Club Obi Wan

Last year on the 17th of July I received my first pair of Wested boots. I decided to wear them almost exclusively until they had a failure. After a while it became apparent this will not happen so I said I would go for a full year and make a review. An important note or two should be made:

1) when rotating two-three pairs of shoes the shoes usually last me 1-2 years. I am not sure what it is, but I erode the soles like soft butter.
2) When walking longer distances ( more than 5 km) even the most comfortable shoes will rub my feet and cause blisters, etc... I have sensitive baby feet I guess

I always wore a fitness bracelet when wearing the boots so I could track the mileage as well. I also wear the fitness band when running, but almost never inside the house.

The mileage after one year says 1420 km. Out of these I would say 120 km were spent running, thus with running shoes.

This leaves 1300 km. I did have 4-5 exceptions when I went out in sneakers, when I was very sick in winter and again when I had the ankle pain that I describe further down. So just to be sure, I will take out 100 km from this number too.

This means the Wested boots have been used for 1200 km in the last year. Now the heels and the soles are heavily worn. Two weeks before the full year a small fissure also appeared in the sole.

Here is a look at the boots after yesterday's use:





After a short cleaning with Pecard's, here is a comparison shot to a fully new pair:



What have these boots seen? I have not pampered them: I walked over all kinds of terrain from the softest grass to the most jagged rocks. I used them for yard work and garden work. They have been absolutely caked in mud, in dirt, in sawdust, in chicken poo.

I would say I am now going to list positives and negatives for the boots. But I have no real negatives, so I will just list my observations:

1) In regards to resistance/resilience:

- even though heavily worn after my year of use, the soles are very hard-wearing; you must remember I used them almost exclusively; compared to any other shoe/boot I have had they soles are very impressive
- the leather is of very high quality; even after the year of abuse it has some creased, but no cracks or fissures

2) In regards to protection:

- Here I can mostly refer to water ingress; the soles and leather are water tight; these have been soaked by pouring rain and it never reached my socks;
- two times water entered the boots and it was by user fault: once I stepped into a 5 inch puddle and some water seeped through the shoelace area; the second time was when I tried to wash the boots with a water hose while still wearing them. Again the water entered the shoe through the shoe lace area

3) In regards to comfort:

- When you get the boots the uppers are hard; it will take some weeks until they soften up, but after that they just get softer and softer with use
- I have had an issue six months in where the leather was bending in on my ankle and caused some pain; I had to have a few days break from the boots; It happened again yesterday; Since it only happens to my right foot I am chucking this up to my foot issues, rather than the boot itself
- the inner sole is quite comfortable, but it is tough and quite hard; it is NOT like walking on baby ducks. When walking more (10 km-15km) you will feel it.
- this being said I think yesterday was the most I have ever worn the boots; I wore them for 13 hours and walked 20 km with them; my feet were sore, but I think the long distance had something to do with it; any pair of shoes that you can stand on your feet for 20 km is a good pair
- I have also used the boots for hiking a few times and they are comfortable enough for hiking; only issue would be if there is mud they are slippery

As a summary: I would absolutely recommend getting a pair. They are made for use, they are made for walking. The quality is exceptional.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Bear

Thanks for that thorough review!
Can these boots be resolved? Are they Goodyear welted?

IndianaJustin wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 11:28 am Thanks for that thorough review!
Can these boots be resolved? Are they Goodyear welted?

Wested claims they can be easily resoled on their site. I will definitely try my luck with a local shoemaker, just need to track one down. I would like an army boot tread now, to turn these into hiking boot.

I have two brand new pairs ready for city use.

I would say the soles are glued, the stitching seems to be fake. They had some thread around the perimeter when they were new, but I think it was also decorative... I think...

Cheers,
Bear

Altma hot weather army boots are my everyday boot.
The Alden’s I have are for cosplay, tried sending to Alden, sent back saying they were not repairable.

Your review is good, but will be wondering if you can replace the sole.

Croft

Indiana Croft wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 2:01 pm Altma hot weather army boots are my everyday boot.
The Alden’s I have are for cosplay, tried sending to Alden, sent back saying they were not repairable.

Your review is good, but will be wondering if you can replace the sole.

Croft

The Altma boots look good, Croft!

It is a shame about your Aldens. What is wrong with them? Is the sole worn out, too? I would imagine anything can be fixed, but shoemaking is not my speciality. I once had the desire to learn how to make shoes, but it seems like too crazy an endeavour...

I hope to find a shoemaker that knows how to replace soles, if at all possible. It is a dying profession around here... Most people buy disposable shoes so shoemakers ran out of business I guess...

