Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[chicagoan2016]

I meant this for the most part lol … the cap toe police was trying to throw me in the slammer

I don’t know if you are old enough to remember a movie “Fargo”?

 

[wordfool]

I just have a hard time justifying why people would want to buy boots like this other then the looks and sure if you need them for work that’s understandable. Then again I know people that make millions of dollars that work in 100$ red wings. These are things that make me think it’s going to be hard for any brand without a real backbone or “niche” they’ve carved out in the welted boot market for themselves to survive. For example Wesco is the engineer king. Nicks makes “worlds toughest insert product name here _____” Whites make great enough work and casual boots to deem themselves superior to any other brand (for the most part, think 1K or less) and on par with the 2 brands I just mentioned maybe even better I’m not sure. Maybe viberg could survive if they don’t a abandon what their die hard fans want. (I’m just assuming 230 last reverts to the old 230 and maybe more shinki makeups lol) Grant stone does great with marketing and just making a overal killer boot for the price. I don’t see them ever struggling to make $. If you don’t agree with anything I said that’s fine I’m just extremely bored trying to avoid the heat right now lol

If I needed boots for work I'm not sure I'd choose the likes of White's, Nicks, Wesco etc. simply because they're so damn heavy and for most professions they probably offer no additional benefit than a pair of Red Wings or similar. I imagine that even forest firefighters are finding alternatives that are lighter and less tiring to wear all day.

And I'm in awe of anyone who hikes in a pair of White's -- my 6" hiking boots are featherweight compared to my lightest pair of SDs.

 

[chicagoan2016]

And I'm in awe of anyone who hikes in a pair of White's -- my 6" hiking boots are featherweight compared to my lightest pair of SDs.

I cut myself some slack when I would think of my evening walks as “urban hikes”.
Based on my experience, leather half slip and double midsoles are the toughest to break in. After wearing and breaking them in, single midsoles feel like slippers.

 

[brandonboot]

If I needed boots for work I'm not sure I'd choose the likes of White's, Nicks, Wesco etc. simply because they're so damn heavy and for most professions they probably offer no additional benefit than a pair of Red Wings or similar. I imagine that even forest firefighters are finding alternatives that are lighter and less tiring to wear all day.

And I'm in awe of anyone who hikes in a pair of White's -- my 6" hiking boots are featherweight compared to my lightest pair of SDs.

There’s a part of me that wants to hike or just go adventuring in light boots but then …. I know how crappy it feels to have put in effort/energy exertion and feel like it was wasted because you didn’t bring your cooler boots along. Like wasted patina. I even exercise in my boots when I get the chance (if it’s not scorching hot). I just never want to feel like I’m not getting 100% return out of the energy I give if that makes sense lol even when it comes to what I’m wearing on my feet.

 

[brandonboot]

I cut myself some slack when I would think of my evening walks as “urban hikes”.
Based on my experience, leather half slip and double midsoles are the toughest to break in. After wearing and breaking them in, single midsoles feel like slippers.

What is the benefit of a double mid sole? Honestly I don’t even know what it is. But I’ve seen pictures and it almost looks impossible to break in

 

[Jimk4003]

@Jimk4003 and it appears the biggest spike in White’s prices was in the last year or so, in 2020 Bounty Hunters were $539.99 and today they are $669.99.
I wonder why did the Inflation/pandemic hit White’s worse than competitors?
Only White’s has the answer!

I don't think it's because of inflation/pandemic hitting White's worse than anyone else, I think it's because the wildland firefighter boot stipend increased in 2020 from $300 to $500.

Basically, firefighters are now entitled to claim an additional $200 back towards the cost of their boots, so White's have simply bumped their prices up by $200 to cash-in.

 

[chicagoan2016]

What is the benefit of a double mid sole? Honestly I don’t even know what it is. But I’ve seen pictures and it almost looks impossible to break in

Like the way it sounds! Seriously midsoles that are two layers of midsoles .
It’s not bad breaking them in but double midsoles with leather half slip is almost impossible to break in.
Double midsoles give you more support and they also look cool (what @iamntbatman and @wordfool said).
Edit: I suppose when you are a yuppie you do everything to look cool 😎

 

[chicagoan2016]

I don't think it's because of inflation/pandemic hitting White's worse than anyone else, I think it's because the wildland firefighter boot stipend increased in 2020 from $300 to $500.

