Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[Lonebull]

Just a throwback to a smokejumper I did that I sold a while back when first introduced to PNW boot makers. These were painful to wear and I sold them to someone in China. Black Bullhide, all black, Cleastic toe, half sole too. They were cool to look at but impractical.

If you’re not about that “triple sole life” aka the double midsole, I don’t recommend having them made this way in the traditional smokejumper last.

If I could do it all over again, would’ve had them made in a different last (bounty hunter) without a triple sole (double).

Anyhoo….
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"They were cool to look at but impractical".....

that is exactly the way i feel about these damn boots!! lol
i've sold about 6 pairs of the 10 custom boots i've had built...they all looked cool, but were tough to wear....i'm ready to sell another pair i just got this year because they're so heavy. when i walk, i feel like i'm wearing scuba fins , or snowshoes on my feet, i have to forcibly pick my feet up every step...not fun to walk around and hang out in...
the best pairs i have are standard bounty hunters & smoke jumpers. the $800-$900 custom pairs all sucked

 

[mlwdp]

"They were cool to look at but impractical".....

that is exactly the way i feel about these damn boots!! lol
i've sold about 6 pairs of the 10 custom boots i've had built...they all looked cool, but were tough to wear....i'm ready to sell another pair i just got this year because they're so heavy. when i walk, i feel like i'm wearing scuba fins , or snowshoes on my feet, i have to forcibly pick my feet up every step...not fun to walk around and hang out in...
the best pairs i have are standard bounty hunters & smoke jumpers. the $800-$900 custom pairs all sucked

Yeah I bought mine before the price hikes and long wait times. Had I bought mine in todays time, I really would’ve been pissed. Money down the drain in today’s economy.

The way I’m looking at custom boots and shoes now is practicality and function because I’m getting older now and starting to have knee/back problems. It was cool back then to impress a few with the customs I’ve built but now I could care less. Looking at customs that last a lifetime versus a few Instagram likes is better in the long run imo.

And what started my journey was because at the time I couldn’t afford the engineer boot. Go figure!

 

[CasuallyWorked]

I’m trying to order a custom pair of MPM1 in color 8 cxl, and a black cxl tongue but bakers told me whites doesn’t do dual colors which I find disappointing? Has anybody ever ordered something like that?

 

[theofficialhung]

I’m trying to order a custom pair of MPM1 in color 8 cxl, and a black cxl tongue but bakers told me whites doesn’t do dual colors which I find disappointing? Has anybody ever ordered something like that?

Maybe not for the MP but multiple leathers is definitely an option for the bounty hunter (55 last) or the smoke jumper (4811 last)

 

[CasuallyWorked]

Maybe not for the MP but multiple leathers is definitely an option for the bounty hunter (55 last) or the smoke jumper (4811 last)

Yeah just saw division road doing it, I wonder why you can’t do it on the MP, what’s the difference since it’s just the tongue

 

[theofficialhung]

Yeah just saw division road doing it, I wonder why you can’t do it on the MP, what’s the difference since it’s just the tongue

Ever since Baker's hired new customer service people instead of having everything run through Kyle and Brandon, their willingness to cater to the customer has gone down. They're definitely a lot more strict about customer requests. This is probably the right approach for someone like me who changed his mind about the order several times a month lol.

The tongue request doesn't sound like a big deal - I would call them and ask to speak to Kyle or Brandon. You might be able to get your way if you do that.

 

[CasuallyWorked]

Ever since Baker's hired new customer service people instead of having everything run through Kyle and Brandon, their willingness to cater to the customer has gone down. They're definitely a lot more strict about customer requests. This is probably the right approach for someone like me who changed his mind about the order several times a month lol.

The tongue request doesn't sound like a big deal - I would call them and ask to speak to Kyle or Brandon. You might be able to get your way if you do that.

Before I placed my order, I reached out to whites with that tongue request and said they could do it. I just placed my order with bakers since I heard so many good things about them on Reddit. Going to try to reach out to Kyle hopefully he can help.

 

[chicagoan2016]

Before I placed my order, I reached out to whites with that tongue request and said they could do it. I just placed my order with bakers since I heard so many good things about them on Reddit. Going to try to reach out to Kyle hopefully he can help.

Kyle baker is the man!
He will take care of your order.

 

[Riesling4life]

What's the deal with lineman shanks?

Anybody have one?

Seems like it would be good for keeping the boot in keeping with the arch ease support profile of the 55 last on a wedge sole.

 

[wordfool]

Yeah I bought mine before the price hikes and long wait times. Had I bought mine in todays time, I really would’ve been pissed. Money down the drain in today’s economy.