Cheers,
Bear

The thread coming through the outsole could indicate Goodyear welt.... but maybe it's decorative. Not sure why they'd go through the trouble for that detail.

IndianaJustin wrote: ↑Sat Jul 15, 2023 3:24 pm The thread coming through the outsole could indicate Goodyear welt.... but maybe it's decorative. Not sure why they'd go through the trouble for that detail.

I hope it is not decorative, but the boots are on the cheaper side, so I just assumed it was.

Cheers,
Bear

Thanks for the review!

Ross Anvil did take a look at the Wested Adventurer Boots, too: https://youtu.be/G4oY_w-CpkY?si=iXcEkzaNrMLm-_gh

Best regards!

Marcel

That's really cool, thank you for sharing! Pretty much as expected, a lot of corners cut to lower the price. And not such great materials.

Even so, compared to other shoes I can find in my country, the Wested boots lasted much longer. Most shoes are @#$% around here and the ones that are good reach an insane price point.

Cheers,
Bear

I am also very happy with the Westeds in general. As I described in a German forum: I love them, but not the state of communication and lack of interest in customer feedback at Wested. That's the reason I did not went with a second, new pair of Westeds, but with an used pair of Alden 405 instead…

Yeah, Wested's customer care is atrocious... I also did not have a good experience with them...

Bear

This is a great review! It's great to see real wear and tear on these.

I also have the wested's that I wear pretty frequently (though not as often as you do!) and they've been great.

The Rose Anvil vid was great, but I really hope it doesn't dissuade people from considering the Wested boots. No one in their right mind should be expecting a phenomenal boot at $150. I think the style and outer leather quality certainly make up for the sole.

It really wont be a concern to most of us as finding a cobbler (thinking outside of sending Aldens to Alden to have work done) is getting harder and harder. The last one in my state just closed a few years ago. There are "repair" shops here and there, but I wouldn't trust them not to slather them in fake mink oil.

I've always viewed the Wested's as a cosplay+ boot - a high quality cosplay item and a mid range consumer item.

Yup, I was thinking the same thing. This "Don't buy it!" statement can do some harm. If I had watched this video before getting my boots I would not have gotten them.

Like this, testing them myself I really think they hold up well, and plan on getting more pairs to have as back-up too.

I have had Otter shoes, which are by no means cheap that broke down WAY worse than the Wested boots. And I was wearing two pairs of shoes and one-two pairs of skate shoes in rotation. The Wested's I used almost exclusively and put them through some really bad stuff on purpose and they still stay together.

It's horrible that you cannot find a cobbler, it's the same over here. There is one in a town 60 km away that seems to have great reviews and he does sole changes for a lot of shoes, all of them with glued sole construction. I've been meaning to take the boots to him for two months now and see what he can do.

Cheers,
Bear

I have a question for all the happy Wested boots customers.

Does someone of you have already used IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) for cleaning the boots or removing the top layer of coating? I am asking myself if it is possible to remove the reddish look of the first generation of boots…?

Never tried it myself. I am not sure what you would be left with, underneath that top layer.

You can see that the shine was removed from mine, by wear. I am guessing it was a lacquer of some kind. The dye under it seems resilient. Or I am wrong and this is still the top layer but the luster went away due to constant conditioning, abuse and rough cleaning.

I'd imagine Wested would have sourced some decent leather for the boots, even if the construction of them isn't quite as rigid as their jacket designs...I'd expect it to be fairly decent, but it's hard to know without a cut through or a distressing session to see what happens to the boots when hit....

They look mighty similar to some of the boots on Far East marketplace sites... Not saying they are but it does make me wonder..

I've gotten in a pair of the Westeds that I have been wearing for about two weeks now. For the price I think some of the quality issues on my boot are acceptable but I wouldn't have been upset paying a bit less. The stitching is pretty poor and the maker wasn't very careful gluing. I don't expect these to last long or be repairable-- and that is ok.

So far they have been pretty brutal on my feet but I am really enjoying them. I've gotten quite a few complements on them from folks that just see a boot sans recognition of Indy/fandom/cosplay or whatever. Time will tell if they work as a daily wear boot for me.

rc325

rc325 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:51 am They look mighty similar to some of the boots on Far East marketplace sites... Not saying they are but it does make me wonder..

I've gotten in a pair of the Westeds that I have been wearing for about two weeks now. For the price I think some of the quality issues on my boot are acceptable but I wouldn't have been upset paying a bit less. The stitching is pretty poor and the maker wasn't very careful gluing. I don't expect these to last long or be repairable-- and that is ok.

