THE vintage Raiders boots from Alden...

chuck2003 · Post by **chuck2003** » Sat Mar 22, 2014 3:58 pm

I a had no doubt they would do right to their customers. Stefan is a very helpful guy when I talked to him via email. I just think this was a case of over thinking it a bit. If they do a new run in the future I think I will wait until they are released. For now I'm going to put in in a order for the natural chromexal boots and call it a day

Noah · Post by **Noah** » Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:49 pm

Yes those boots are nice in their own right, but as a "Raiders" boot it really isn't close. Must have been a real bummer to wait that long and receive something different than what you originally thought you would. Glad you guys were able to get refunds from them. Maybe a later run will come out with the right color leather.

MARQ · Post by **MARQ** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 5:25 am

I´d not give a HOOT about the correct colour because the boots Indy wore were USED and thus the colour has been worn off

It eventually does,if one wears ones boots every day as one should like one will...or will one,anyone??!! At least I will if and when I get mine...price you know

j_m_t · Post by **j_m_t** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 9:57 am

MARQ wrote: I´d not give a HOOT about the correct colour because the boots Indy wore were USED and thus the colour has been worn off It eventually does,if one wears ones boots every day as one should like one will...or will one,anyone??!! At least I will if and when I get mine...price you know

NO! I don't and wouldn't wear mine everyday. They are supposed to get a day of rest to dry out and let the leather go back to shape with a shoe tree.

this goes for every shoe, one of the reasons I'm trying to get another pair of hiking boots so I have two pairs of everyday shoe and my Indy's for when I want to feel pretty

Post by **Cajunkraut** » Sat Mar 29, 2014 11:10 am

j_m_t wrote:
MARQ wrote: I´d not give a HOOT about the correct colour because the boots Indy wore were USED and thus the colour has been worn off It eventually does,if one wears ones boots every day as one should like one will...or will one,anyone??!! At least I will if and when I get mine...price you know
NO! I don't and wouldn't wear mine everyday. They are supposed to get a day of rest to dry out and let the leather go back to shape with a shoe tree.

this goes for every shoe, one of the reasons I'm trying to get another pair of hiking boots so I have two pairs of everyday shoe and my Indy's for when I want to feel pretty

Agreed, jmt. Although I wonder if any of the screen used Aldens had ever had shoe trees.

IndianaChris711 · Post by **IndianaChris711** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:53 am

Well from the initial posting by Marc, I thought in his picture this new offering, the color is extremely lighter than what I was thinking. Personally I really like my other AB Alden boots, even though I mostly just wear them for interviews. I bought my other pair of Aldens in 2007 for $300, geez, I should I have bought another pair since these boots go for over $500+ now. I will have to post some pictures of my Aldens boots I wear pretty much everyday, looks great and still going. Probably will have to get them resoled pretty soon. For 550 Euros, I'm sorry, I'm not interested in these new offerings because of the cost and the look.

IndianaChris711

The Man with the Hat · Sun Apr 13, 2014 9:47 pm

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:07 pm

Yes, those are boots.

Nightgoat · Post by **Nightgoat** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:27 pm

I think I have finally satisfied my obsession with the perfect pair/color of Alden Indy boots. This is a pair I've been wearing pretty regularly for almost a year now. They are the natural Chromexcel so you can see they have definitely darkened over time. Aside from wearing them as much as I can (they're about the most comfortable footwear I own!) I have applied maybe 2 coats of Pecard's dressing but that's it. What do you guys think?

Indoors, no flash:

Indoors with flash:

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:55 pm

Those look GREAT! Wish mine were that dark already. I've had my natural cxls for a year now, applied various Pecards and Meltonian creams to them, plus sun tanning in an effort to accelerate the process. I'd like to get them at least 3x darker brown, but the leather is still a shade of light bronze. Granted, I've only worn them about a dozen times, and I do tend to baby them because they cost me half a grand, but still...

Anyway, NICE Aldens!!! They've definitely got the Raiders vibe!

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:11 am

Judging by this pic I think the original AB color was very good.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:52 am

What pic?

Indiego Jones · Post by **Indiego Jones** » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:52 am

The original color of the boots was not that dark.
Everything in that picture looks saturated, and too dark.