The way I’m looking at custom boots and shoes now is practicality and function because I’m getting older now and starting to have knee/back problems. It was cool back then to impress a few with the customs I’ve built but now I could care less. Looking at customs that last a lifetime versus a few Instagram likes is better in the long run imo.

And what started my journey was because at the time I couldn’t afford the engineer boot. Go figure!

Even the standard builds are pretty damn heavy and probably heavy enough to aggravate knee/back problems (speaking as someone with knee/back problems myself). Thankfully I never went crazy with my custom SD and BH builds -- all single midsole, relatively practical leathers and soles, etc., minimal weirdness (just a few alternate tongues and backstays), and all at the more reasonable prices and wait times of a few years back. I still have too many pairs, of course, but I'm probably set for life if I look after them.

TBH even if I wanted/needed another pair of White's I'd think twice at today's prices and wait times. Makes me wonder what will become of all the PNW boot makers if/when the Americana trend wanes. I hope a few stick around long-term.

 

[CasuallyWorked]

Even the standard builds are pretty damn heavy and probably heavy enough to aggravate knee/back problems (speaking as someone with knee/back problems myself). Thankfully I never went crazy with my custom SD and BH builds -- all single midsole, relatively practical leathers and soles, etc., minimal weirdness (just a few alternate tongues and backstays), and all at the more reasonable prices and wait times of a few years back. I still have too many pairs, of course, but I'm probably set for life if I look after them.

TBH even if I wanted/needed another pair of White's I'd think twice at today's prices and wait times. Makes me wonder what will become of all the PNW boot makers if/when the Americana trend wanes. I hope a few stick around long-term.

A lot of these companies are 100+ years old, I think they’ll be fine.

 

[dddrees]

A lot of these companies are 100+ years old, I think they’ll be fine.

That's true until they aren't and that happens as well. Had the government not gotten involved and helped GM out after 2008 GM would have folded and they had been in business for about a century. Their pensions almost crushed them, and as it turns out parking lots full of new vehicles that don't sell aren't good for business either. Sears went bankrupt and as retailers go they were King for the longest time. There wasn't anything you couldn't buy via their catalog. Heck, they once sold houses. Their catalogs were once the equivalent of the internet.

I'm not saying they wont, there's just no guarantee based on previous performance what will occur in the future.

 

[wordfool]

A lot of these companies are 100+ years old, I think they’ll be fine.

That means absolutely nothing TBH. Being old does not make a company immune to market forces -- as @dddrees pointed out, plenty of 100+ year old companies have gone away over the course of recent history and corporate/brand churn seems to only have accelerated in the last decade. Not to mention the fact that the like of Nick's and Frank's are not nearly as old as White's. I wonder how much the PNW bootmakers have expanded in recent years and are now heavily reliant on the fickle fashion market, especially now their traditional work boot market has probably changed dramatically in recent decades with new competitors and technology (aka not stitchdown).

White's is now owned by subsidiary of a Japanese retail conglomerate, which on the one hand gives it access to greater capital but on the other hand means it's now a cog in a larger multi-brand machine, something that might actually increase the risk to its long-term independence. Danner merging with White's, shedding the high-cost, high-skill bits of the business and coasting on past reputation alone? Not inconceivable if you think about it. Its one saving grace in the current environment is that it's not a business that relies on brick and mortar stores.

Anyway, not really a topic for this thread. Just something I occasionally think about as I look at my boots that might, many years from now, need a resole

 

[iamntbatman]

What's the deal with lineman shanks?

Anybody have one?

Seems like it would be good for keeping the boot in keeping with the arch ease support profile of the 55 last on a wedge sole.

From what I understand/see, the 55-last boots on a wedge sole (i.e., the Rambler) already have a lineman shank incorporated into the build for the express purpose of keeping up the heel height and arch support without having an actual heel. So, there's no reason to ask for a lineman shank on such a boot.

As for getting one added to a boot with a standard heel, you will find horror stories on here of people who ordered them thinking they would be good additions for extra support or height or just "more is better" sort of thinking, but wound up with boots that were hell to walk around in. Other than the practical applications of having them in wedge-sole high-arch boots or for actual linemen who need to essentially stand on their boot arches all day, they're a bad addition to a boot for casual wear or work where you're not climbing much of the time.

 

[GentlemanJeff]

After a lengthy wait, I’m one of you guys now!

Ordered thru Baker’s. MP last, 11.5d heel and 11.5e front, unstructured, though I think wish I had done 12 or 12e. My problem is always space in the toe box.

Anyhow, olive waxed flesh, they’re gorgeous, really love the style and quality. I feel like I’m a White’s guy for the foreseeable future. Desperately want a swing last next. And then some nat waxed flesh…