RM Williams Boots - Everything You Wanted to Know

[Ironist]



@havingaraveup - I've had 'em about 9 months - worn a bit - maybe once every couple of weeks, but they've been faithful companions at 4 or 5 music festivals and quite a number of concerts over that time.

The extra wear must have been due to the mosh pits. You beat the hell out of them in those 9 months lol.

 

[Silent Speaker]



9 months and once every couple of weeks is like 20 wears. That's not very much for what those look like.

Here are mine: http://i.imgur.com/TAAk7Ty.jpg?1

I wear them maybe 2x a week and have had them for 9 months as well. Have you spoke to RM about this?

You've not been to very many "music festivals" I see.

 

[Henry Carter]

I'd be buggered if I would buy RM's for festivals and concerts. A pair of blunnies would serve you better no?

 

[Oli2012]

I'd be buggered if I would buy RM's for festivals and concerts. A pair of blunnies would serve you better no?

Jason,

Get that belt I sent you!

(and an RMWs wallet).

 

[titsmcgee852]

I've seen plenty of RMs at festivals and gigs, they fit that aesthetic really well I've found. It's one of the reasons I'm looking for a pair of seconds.

I
Insoles and outsoles:
DFC (dynamic flex craft.) has a removable insole and a weird, apparently problematic, hybrid leather/rubber outsole. The goto boot if you need a special orthodic insole.
Regular craftsman = leather insole and outsole
Comfort craft. = composite outsole, and a padded synthetic insole (poron? texon? something like that - some kind of fibreboard for cushioning)

One more combination you didn't mention is the Blaxland (composite outsole, leather insole).

Thanks for that. Could you tell me how both the Macquarie, Tambo, Henley and Wentworth models differ from the Craftsman? They all look very similar. I'm looking at buying a pair of All-Rounders, good boots?

 

[NotoriousMarquis]



You've not been to very many "music festivals" I see.

I've taken them on a few hikes, but I'm not sure why festivals could possibly do this much wear unless youre jumping in mud and getting them stepped on a lot. I think 20 wears plus a few days at festivals has done a lot more to these shoes than it should have. I'd talk to RM about it.

 

[milw50717]



I've taken them on a few hikes, but I'm not sure why festivals could possibly do this much wear unless youre jumping in mud and getting them stepped on a lot. I think 20 wears plus a few days at festivals has done a lot more to these shoes than it should have. I'd talk to RM about it.

I suspect that their condition is the desired festival aesthetic.

I'd also suspect that they have been worn more than 20 times and then maybe for extended durations. Tramping around in mud and dust will soon suck the life and shape out of leather. They will clean up just fine. Get all the dust and mud out of the creases, apply lots of conditioner, a quick polish and they will look a whole lot better.

Where are the 'after' pictures ?

 

[titsmcgee852]

Hey guys, when you see boots listed as GW after the size number, is that any different to just G?

 

[Silent Speaker]



Thanks for that. Could you tell me how both the Macquarie, Tambo, Henley and Wentworth models differ from the Craftsman? They all look very similar. I'm looking at buying a pair of All-Rounders, good boots?

They're different lasts and toe shapes.

Imagine that there are two prototypical RM's: Turnout = roundtoe, Craftsman = chisel toe.
Everything else (apart from one hideous exception for women) is a variation of one or the other - ie. more round, round and narrow, round with a twist, square, fat square etc.

Macq. are round but narrow compared to the Turnout (I think the infamous "forum special" is based on the macquarie's toe).

Henly's a chisel toe but it's wider IIRC compared to the craftsman. There's something else funny about it as well but I can't remember - something to do with the shape overall. I think it's for certain kinds of feet.

Tambo: imagine a craftsman that's in need of a diet. It's designed for very wide feet.

Wentworth is to the Turnout as the Blaxland is to the Craftsman (see my last post)

The All Rounder's an anomaly: I've never encountered one in person, and I'm still trying to figure out where it fits in the RMW menagerie. It's basically a lesser craftsman I think (same toe shape). Lesser in that the leather used is not as fine as the standard yearling, but closer to workboot leather - don't think it's lined either on account of the tougher leather.

I suppose on the scale it's closer to work boot than dress boot, but still very much dress boot i that makes any sense. It's cheaper than the craftsman too, but if you have access to 2nds a pair of craftsman will be cheaper anyway.

Check the "elastic sided boots" section of bootsonline's site, they've got all the boots with multiangle pics including topdown ones so that you can see the diff between toes (their site trumps RMW's own steaming pile of crap that may be mistaken for a functioning website - seriously, whoever was paid to design that site should be dragged outside and shot repeatedly - best just download the catalog from RMW and that's about all that you should have to do with their site - utterly useless, when it's accessible at all that is)

Hey guys, when you see boots listed as GW after the size number, is that any different to just G? 

Where are you reading this?
I've never heard of a GW. "G-Width"?

There's G and H which are standard and wide that you'll find easily in the shops, and F which is narrow (X which is the Tambo's and perhaps some even more narrow ones like E or something).
Never encounted a GW though. Check one of their catalogs.

 

[titsmcgee852]

Thanks so much! This was just what I was looking for. It was on an ebay listing, but I think you're right in that GW just means G Width. I went into the store and tried some comfort craftsmans (craftsmen?) on today and they were so bloody comfortable, can't wait to get myself a pair.

 

[slimaneism]

Am new to this thread, and the benefits of wholecut chelsea boots, and how the sleeker RMW calfskin models might rival those of JMW and JL when paired with suits / formalwear. But in my search for configurations more suitable for wear with denim, I happened upon some interesting not-as-well-known suede materials that RM Williams also uses when crafting boots, but does not list in it's catalog.

Standard suede colors are a black, dark brown, and that whitish sand suede color. But they also have a 'mid-brown' tone that has a more snuff suede colored hue. Had a chance, yesterday, to learn more about it when speaking on the phone with a wonderful RMW-NYC sales associate by the name of Kevin, who quite patiently answered all of my questions. There's also two camel leather options in brown and black, which was the closest approximation to pebble / scotch grain textures I could find RMW having on offer . . .

Have enclosed some pics of the mid-brown suede options (comfort craftsman model). And also included a link to some great pics of the brownish-chestnutty camel option. Was informed that both materials could be deployed in a wide range of MTO configurations . . .





(camel option link)

http://indigoshrimp.wordpress.com/category/r-m-williams/

Does anyone know why these boots are cheaper on bootsonline than RMW directly? $345 AUD vs $465 AUD

 

[milw50717]



Does anyone know why these boots are cheaper on bootsonline than RMW directly? $345 AUD vs $465 AUD

Generally speaking smaller retailers will have lower overheads than RMW, thus they can sell them with less profit margin.

 

[Prince of Paisley]

^ Wholesale vs retail price basically. The online guys sell (I'm guessing) at wholesale+profit while RMW sell at a full retail price.

As Sator says earlier in the thread RMW begrudge the online sellers a little but really they are the ones who are proliferating the brand here and overseas far better than RMW themselves are. Also, the boots are all made in the same factory anyway.

 

[dusttruffle]

+1 on more rum leather pics

 

[Prince of Paisley]

From the Aussie members thread:

A couple of photo's in today's Government Gazette outlining the process for making of RMW boots - thought Oli might be interested if he hasn't seen it already!

Here...