RM Williams Boots - Everything You Wanted to Know

[Grayland]



I just found this... Link to sizing for RMW


I think you have it backwards. My RMW's are a SMALLER size and width than my AE PA's. In other word's, the RMW's run LARGER.

My AE PA's are a size 11.5 D (D is American regular fit) and I had to size down a half size for my RMW Craftsmans to size 11 F (the F is their narrow).

It looks like the chart says there is a full size difference but I guess I found I only needed a half size difference (and a narrower width).

It worked the same for way for me. I'm a 10.5 D and I take a size 10 F in RM Williams. I tried a standard 9.5 in RM Williams, but I needed more length.

 

[Dr P00b]

I did one online with Aussie Bush Hats and had no drama. It takes a while to be made and sent. I think it was a few months but the end product was worth waiting for.

 

[SpeedBird]

Yes Aussie Bush Hats are very good at made to order boots, I have used then a few times and they are very good in terms of getting what you want. You need to wait but its well worth it to see the final product in the end. Send then an email, I am sure Joy will look after you in every respect.

Give then a go let us know how you got on...

 

[Silent Speaker]

Greetings and apologies in advance for the crappy photography,

I picked up some more RM's in early October and November of last year. A pair of Craftsman in Sandstone, and a pair of Com.Crafts in Tanbark Kangaroo. I bought the Sandstones at an RMW outlet and the Tanbarks at the "Stitching Horse Bootery" aka "Bootsoffline" (bootsonline's retail presence in Melbourne).

I wanted a lighter, perhaps more interesting colour than my trusty pair of chestnut craftsmans that were kinda overdue for a factory overhaul after three years of near constant wear, on differing occasions and functions (both casual and more formal), from the soiled streets of Bangkok to the polished cobbles of Vienna and everywhere else in between, on sand, through mud and pretty much every kind of terrain besides fire and ice - and they were in definite need of a re-craft and good god a resole - they could've held on for a while longer yet for sure, but it gave me the excuse to buy more boots so what the heck. My chestnut pair have become a very dark brown, and since I was facing the prospect of a summer without them, well, until the RMW's factory reopens in late Jan/Early Feb or whenever it is, then a new pair (or dozen), of lighter coloured boots was in order!

Sandstone:

To be honest I was not so enthused with the sandstone pair at first, in fact that's one of the reasons I ended up purchasing the tanbark roo's less than a month later on a chance trip to Melbourne.

They, quite unusually, came with the comfort inner that is standard on the comfort craftsman, but also had a leather sole. I do not really see any benefit to this, although I do recall reading a few thousand or so pages back on this mega-thread about one member that in all likelihood spearheaded the effort to have RMW provide this option, I don't recall their reasons for wanting the option in the first place. The SA at the store told me it's the only model they've released with this as the default option.

I suppose they did so in order to have the natural, undyed sole and heel to match the lighter leather, as I don't recall ever seeing a lighter variant of their standard composite sole option (not counting the treaded welt gristle option for work boots).

Either way, they felt odd.

With my leather soled shoes, I like the fact that I can "feel" the ground with them, every pebble, the grit of the road, and the comfort inner just negates the tactile element that I enjoy when wearing leather soles. I am not so sure about the whole "breathing"/sweat issue either and how it may or may not be affected by the comfort inner as opposed to the standard leather inner, but whatever - it didn't really make sense to me, and I got the boots for cheap and so thought, "what the hell?", and had them topy'd. The cobbler did quite a good job I think, and considering his work shelf pretty much just had RM's on it I felt like I was in safe hands.

They'll be my control pair to see just how 'damaging' a topy can be, considering the horror stories one gets from RMW factory workers and the usual spiel you get from the assistants at their stores about the detrimental effects on the rubber sole protector!
We shall see.