Basically, firefighters are now entitled to claim an additional $200 back towards the cost of their boots, so White's have simply bumped their prices up by $200 to cash-in.

Man, that sounds savage!!!😂

 

[brandonboot]

Man, that sounds savage!!!😂

Na that’s disgusting man. I get some $ off my boots as well but since they’re from such a big company like red wing. I guess they wouldn’t think twice to pull a move like that on us. Wouldn’t they want customer loyalty over burning a bridge? Maybe they want customer loyalty and them to be okay with that price hike. Not all people are fools tho. Some people must’ve went to nicks or other brands if they could save 200$ on the boots. I just wonder if these fire fighters only get a couple hundred $’s off on whites boots from their employer’s and whites only. If whites knows that then that’s scummy. In their defense tho they price hiked almost every boot they make by 200$ so I’m sure they could always play dumb and act like they didn’t know.

 

[Jimk4003]

Man, that sounds savage!!!😂

Yeah, I don't think that was really what the stipend increase was actually intended to achieve.

I imagine the idea was to ensure firefighters didn't have to dig into their own pockets to buy the equipment they need to actually do their jobs; not simply to line the boot manufacturers pockets, whilst leaving the actual firefighters just as out of pocket as they were before.

But hey, White's are part of a big corporation these days, and there's a reason no-one writes folk songs about international conglomerates.

 

[theofficialhung]

I don't think it's because of inflation/pandemic hitting White's worse than anyone else, I think it's because the wildland firefighter boot stipend increased in 2020 from $300 to $500.

Basically, firefighters are now entitled to claim an additional $200 back towards the cost of their boots, so White's have simply bumped their prices up by $200 to cash-in.

Can this be confirmed? If it's true, I'm done buying Whites.

 

[chicagoan2016]

@theofficialhung
Off topic but how are the black CXL Oxfords you got a year or so ago?
I have seen them on reddit.

 

[Jimk4003]

Can this be confirmed? If it's true, I'm done buying Whites.

It's definitely not confirmed, no. It's just what I suspect has happened.

As @chicagoan2016 pointed out in his post I replied to, White's price increases only really started to accelerate dramatically after 2020. Yes, there's Covid and lots of supply-chain issues to take into account, but that alone doesn't explain why their price increases have occurred at double the rate of inflation (which, of course, already takes Covid/supply-chain related price increases in the wider economy into account), nor why the price increases have outpaced other bootmakers over the same period.

Is it possible that White's have been uniquely affected by Covid/inflation in the last two years? Yes, of course. Definitely don't rule this possibility out.

Is it striking that an above market-rate price increase of around $200 has occurred just as the boot stipend was also increased by $200 and the rolling three-year reimbursement period was reset? Well, correlation isn't causation; but yes, it does seem striking to me.

 

[chicagoan2016]

I am the biggest White's fan but may be White's doesn't care about our opinion : ).
They aren't targeting "Fashion loggers" or "yuppies" lol.

 

[brandonboot]

It's definitely not confirmed, no. It's just what I suspect has happened.

As @chicagoan2016 pointed out in his post I replied to, White's price increases only really started to accelerate dramatically after 2020. Yes, there's Covid and lots of supply-chain issues to take into account, but that alone doesn't explain why their price increases have occurred at double the rate of inflation (which, of course, already takes Covid/supply-chain related price increases in the wider economy into account), nor why the price increases have outpaced other bootmakers over the same period.

Is it possible that White's have been uniquely affected by Covid/inflation in the last two years? Yes, of course. Definitely don't rule this possibility out.

Is it striking that an above market-rate price increase of around $200 has occurred just as the boot stipend was also increased by $200 and the rolling three-year reimbursement period was reset? Well, correlation isn't causation; but yes, it does seem striking to me.

I don’t know if I’m unique here but …. I bought a pair of ramblers for 470$ on June 15th of last year 2021. They shipped to me on September 7th. So 12 weeks. Now not even a year later they are 670$.

- I also noticed nicks is charging 670$ for double stuffed and oiled latigo wickett and Craig boots. Bakers has their oiled latigo MTO at 790$.