Wolverine 1000 Mile Boot Review

[Spencer]

^
Hey, that's my f-ed up boot!

It does bother me a bit, especially since my brown pair hasn't creased like that at all. But l think these boots unlike many Alden Indy boots, for example are more "workwear" boots, patina well, and kind of look better when beat up, somewhat. Not thrashed to ****, but looked like they have been lived in.

 

[LA Guy]

Just a headsup that we will be auctioning a pair of the original Wolverine 1000 mile boots, in any color, any size, and an accompanying Filson vest, courtesy of our good friends at Crane's, this Friday, on this thread: http://www.styleforum.net/t/326778/...the-ronald-mcdonald-house-holiday-drive/50_50

Yes, you guys should subscribe to that thread. Lot's of good stuff is going to be auctioned off for a good cause, the Ronald McDonald House, which houses families of children who have to travel for medical treatment.

 

[Cold Iron]

Would Crane's method work well for AE Bayfield boots? They're also CXL. I have been using the AE Aqua-Care Shoe Cream (no longer sold) which they used to recommend for it. I'm thinking Crane's method would be far more effective at waterproofing them and making them last long. I already have Lexol leather cleaner, Filson boot oil, and Obenauf's LP on the way for some Wolverine 1k miles.

Yes a few pages back I showed how I treat my Bayfield's in CXL. My black calf Bayfield's get paste wax though

http://www.styleforum.net/t/163864/wolverine-1000-mile-boot-review/2265#post_5939842

And realized that in that post I had a lot of boots but no 1K boots so....

My shell 744LTD:



Krause in tan out of the box, which were a bit too light for me:



After cleaning with saddle soap and scrub brush to better take up a few coats of medium brown Saphir cream and then Saphir medium brown paste wax to finish:

 

[illicitstylz]

cancel that.

 

[digga]

Just curious about Wolverine fans. It seems in a lot of other shoe maker threads any amount of uneven creasing between shoes or excessive creasing in a shoe is met with screams of "defective!" "unacceptable!" "return!" Yet in here, excessive creasing seems to be a badge of honor in some ways. In just the past month the pictures below were all posted by new boot owners with some of them inquiring about excessive creases in their 1K boots and the follow up responses were usually to not worry about it or it's normal/great looking/good representation of the randomness of life etc etc.
What gives most of you Wolverine fans this more relaxed perspective compared to a lot of other posters? Is it cause most of you use your boots for rougher work or something? It's a nice welcome change!

I personally think it has to do with the leather selection/matching. That's the only logical explanation I can think of. This explanation might also align with the high frequency of QC issues on brand new boots... but, if you get a pair with all the stitches in place and pieces of leather in the right spots and don't mind the difference in leather from left to right they're great boots.

You will be told that the variation is normal, and I agree for the most part... but all the other guys figured out how to come up with fairly matched pairs.

 

[h0rse27]

I purchased some Wolverine 1000 Mile Krause boots (factory seconds) from the Allen Edmonds outlet store and was a bit disappointed when I received them in the mail.

What I got


This is what I was expecting.



Aren't the 1000 Mile Krause boots suppose to come with the brown soles? I liked them a lot better with the color contrast of the black leather on brown soles and stitching. from the

 

[L.R.]



I own tan Addisons and the "Cranes Method" works on these very well. Exposure to the elements and sunlight is going to darken the leather whether you like it or not. It's the nature of the beast kind of thing. So with that in mind treat them as I have outlined and wear them well. If you don't treat them be forewarned you won't like what the elements will do to them. I almost destroyed my Addisons by letting them go for a while. I got lucky and got the crud off them before it could dry and permanently stain the leather.

This is just a regular snow seal method? Should Obenaufs be applied as well, and if so, in what order?