The leather itself is supposed to be yearling, but felt much tougher and not as “fine” as their standard black/chestnut yearling models. They were very pale at first, perhaps too pale for my liking, but that was before I applied the RM's leather conditioner, which, as you can see, have really darkened the leather:

Before:

After conditioning and a month or two of wear:

They have also been rather “creasey”. They weren't on trees for about a month or so after I got them, so that might have something to do with it, but I think it's just a characteristic of this particular leather.

(note the whitish stuff is residue from the neutral stockmans polish).

I've found that I much prefer them tanned like this, although was at first dismayed at just how dark they had become after intial applicaiton (I've done it twice). They kinda remind me of the look of natural chromexcel (although their pre-treated state was still paler than the natural CXL I've seen on some OSB Trench's).


Tankbark Kangaroo:

As mentioned, I bought these at Bootsonline's physical store (the Stitching Horse Bootery) in Melbourne. I bought my chestnut boots from them a couple of years ago when they were still in Como Centre, but they now share a small space with Australia's official Red Wing distributor somewhere in Burnley (two or three stops from the central train station). The shop itself is just a tiny space and the back is like a huge store room filled with RMW (and RW) boxes. Since pretty much all of their business is online trading to folks overseas I suppose such large retail space was unnecessary.
I considered some Whiskey craftsmans they had on hand as well: (L=W, R=T)

I found that the whiskey was too orange for my liking. Maybe they lose that orange tinge with the leather conditioner? Whiskey I save for another day.
(Top=Tan, Bottom =Whis)

Oddly enough, I've not encountered the fabled creasing of kangaroo leather with this pair, although it's perhaps yet early days. Nevertheless they've been worn in a three shoe rotation since November or so, no trees for the first month and they look as if I'd put them on for the first time. They've darkened a little after that first application of the leather conditioner. I wonder though, does kangaroo leather really need it? Isn't a property of roo leather that it doesn't really dry out? Can't hurt I suppose, and it's been a recommended action by everyone I have spoken with on the matter.

Couple of short haul internal Australia flights (which can be pretty long, considering the size of the place) and some long haul international flights and these are my boot of choice for travelling – light, easy to slip off at security points and when (trying to) get comfy during those long, nauseatingly boring and unpleasant hours up in the air. I really like the kangaroo leather.

Overall, I like both boots very much, but I like tanbark roo's perhaps just a bit more; though the sandstones do have a delightful glow in direct sunlight I think the roo leather is more comfortable overall, and since I'm in the perpetually heated tropics at the moment and since Australia will still be in the throes of one of its typical scorching summers, a roo craftsman on the thinner, brass screwed sole will fit nicely into the summer wardrobe.

Here's the tanbark roo compared to some dark tan yearling and veal chestnut (the veal chestnut is nicer colour than the yearling IMO, it's slightly lighter).

The dark tan is a nice colour and I'm surprised there hasn't been much mention of them here and it comes in all three of the leather types. I really like them. More interesting than chestnut IMO, just a longer wait time I guess.

Hopefully, if anything, this post has helped folks see some comparisons of boot colours, despite the crappy phone camera pics.


=====================================================
Just a note on Bootsonline: I spent almost an hour and a half or so mulling over a pair of Red Wings (well, I was just there staring at the things across the room so I figured why not) Iron Rangers and the Tanbarks vs the Whiskey's. The proprietors of both stores were very patient and helpful. I chose to get the IR's over the Beckmans easily (sizing issues) on the RW side but spent another half hour agonising over leather types, colours, and styles with the RM's side! Such is the life of the indecisive individual.

The bootsonline folks were exceedingly pleasant, helpful, patient, and I cannot recommend them highly enough either for an online order or even a traditional, face to face retail transaction if one happens to be in Melbourne and wanting some RM's (the shared shop is closed on weekends though, so keep that in mind). My experience with retail in Australia has been, overall, not so bad really (as far as service is concerned that is, don't even talk about pricing in general though) but I must say that I was surprised at the level of quality of the service I received there. I'm in the process of deciding upon an internet MTO for some Dark Tan Kangaroo craftsmans, and wouldn't consider to order from anyone else (I have, in the past, attempted to reach two of the other commonly mentioned shops in this thread but in both instances never received a reply in return – no thanks, I'll go where I know I'll get service and where emails are answered promptly, politely and even on the same day). We all find a regular shop to feed our addictions and I guess I've found mine.

