Wolverine 1000 Mile Boot Review - Page 95

Agreed. But what I think drives the price of cordovan these days is marketing, exclusivity, and perhaps most importantly, scarcity of material relative to demand. Think about it. There weren't legions of style-conscious dudes on an internet forum clamouring to see pictures of the next version of Wolverine horsehide boots in 1952. I'm willing to bet the guys that bought these in 1952 (probably at a higher price than $5, which was a wholesale price I guess) were carpenters, truck drivers, small-scale farmers. The same goes for the the supply contributor to the price; trade restrictions governing the import of horsehides today probably didn't exist in 1952. Perhaps the hides were domestically sourced. 

 

How else do you explain the 200% mark-up on the 721LTD or 744LTD relative to garden-variety 1000 mile styles? Not quality (though arguably much better in terms of longevity than calf/CXL) alone. That said, check my sig. I bought in and continue to buy with other brands - though the markup is not as consistently high in other brands.

They had to out-shop the 721's to AE and production run was limited to 1k so less economies.

 

1000 miles are the cheapest CXL-ed boots I can find by a large margin when bought at 2/3rds the +$300 retail.

 

A CXL-ed Whites, Danner, Alden, et al. is closer to or exceeding $400.

 

As far as shell, you don't see any other boots in shell under $700 that I know of.

Can you confirm if Wolverine is going to continue with the Rockford Cap-Toe??? It may be a while till I can afford em but when I can hopefully they are easier to find than they are right now (in a 13D).

They are part of the USA made collection so I would say that they'll keep them around. No guarantees though because like every other manufacturer they can cut a product at any time. So buy them when you find them....

I do know that there are several new styles that'll be available in both the domestic line as well as the overseas line that look nothing like what's available now. Wolverine has made it clear that they're after this particular market share and are in it for the long haul.

1952 offered cheaper american labor and more options (and competition) for sourcing quality tanned leather.  So perhaps its reasonable.  If more people would start buying quality shoes, then it could bring down the cost again.

Well I've taken my thrashings to a whole new level. My original brown 1Ks spent most of the day completely submersed in water. I was taken out to one of the big lakes around here by one of my buddies for a little rock hunting. The trick on this lake is to walk in the water looking for artifacts instead of on shore. The boots did just fine. For the most part they're dry, just a bit damp on the inside. I contribute this to the constant oiling and snoseal treatments this pair of boots get.

This lake is another one of those where the shoreline is steep and covered in scree and shards of chert. Nasty nasty stuff and my boots are really scuffed. I'll post pics tomorrow so you can see what one day of my kind of abuse looks like. They pic I posted above is what they looked like this morning.

Now I will pretty much tell you not to try this at home unless you have a set of brass balls and are willing to put a lot of work into the boots to keep them alive. Leather can take the water just fine. What it won't take is improper drying methods and a lackadaisical attitude when it comes to oiling/proofing them. Do it wrong once and you can kill the boots. Understand this completely before you try to do what that crazy bastard at Cranes does....

 

What are your drying methods good sir?

Get a Peet Dryer!

I stand them up on their heels in the shade where the breeze can get to them and just let them sit there until dry. When the weather isn't obnoxiously hot you can set them up in the sun. Don't force dry them with ovens or hair dryers etc., you can overdue it rather easily and the result will be cracked leather. Don't let them sit in a dark corner somewhere with no air movement unless you're interested in conducting a mildew or mold experiment.

Once they are dry the leather will be a bit stiff. Make sure you wipe them down with some boot oil. Other products might be OK but boot oil penetrates deeply into the leather which is what you want. I use Filson boot oil since it contains the same oils used in vegetable tanning. I also make it a point to wipe down the finished surfaces inside the boot as well. I'll say it again, use boot oil. It is the best choice for deep penetration and essential oil replenishment.

Keep in mind that we are talking about a boot made of dyed full grain vegetable tanned leather. This type of leather can withstand water with little or no problems to worry about.
Edited by Crane's - 7/15/12 at 9:42am

This is a pic of the shoreline of the lake we went to taken a while back. It gives you an idea of what the shoreline looks like. Keep in mind the lake is now way way below normal pool. The shoreline we were walking is normally 20 feet or so below the water and it's all rock, scree and can have an incline of 45 degrees or more. The harder it is to get to an area the better the rock hunting. We climbed down some stuff where rope would have been a good idea.



Anyway, the boots looked like this before we left.


Brown 1Ks 3 years later detail (2) by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

This is what they look like after one day of my antics.


Original Brown 1K after one day of hiking (4) by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


Original Brown 1K after one day of hiking (3) by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


Original Brown 1K after one day of hiking (2) by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

The boots are dry and so is the leather. They'll get some Filson boot oil and they'll be ready for another adventure. One thing that should be noted is I'm going to have my leather guy install some screws into the heel plate. I can see where there would be a problem with the Vibram heel plate detaching itself if I keep climbing around scree and walking in water all day. This is done on good climbing and logger boots for this very reason. Keep that in mind if you get them half soled.

Oh and I'm not worried at all about them looking good. They will after I oil them. These boots are like an old friend. You just know these things.

You'd better post pictures when you're done reoiling and waxing those.

Ask and you shall receive. After a liberal dose of boot oil they look about the same as before my jaunt. They're a little dull but after a snoseal treatment they'll be just fine. I do have to say some of the new abrasions are really harsh. At one point during the hike we skied the scree to get down to the water. I got hung up in some of the bigger stuff and thought for sure that it cut right through the leather. Fortunately it didn't so the boots have another story to tell. One thing for sure is the patina on these boots tells one helluva tale.






Do the right click thing to see a larger image.

A coat of boot oil and a light snoseal treatment and my water logged nasty scree covered hillsides hike around the lake never happened....


Like it never happened A by DYSong Photography, on Flickr


Like it never happened B by DYSong Photography, on Flickr

The leather is supple with no hint of dryness. If they weren't supple more boot oil would fix it no problem. Never flex leather that's dry or crispy feeling. That's how you crack it and that leads to big trouble down the road.

3 years and still going strong.....

I've never seen a man love his boots so much.