Joined
·
115 Posts
President Boot from Thursday Boot Co.
Crowd-funding is a great way to get the capitol necessary to get your little idea off of the ground. Some ideas are good, and most are bad. Crowd funding has gotten little ideas off the ground, started movements, and even been used to fund major motion pictures. The concept is real, and it works if you have a advertising mind and a great product that you would like to offer. This is the origin story of my new favorite boot company, Thursday Boot Co. out of NYC.
Like many of you out there reading this, you are doing your research to find the best boot for the money. You will scour the internet reading reviews on Wolverine, watch videos on Red Wings, only to find a pair of Frye boots mentioned in the comments, that leads you to find another pair of boots from Chippewa that look like they would be great and are on sale, but not in your size. I made my decision about 4 times and was just about to click on my size and order a new pair of boots. I would then think about the, sometimes, $300+ that I was about to be spending and wonder if they were even my correct size since I had never bought a "good" pair of boots. I come from the world of sneakers, climbing shoes, and snowboard boots, so I was a bit lost. I wanted to try the boots on to see what size I would need and I just got so bogged down with choice and being reluctant to drop $3-400 on a pair of boots, so I just kept riding with my Vans and Asics. Foolish I know.
Fast forward a few months, and I am poised to get a new scoot. I had been working really hard to get suited up correctly because I preach ATGATT all day long on the forums and then pop my 3/4 helmet on, and ride home in a t-shirt, jeans, and my Vans. Pretty hypocritical of me. Hey, nothing has ever happened and it is other folks that get into accidents right?! After I had picked up some Maple Jeans, and a full face helmet, I was riding with all the gear. Helmet, jacket, gloves, pants, but I hadn't pulled the trigger on the boots. It was time to do it right and protect my feet as well.
I started the search all over. I had narrowed the search through all of my previous searches and had settled on either some Frye boots, or the Wolverine 1000 Mile boots. They were getting a lot of press and a lot of great reviews. I don't even remember where I first heard the Thursday name, but it was almost as if it were the deus ex machina that suddenly a little company out of NYC that was now in my lexicon. Here was a US company that was getting off the ground and I could help do that. Out of personal motivation, I have been trying to give more of my dollars to small US and local companies and not the giants of industry that rule the marketplace. I was a few weeks late to support the Kickstarter campaign, but Thursday had just started to take normal orders on their website.
I was again wandering around in the thick undergrowth of unfamiliar terms like "goodyear welt construction," and leather tanner's names like Horween Leathers. This tanner is out of Chicago, and has been supplies leather for some of the largest names in leather goods, as well as the leather for the NFL's game balls, the NBA, and the MLB. Both of these terms came up when I was researching Thursday Boots. While developing the boots that they wanted to bring to market, the Thursday owners, Nolan and Connor, did their research and spent time in the oldest shoe repair shop in New York, Jim's Shoe Repair. They determined that they wanted to offer a shoe that was not just glued together, but they wanted a shoe to be built to last. Opting for a full glove leather interior, as well as a studded leather outsole to provide grip where many leather outsoles would slip and slide around on a wet street, no corner was cut. The boots are built to last and can be re-soled when that time comes. This is a pair of boots that is built to last, not worn for a season and then replaced next season. Your dollars were going to go toward the construction and materials, not advertising campaigns.
What does all of this mean? There are a million different boots and every one of them are built for a million different purposes. I had decided that I wanted style, function, as well as a price point that wasn't going to hurt my heart when I clicked "Checkout." I verified the right sizing via the "Live Chat" on their website, and pulled the trigger. I sent them my $200 and waited. I subscribe to the thought that you get what you pay for, and spending 2/3 of what other "similar" boots cost, I figured I would get something that was probably not as good as others. A few business days later, the postman brings my new boots. I am super excited and crack the box. The intoxicating smell of leather wafts up from the simply appointed shoe box, and the boots look great! They were rigid and stiff like a new baseball glove fresh from the factory.
I slip them on, and the fresh leather smell puffs up into my face as my heel finds the glove leather footbed. The fit is perfect. The advice to order a half size smaller was on point. I wear them around the office as if I am wearing ski boots because they are wicked stiff, but also I don't want to put that first crease in them. This urge soon subsides because they kind of hurt. These boots needed that crease so they ease up on my foot a bit. The custom, Thursday Chrome Leather, sourced directly from their provider doesn't have much give at first. The pinches of a new boot soon subside as the leather warms, moistens, and stretches to form to my foot after about a week of daily wear. At the two week mark, they start getting really comfy. Soon the leather is almost like a second skin to my feet.
I opted for the President due to the classic lines of a clean toed, simple boot. I thought long and hard about the cap-toed Captain. I see them still and long for that look. Perhaps I will get those as my next pair in a different color. The Diplomat is also available and features contrast stitching along the perimeter of the toe box. Every model comes in Black, Brown, and Natural. If you are fast enough, you can get the Captain Roughout and the President Roughout in the natural suede-like rough leather.
After a few more weeks of daily and exuberant wear, I had the first few scuffs out of the way and they were beginning to really come into their own. I loved lacing the waxed laces up and had dialed in the tension around my ankles perfectly. The boots had seen me through the wet month of December here in the hyper-trendy, Austin, TX and paired perfectly with my daily wear as well as my formal events during the holiday season. My daily choice of footwear was a forgone conclusion. After a long week of commuting on my new 2015 Indian Scout, I simply needed to put a quick buff on them to wear out to our fancy company dinner at Truluck's in the heart of downtown Austin. They were the perfect do-it-all boot.
Then, a month after my new boots were delivered, adversity. I was riding home from a buddy's house on a Monday night. I was involved in a motorcycle accident where a young lady made a poor choice and I landed in the hospital. Luckily, with the purchase of the boots, I had completed my gear collection and was covered from head to toe. I needed every bit of gear. My boots took a good thrashing, but the Thursday Chrome leather held up like I could not imagine. While we were sitting in the hospital, by buddy, his girlfriend, and I looked at the boots to see what kind of damage they had suffered. Much to our amazement, the asphalt had scuffed and marred them, but nothing deeper than just surface abrasion. There was one tiny cut to the leather, but that was it. Had I been wearing plain 'ol Vans, I would have been getting prepped for a skin graft I am sure.
Fast forward 4 months... I am back to putting two shoes on, and I just received my new boots from Thursday. The same model and the same color. The President in brown. This time, the packing slip had a note from the owners of the company wishing me well and hoping that I was healing up. My jaw hit the floor. What a classy move that you would never get from the bigger companies.
Thursday Boots provided style and confidence enough to walk into any room and feel comfortable, and when it came down to really protecting my feet, they shone more than I could have imagined. I have tested these boots beyond a level that anyone would ever want to. I wish that I could have just written a cute little blurb about them being uncomfortable for a week, sticking with it, to have them really break in, and then tell you how cool they look on the bike and in the bar. I wish that I only had that experience to share. I get to tell you that these boots, will look good and literally save your skin if something bad happens. I pray that none of you have to test them out like I did. At the end of the day, buy these boots. They will take you everywhere.
RideFastRideSafe
Stoked On:
Stand up to asphalt slides
Price
Style
Small NYC company
Bummed On:
Break-in Time
No steel shank/toe (Just because of my circumstance)
No retailers to try 'em on
Small runs sell out quickly
Get them now: Our Boots Thursday Boot Company
