The Bees Knees of outdoor Footwear
So just a little background on myself and my activities... I professionally train tracking and scent work dogs. I spend as much of my time as possible running around the woods with my dogs. I do roughly 50 miles per week weather depending. I have also had several terrible back injuries from rodeo and motorcycle accidents. My footwear is paramount to my comfort and I constantly struggle to find the right boots for my activities. My friends love me because I am known for buying a high end pair of boots and then passing them off to a friend 2 days later when I figure out they are destroying my back. In the past year, I have bought 2 pairs of Crispi, 1 pair of Kennetrek, and 2 pairs of Danners. Unfortunately the wrong pair of boots for just one day, can lay me up for a week. I have spent much of my life in the hunting industry and was introduced to your Buffalo moccasins by a friend at the Great American Outdoor Show. He had been wearing them in rough country out west all year and couldn't say enough good about them. I started doing some research after the show and found your "Highland" shoe. Out of your shoes available, these seemed to be a good fit for me, so I got them ordered up. The Highlands arrived promptly and appeared to be just as described. It was very apparent that they were well made and there was no lack in craftsmanship or design. I understand that the rest of your footwear is made in America (which is outstanding), but these are made in Mexico. Mexico has always produced fine leather work and footwear, so that makes no difference to me. Everything about these shoes was exactly as expected and described on your website. The initial fit after trying them on, was slightly unnerving. The toe box was uncomfortably tight out of the box. I did follow your sizing recommendations and ordered a half size larger, but these were still tight. Other than the toe box, the rest of the shoe fit well and was comfortable. I only made it around my house on day one, but was very pleased with the amount of cushion provided in the sole from the 3 layers. Walking around my gravel drive felt more like a foot massage than anything else. Day two, I was actually able to get in the woods. By woods, unfortunately I mean about 15 miles through several inches of snow in bitterly cold temperatures. From all of my research beforehand, you made it clear that this footwear is in no way intended to be waterproof. Well.... you were right. Just as you said, water came in no problem. I chose to wear a nice pair of Stormy Kromer micro-wool socks that first day. They kept my feet warm and relatively dry for how much moisture was in the shoe. By the end of day 2 the toe box had stretched to a point that it had become fairly comfortable. The following day had rising temps and snow melt in the forecast, so I went home to prep. After a few hours on the ole boot dryer, they were good as new. I decided to attempt to waterproof them. I started with a thick layer of Filson Garment Wax which I find thin enough to be able to work into threat holes and seams. After working in the Filson and letting it setup, I added a layer of mink oil and hit it with a heat gun to help it penetrate the leather. I set out into the woods the next day with a couple of dogs and spent the entire day sludging through mud and snow melt. My feet remained relatively dry from my waterproofing efforts. I'm pretty sure the only water made it in during a couple of creek crossing. For the next couple of weeks, these shoes saw every bit of gnarly terrain and activity I could find. Everything from climbing around sharp limestone outcroppings, to locust thorn ridden woods. The soles have held up to the abuse without issue and the leather on the sole and the upper are heavy enough to stop heavy thorns. The performance was honestly far and above what I expected. I have roughly 100 miles on these shoes now give or take. They have seen everything from the hospital floor, to the deepest woods my area has to offer. My impression of the shoe in that mileage has not changed much at all. I'm still overly impressed and best of all, they have allowed me to be active without the discomfort to my back that a normal soled boot causes. I did find that after a few days of wear, it helped to lightly rough the sole with a wire brush. The only caveat that I have, is the fit of the toe box. Upon arrival the toe box was certainly tight and narrow. I have never worn anything wider than a D width shoe, so this was slightly unnerving. After some wear I found the sole and the rest of the upper of the boot formed to my foot very well and created a custom fit. That being said, the toe box continued to stretch on me. It now has a little bit of that water shoe flop when I walk, like they are too big. It's not anything crazy, but my next purchase will be my normal shoe size instead of the half size up. Steaming them or even wetting them and walking them dry fresh out of the box will allow the toe box to form like the rest of the shoe instead of eventually over-stretching. Overall, I have actually never been happier with a footwear purchase. I literally haven't worn a different pair of shoes since these arrived. I'm headed to the largest dog tracking event in the country in a couple of weeks and I suspect quite a few of my tracking friends will be adding these boots to their gear stash.