just as good, but the Foresters are a joke. We end up losing money by going with the cheaper ones because we get them rebuilt more often.

I tried a set of Nicks hotshots a while back.. They were a good boot. No doubt about it. How ever I had porblems with the width. They werent wide enough and I sent them back to have them fixed... Then again... and they still blew stitchs on me.. Dont get me wrong though, they are good boots..
I have just had better luck with the others is all... Good boots are good boots, and we all have our own opinions on just what fits the best...
As long as we dont start promoting cooky cutter off the shelf boots, we should all have some happy feet....

 

[Fumbler]

I think you've sold me on the White's.

I'll be looking at them for my next boot, especially with the price being cheaper than Nick's.

One more question for you, which brand has that stiffest soles?
Soles that flex aren't good for flat feet...

 

[Davey Dog]

Well the soles of my wescos are a little bit stiffer then my whites....
(((EDIT))) you can also have wesco put a full sole steel plate in their boots, that will help stiffen them up quite a bit....

Also, the whites have a little more arch in there in-soles.. If you havent tried a pair of whites then maybe get the wescos and wear them for a while while you save for the whites.... I like my whites ALOT, but I like my wescos ALOT... It is hard for me to choose between the two.... The wescos are a little bit better suited to spike work, but the whites smoke jumpers work great as well...

My whites loggers are not good for spike work though... They are smooth rubber with metal cleets thet are screwed into the sole... They are great for ground work where you are walking on downed timber... but not good for being up a tree.

Either one of these boots will be a great inprovment over what ya have now.

One more thing, the whites take a wee bit longer to break in... I get a bottle of Bacardi 151 pour half into one boot and half into the other boot, fill to the top with tap water and let soak for around 15-20 minutes.... Dump out the boots and wear them until they dry.... Takes about 1.5-2 days... Make sure you have on heavy wool socks... That will help your feet out alot.

Once they dry soak them with olive oil.. keep oiling them until they stop soaking up oil.
Wipe them dry. I oil my boots once a month except in the winter, then I oil twice a month..

I only use olive oil on my boots. I am sure someone will chime in with some off the shelf magic boot dressing, but petrolium based oils and dressing will rott out stitching, attract dirt and plug the leater so it wont breath...

Good luck with your boots.

 

[Davey Dog]

i remember a post not too long ago about buying more than 1 pair of boots to work in. sorry i dont remember who posted it, but "props to you!"
i found a good deal on boots shortly after i read the post, so i purchased 4 pair.
2 sets of spike boots, and 2 sets of lock-foot boots.
i have realized through the years that, no matter how comfy the boot, after a few hours you can start to know where the "ALMOST perfect" spot in any boot is.
change to your other pair, and it's like a fresh start.
much easier on the dogs, and boots seem to last longer too.
very worth the space in a truck.

I agree with you on having more then one pair of boots, however, I can and have more then once worn my wescos and my whites for three or four days in a row... Never having a chance to take them off. The one thing I will say, is when you can wear one pair of boots and one pair of socks for three days straight and have happy feet then you are wearing good boots....

I couldnt wear my Redwings or bailys for even a full day.... That is the reason I have been spending 300-400 dollars on a pair of boots...
I weigh in at 260-270 lbs... I climb hard and work in some real nasty conditions... I am hard on boots and hard on my feet. These boots are one of the reasons that I can do the work I do...

 

[Fumbler]

One more thing, the whites take a wee bit longer to break in... I get a bottle of Bacardi 151 pour half into one boot and half into the other boot, fill to the top with tap water and let soak for around 15-20 minutes.... Dump out the boots and wear them until they dry.... Takes about 1.5-2 days... Make sure you have on heavy wool socks... That will help your feet out alot.

Bacardi? That's rather expensive compared to what I use.
I mix a spray bottle of half rubbing alcohol half water.
I soaked my Nick's with the mix while wearing them.
I occassionally sprayed them throughout the day and they broke in in about two days. Sure does give your socks an ugly look though...

Wool socks are great. I don't care how hot it is outside, I always wear wool socks.
They breathe better, have better cushion, and won't wear out like cotton.

 

[UrbanLogger]

I'm confused, what is the porpose of pouring, or spraying alchol into/onto a boot to help break it in, what does it do?

 

[jmack]

I'm confused, what is the porpose of pouring, or spraying alchol into/onto a boot to help break it in, what does it do?

drink the bacardi out of your boot to ease the pain of 300.00 boots

 

[jmack]

I'm confused, what is the porpose of pouring, or spraying alchol into/onto a boot to help break it in, what does it do?

chippewas are good too, 120.00, wescoes good for life, six month rebuild 3month back order last time i checked, excellent boot, chips are guarnteed too with a rebuild charge, reddawgs are cheap but the heel is curved no good for spikes, redwings were good a long time ago sorry to see no one can say it now, for all around suff, ground, climbing and bucking i like the chips, big climbs 8hrs up nothing beats da wescoes

 

[Fumbler]

chippewas are good too, 120.00, wescoes good for life, six month rebuild 3month back order last time i checked, excellent boot, chips are guarnteed too with a rebuild charge, reddawgs are cheap but the heel is curved no good for spikes, redwings were good a long time ago sorry to see no one can say it now, for all around suff, ground, climbing and bucking i like the chips, big climbs 8hrs up nothing beats da wescoes

Hard to imagine someone praising Chippewas in the same sentence as a good hand built boot like Wescos.

I'm confused, what is the porpose of pouring, or spraying alchol into/onto a boot to help break it in, what does it do?

Saturating leather accelerates the break in process by loosening the fibers and allowing them set in place (around your foot/ankle). You use alcohol because it soaks in and dries faster than plain water, thus letting you repeat the soaking sooner.

 

[Davey Dog]

Jmack, I dont consider chippewas good boots... I wouldnt ever list chippewas, reddawgs, redwings,baileys,or any other cooky cutters with the likes of

Whites, Hathorns, Wescos, Nicks, Hoffmans......

http://www.whitesoutdoor.com/store/sub-category.php?category=Boots&id=Boots|White's+Boots

http://www.whitesoutdoor.com/store/sub-category.php?category=Boots&id=Boots|Hathorn+Boots

http://www.westcoastshoe.com/wesco/

http://www.nicksboots.com/

http://www.hoffmanboots.com/

As for why we soak our boots Fumbler said that perfectly

 

[pbtree]

Wesco...

I like to have steel toes when I am working on the ground at the very least...