Thanks for reading.

 

[mr monty]

 

[MrZBrown]

Hey guys,
I am thinking of ordering some "forum specials" with bootsonline. I just had a question for those of you who have RM Williams in several colors. What is the color you wear most. Part of me wants to get some black boots, but obviously the brown versions would be more versatile. What are your thoughts on black vs brown?

 

[Silhouette]

Hey guys,
I am thinking of ordering some "forum specials" with bootsonline. I just had a question for those of you who have RM Williams in several colors. What is the color you wear most. Part of me wants to get some black boots, but obviously the brown versions would be more versatile. What are your thoughts on black vs brown?

Excuse me for asking but what do you mean by "forum specials?" Is there a Styleforum discount if one orders from Bootsonline?

 

[SpeedBird]



Hey guys,
I am thinking of ordering some "forum specials" with bootsonline. I just had a question for those of you who have RM Williams in several colors. What is the color you wear most. Part of me wants to get some black boots, but obviously the brown versions would be more versatile. What are your thoughts on black vs brown?

Buy Both, easy fixed! So splash out and both colours will provide you the simple answer. I bet if you buy 1 colour then it wont be long for you to order the other colour.

I started off with my first pair as Dark Tan, then brought another in Black, and Chestnut and then more.

 

[MrZBrown]

Excuse me for asking but what do you mean by "forum specials?" Is there a Styleforum discount if one orders from Bootsonline?

If you read the first post in this thread, the OP designs a slimmer looking Craftsman by using the Turnabout last and getting the leather sole with no heel. I was interested in that design.

 

[MrZBrown]

Buy Both, easy fixed! So splash out and both colours will provide you the simple answer. I bet if you buy 1 colour then it wont be long for you to order the other colour.

I started off with my first pair as Dark Tan, then brought another in Black, and Chestnut and then more.

Don't get me wrong, there's a good chance if I like them I will get another but I have to start with one!

 

[M McB]

The Craftsman in chestnut is my favourite.

 

[MrZBrown]

Buy Both, easy fixed! So splash out and both colours will provide you the simple answer. I bet if you buy 1 colour then it wont be long for you to order the other colour.

I started off with my first pair as Dark Tan, then brought another in Black, and Chestnut and then more.

Which is your favorite color now? Are you wearing them with slacks?

 

[Prince of Paisley]

I think if you are wearing odd jackets and trews then chestnut, dark tan or rum would probably be the most versatile colours for a pair of RMs - or any footwear. The more casual nature of your outfits should dictate that brown boots are more appropriate than black.

As for the Forum Special, my understanding is that it's an elongated last with screwed in sole; a very sleek boot. My instinct would be to order that particular model in black - a colour formal enough to match the style of boot.

 

[MrZBrown]

I think if you are wearing odd jackets and trews then chestnut, dark tan or rum would probably be the most versatile colours for a pair of RMs - or any footwear. The more casual nature of your outfits should dictate that brown boots are more appropriate than black.

As for the Forum Special, my understanding is that it's an elongated last with screwed in sole; a very sleek boot. My instinct would be to order that particular model in black - a colour formal enough to match the style of boot.

fantastic. Thank you for the advice. you summed up my thoughts on it. If I am going to be using it for work, black seems like the best bet, I just really like that chestnut color. Guess I need two.

 

[SpeedBird]



Which is your favorite color now? Are you wearing them with slacks?

Yes with slacks or trousers mostly. I like both colours, Black for formal and Chestnut with Navy slacks. The Dark Tan I like to wear more for casual now. I don't really have a favourite colour.