 

[EdwardB]

Just curious about Wolverine fans. It seems in a lot of other shoe maker threads any amount of uneven creasing between shoes or excessive creasing in a shoe is met with screams of "defective!" "unacceptable!" "return!" Yet in here, excessive creasing seems to be a badge of honor in some ways. In just the past month the pictures below were all posted by new boot owners with some of them inquiring about excessive creases in their 1K boots and the follow up responses were usually to not worry about it or it's normal/great looking/good representation of the randomness of life etc etc. Is it cause most of you use your boots for rougher work or something?

This. They're not supposed to be refined, they look better beat up, so any minor defect will just add character. Can't speak for anyone else, but I'll probably do 2x layers of Obenauf's annually and otherwise forget about maintenance.

I think it also has to do, to an extent, about pricepoint. I was going back and forth between a pair of Alden boots at roughly 500 and these for 300. If I got the Aldens, I'd most likely be babying them and not putting them through any rigorous activity. Not that 300 is a small amount of money by any means, but I feel like in some way, it's led me to not worry/obsess over maintenance and for me, that's part of the appeal of these over higher-end stuff.

 

[zinc2162]

Yes a few pages back I showed how I treat my Bayfield's in CXL. My black calf Bayfield's get paste wax though

http://www.styleforum.net/t/163864/wolverine-1000-mile-boot-review/2265#post_5939842

And realized that in that post I had a lot of boots but no 1K boots so....

My shell 744LTD:

Krause in tan out of the box, which were a bit too light for me:

After cleaning with saddle soap and scrub brush to better take up a few coats of medium brown Saphir cream and then Saphir medium brown paste wax to finish:

I have the same tan Krause. It seems that the waxy leather isn't taking the polish in. Do you suggest to saddle soap it even they are right out of the box?

 

[Crane's]



I have the same tan Krause. It seems that the waxy leather isn't taking the polish in. Do you suggest to saddle soap it even they are right out of the box?

No and I explained why at great length at least several dozen times already. You treat first to keep the leather nourished and protected. This supersedes this endless fiasco of trying to get them to look like Lobb shoes. They are boots made from a very specific type of full grain leather that in general doesn't take to wax very well. I'll go so far as to say if you do manage to get them to look like some super expensive hand made shoe then the leather is most likely very dry and you can bet disaster isn't too far behind.

 

[ryewo[i dmfsOZI490w]

I don't really like the creasing, but yeah, they're workwear boots. Having said that, my next pair of boots are going to be something a lot more refined. This one fills a niche in which I only really need one pair of boots to fill up.

 

[zinc2162]

No and I explained why at great length at least several dozen times already. You treat first to keep the leather nourished and protected. This supersedes this endless fiasco of trying to get them to look like Lobb shoes. They are boots made from a very specific type of full grain leather that in general doesn't take to wax very well. I'll go so far as to say if you do manage to get them to look like some super expensive hand made shoe then the leather is most likely very dry and you can bet disaster isn't too far behind.

Crane, your advice on nourishing the leather was the first thing I followed. I did treat my boots with conditioner when I got them. Since my boots are "seconds", part of the leather seems to have loss some finishing and I just want to replenish the color.

 

[Crane's]



Crane, your advice on nourishing the leather was the first thing I followed. I did treat my boots with conditioner when I got them. Since my boots are "seconds", part of the leather seems to have loss some finishing and I just want to replenish the color.

This type of leather darkens over time from sun and exposure to the air and elements. I would rub some oil on the spot first and see what happens. If that doesn't work a little bit of creme wax should do the trick.

As far as this whole creasing thing is concerned it's not a defect or anything along those lines. It is nothing more than a characteristic of this type of leather.

I've also warned people of the hazards of buying seconds. Enough people have posted pics to prove once again that being cheap and worrying about a few bucks is no deal at all. At least when it comes to this product line. Expecting first quality from seconds is a fools errand and is an unreasonable expectation.

 

[izzyfuld]

Quote: lol... thought you meant cycling...

 

[MarioImpemba]

lol... thought you meant cycling...

Heh, I gathered.

I got clip-ins for that.