So far they have been pretty brutal on my feet but I am really enjoying them. I've gotten quite a few complements on them from folks that just see a boot sans recognition of Indy/fandom/cosplay or whatever. Time will tell if they work as a daily wear boot for me.

rc325

I am guessing they are outsourced to a chinese supplier. Maybe Wested has some quality controls in place for materials and such, but no more.

In the latest pairs I got, I also saw some carelessness with the glue dispensing. It did not bother me too much. I don't want them to look brand new anyway.

I suggest applying Pecards or other leather conditioner a few times and massaging the leather a bit. That helps soften the leather. In new condition they are tough on the feet, but compared to other boots I have had, they are OK, for me at least. Or maybe my feet have grown tougher since the time I used to only wear army style boots, years ago...

Thanks for the reply!

The last pair of boots I wore religiously was a pair of Ariats. Back in those days I worked in a warehouse and the break in period was brutal. I was young and much more stubborn in those days and distinctly remember wrapping my feet in duct tape, standing in a bath tub full of water exc... They ended up being the most comfortable shoe and lasted many years.

I got out of wearing them eventually and some time ago my wife got me the same pair. I no longer work in warehouses and oddly that new pair has just never worked for me. One boot is consistently too small to the point that if I had any swelling in my feet at all I cannot wear them.

Anyway fast forward to today and I started thinking about my love of Indy and pulled the trigger on these as my first "Indy" boot. Like I said I love them and appreciate them for what they are. Although I am hoping though that the break in period isn't too long (I'm not quite as young or as puff chested as I used to be). I don't have any intention on treating any of my Indy "gear" as costume pieces or collectors items for x only. My Fed VI (Lee helped me shape it around ~18 + years now) and has literally been run over more than once, I still wear it often.

With the quality of some of the other more expensive boot options being questioned (rightfully so) I'd probably choose to buy these boots or a similar pair again and apportion my funds toward other pieces I'd like to have more that I'm not literally walking on.

All in all, I too think these are good boots (with even more time I would say more)-- but I think anyone considering them does well to consider some of the points raised to make sure the mixture of value to tradeoff is worth it for them. Thank you for raising the topic and sharing your experiences.

I also try to be kinder to my feet than I used to be. Used to put bandaids on then blisters and just power through. For the Wested's it was not really needed. A few times the leather pressed some sensitive points on my ankle and foot, but otherwise it was acceptable.

But with the second pair now in break in stage, I'd rather wear the boots a little at a time anyway, to avoid even the little discomfort I had with the first pair. I did wear them for a whole year, I think my other shoes deserve a turn.

It's great that you fully use your gear! I also look for usable pieces, rather than ones that are only for cosplay. Even the ones I have no use for (looking at you handgun holster) should be as sturdy as possible.

If I knew I'd get 15-20 years of use out of a re-soleable boot, I'd pay whatever price for it. But I run through all shoes really fast and even the most expensive pairs seem not made to be refurbished. Even if the sole is replaceable, the leather suffers...

Cheers,
Bear

I figured I would continue this thread instead of starting another…

How do the Wested sizes compare to Alden’s? - Run smaller/larger…same??
My Alden’s are 13’s…

As far as I heard from others the Wested's usually run a bit smaller than normal boots, but I do not know how they are compared to Alden's.

To me shoes are generally all over the place... I wear 40, 41, 42, 43. Sometimes 43 fits tightly, sometimes it is large....

I got Wested's in 43 and they are a bit large, but I can wear them (as you see above) just fine.

I hope some other gearheads who own both weigh in soon.

Cheers,
Bear

Anyone else?

Maybe you can have a look to this thread. People say some stuff about the Wested size. Don't know how many refer to Alden's though, like you need, though...

viewtopic.php?p=943337&hilit=wested+boo ... ng#p943337

I've never owned a pair of Aldens, so I can't offer a comparison. I'm somewhere between size 11.5 US and 12 US. My Wested boots are size 12 US, and they fit just fine after breaking them in. I would suggest ordering your regular size or maybe a half size up if possible.

bearbeast wrote: ↑Wed Mar 27, 2024 1:49 am Maybe you can have a look to this thread. People say some stuff about the Wested size. Don't know how many refer to Alden's though, like you need, though...

viewtopic.php?p=943337&hilit=wested+boo ... ng#p943337

The last comment on that thread mirrors my experience with Wested and Alden boots. Specifically the description of the toe box being too small and the heel being too large on the Wested as well as the tedious break in.

Yup, that was mostly my experience as well, the break in part. Takes quite a while til they are soft.