Custom White's Boots ... Thoughts?

[Bronco68]

Give Port Townsend a bit of time and poke around a bit. Velocity coffee there is a favorite. Allow a bit more driving time on 101 than it appears on a map. The falls near lake crescent are easy to get to well worth the hour. Ditto for ruby beach as you get further out towards the ocean

Thanks.

 

[Alaskaking]

Of all the soles I have on boots (commando, 430, 100 on White's, 430 on Red Wings, and Vibram 700 on another pair) by far the best are the Vibram 100 (the black "fire and ice" version, which is the standard from White's AFAIK) closely followed by whatever soles Blundstone uses on its standard Chelsea boots. Ultimately, however, in snow more than a few inches deep my experience is that all normal soles are going to either get clogged with snow pretty fast or just become ice skates right away.

The Vibram 100 do have an uncanny ability to grip ice much better than any other rubber I've tried -- must be the "ice" designation -- and they are tall/deep enough to deal with urban slush very well. My go-to winter boot for trudging through NYC snow, however, are my Blunnies, mainly because they grip well enough, have a thick enough sole to offer some insulation, and I don't care about trashing them with salt and road slush!

I only have V 430 and 100 (white dot-) to compare.
The snow in the interior of Alaska is very dry (no snowballs), but VERY cold. The lugs don’t get clogged secondary to the dryness, but the rubber stays “grippy” on ice at temperatures well below 0 F, but the 430 will put you (or me rather), on the ground fast on anything approaching frozen—self tested.

YMMV (goes without saying?)

 

[chicagoan2016]

How long do the leather laces last? mine broke after two months : )
Any recommendations for laces, preferably something I could buy from Amazon but not necessarily?

 

[theofficialhung]

These guys are frequently top of the recommended mentions for rawhide laces:

72" Rawhide Alum Tanned Leather Boot Laces

One pair of 72" genuine rawhide leather boot laces. Available in Brown, Black, Tan or Burgundy 90 pound pull strength Made in the USA. Trim to fit.

www.guardedgoods.com

 

[Jimk4003]

How long do the leather laces last? mine broke after two months : )
Any recommendations for laces, preferably something I could buy from Amazon but not necessarily?

Depends how often you wear the boots, obviously. I've got laces in boots that I wear regularly that are a couple of years old and still going strong.

I'd stay away from some of the cheap 'no-name' options on Amazon; they're often poor quality leather and are destined to snap prematurely. Kiwi laces come up on Amazon a lot too, and I've found they aren't particularly good either.

White's laces are usually pretty good, and I'm surprised they gave out so quickly. Guarded Goods also have a good reputation, and most 'own brand' laces from PNW makers (Nick's, Wesco, Viberg, etc.) are pretty decent.

Can you tell why the lace failed? Sometimes if there's a rough edge on an eyelet or hook it can cause the lace to snap prematurely. Or maybe you were just unlucky.

 

[chicagoan2016]

Depends how often you wear the boots, obviously. I've got laces in boots that I wear regularly that are a couple of years old and still going strong.

I'd stay away from some of the cheap 'no-name' options on Amazon; they're often poor quality leather and are destined to snap prematurely. Kiwi laces come up on Amazon a lot too, and I've found they aren't particularly good either.

White's laces are usually pretty good, and I'm surprised they gave out so quickly. Guarded Goods also have a good reputation, and most 'own brand' laces from PNW makers (Nick's, Wesco, Viberg, etc.) are pretty decent.

Can you tell why the lace failed? Sometimes if there's a rough edge on an eyelet or hook it can cause the lace to snap prematurely. Or maybe you were just unlucky.

The last sentence is the reason, I am just unlucky ?.
@theofficialhung and you mentioned guarded goods but it appears the longest leather laces they have are 72 inches which I think may be short for my eight inches Bounty Hunters.
The leather laces that just broke are around 100 inches and White's Nylon laces are 82 inches.

 

[Jimk4003]

The last sentence is the reason, I am just unlucky ?.
@theofficialhung and you mentioned guarded goods but it appears the longest leather laces they have are 72 inches which I think may be short for my eight inches Bounty Hunters.
The leather laces that just broke are around 100 inches and White's Nylon laces are 82 inches.

Honestly, I'd just buy another set of White's laces; you're not going to find much better, and it sounds like you've just been unlucky.

Bakers have them for sale in 72" and 108" versions: https://bakershoe.com/products/leather-laces-by-whites-boots

 

[chicagoan2016]

Honestly, I'd just buy another set of White's laces; you're not going to find much better, and it sounds like you've just been unlucky.

Bakers have them for sale in 72" and 108" versions: https://bakershoe.com/products/leather-laces-by-whites-boots

you got that right bro!
I have been just unlucky lately lol

 

[chicagoan2016]

@Jimk4003 , I have the Nylon laces so I will just wait for next pair when its ready to be shipped and buy extra laces with it.

 

[klugtrane]

Thanks.

Honestly, I'd just buy another set of White's laces; you're not going to find much better, and it sounds like you've just been unlucky.

Bakers have them for sale in 72" and 108" versions: https://bakershoe.com/products/leather-laces-by-whites-boots

I agree with this. Leather laces are a bit of a crapshoot. All it takes is one spot of bad grain and they go fairly quickly, but White's are better than most I've tried. I've had some last for a few months, and several last for a long time.

 

[chicagoan2016]

What brand of Nylon laces are recommended? I would like to keep a pair or two extra

 

[klank74]

What brand of Nylon laces are recommended? I would like to keep a pair or two extra

I really like Danner’s nylon laces. If black works for you, Obenauf’s waxed laces are really good.

 

[Jimk4003]

What brand of Nylon laces are recommended? I would like to keep a pair or two extra

You can go with pretty much anything; most suitably long nylon laces will be absolutely fine, regardless of brand.

Another option is to buy some 550 paracord; you can buy drums of it on Amazon. Just cut a suitable length and melt the ends to stop it fraying. Some manufacturers even offer pre-made laces made of paracord; all they'll have done is cut some to length and stick an aglet on either end.

The only thing I'd stay away from are Kevlar laces. Whilst they certainly have their place, woven Kevlar is really hard-wearing and quite abrasive, and in the battle between the soft leather of a boot's tongue and a Kevlar lace, the Kevlar will win every time, which can lead to holes being worn through the tongue.

 

[PACostag]

Not White's related, but after revisiting this imgur post from Reddit like 15 times, I've decided that I have to share it here. Big chunky shell boots with some epic wear n' tear (albeit possibly shoe-styled)

Rocado Whiskey shell and reverse waxed Annonay Calfskin Vanquish - Album on Imgur

 

[chicagoan2016]

Thank you gentleman! I am going to order directly from White's.
I also saw some false tongues. Should I order the regular length false tongues for my eight inches bounty hunters with cap toes (Not lace to toe) and will red dog false tongue with Burgundy HH boots?

Kind Regards