If you want to know the real color of the boots, just look at 70's Aldens.
Remember this was a standard factory made item. Not like the jacket, which was custom.

Ford brought his personal Aldens to the set. Most probably bought them only a couple of years before.
So, that's the hero boot. Standard Aldens 405 boot, from mid 70's

Cheers.-

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:15 am

Hi everyone,

we are currently preparing a new batch of these vintage Raiders boots from Alden.
The new leather has sparked quite some discussion here and I post a picture below of how they turn out after being worn for half a year.
As stated also above, the color fades into a much darker tone.

Please send us a pm or an email to info@adventurebilt.com if you are interested to join this batch.

Best,
Stefan

TheExit148 · Post by **TheExit148** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:52 am

Are you changing anything with this new batch? Darker stitching on the uppers, but still the white stitching on the mocc toe?

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:09 am

Ha. My natural CXL ones will look this good in time and I paid a fraction of what these go for. Still nice though.

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:59 pm

These boots have everything!

Illinois James · Post by **Illinois James** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:18 pm

Whip, thank goodness I invested in an awesome keyboard protector!!!

Hilarious!!!

I'd really like to see some of these boots from some of our members here from after a year of wear.

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 3:26 pm

Well, you know... because Stefan / Stefon said it, so it had to be done!

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Sat Oct 24, 2015 6:30 pm

I would be more interested to see how they look out the gate. All I can say about my natural CXL is that they looked good out the gate and now look even better and it's only been less than a month wearing them. They have darkened considerably and without the red undertones of the 403.

So looking forward to seeing a pair of these out of the box. I could not afford them so I went with the natural CRX.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 11:47 am

TheExit148 wrote:Are you changing anything with this new batch? Darker stitching on the uppers, but still the white stitching on the mocc toe?

Hi, no we we're not changing anything for the batch. The color of the stitching matches the leather.

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:15 pm

Everyone prepare for another batch of elephant hide Aldens...

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:36 pm

Those look good to me. If they are anything like my natural CRX. Won't take much to darken them up either.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 5:14 am

The aging and polishing makes a big difference to the color. We offer the service to do the initial treatment for everyone who is interested. It then takes only a little bit of repolishing after wearing and the color fades into what is seen on the last picture I posted.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 10:54 am

It is difficult to tell because of the lighting but in these scenes, it looks like a lighter tobacco brown....contrast that with a more cordovan look in the truck chase....different pair or more realistic lighting? My guess is that Ford may have had only one pair of his own boots for personal use that he wore in the movie? What are your thoughts?

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:18 am

Here are my natural CXLs in natural Florida sunshine.

http://i1323.photobucket.com/albums/u58 ... qzgfp.jpeg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This same pic in the shade, the boots show up even darker. Very similar to your first photo Texan.

The foot on the pedal looks like my pair of 403s especially how they look after scuffed up from working.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:24 am

If you can safely say that Ford wore his own pair of boots, and that he had only one pair, then it would appear the boots were cordovan, and that the darker studio lighting made them appear a different shade of brown..? At least it appears so? It hinges on how many pair.

TheExit148 · Post by **TheExit148** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:35 am

No way the boots in Raiders are Cordovan leather. It's a dress leather, that is way more expensive then the regular leather. I don't even think 405's were available back then in that leather. Alden only offered the 405 in the standard "brown calf leather" which changed over the years due to suppliers.

I'm 100% convinced that these boots I found on Rakutan are the boots worn by Ford as the "Hero" boots. These are 70's deadstock.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:39 am

The truck boots sure look cordovan, though?

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:51 am

Are you meaning cordovan brown color or horse leather? If leather those truck boots look nothing like cordovan leather to me.

Was that shot not already confirmed not to be Fords?

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:58 am

The truck boots look reddish brown to me.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:58 am

Definitely do.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:15 pm

Another thing about the truck boots is that the heel looks full, or new. Either this was a new pair of boots that had been distressed, or the heal had recently been resoled.

Post by **Michaelson** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:20 pm

Or they could have been those 'infamous' pair of Redwings we've heard so much about.

TheExit148 · Post by **TheExit148** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:27 pm

Texan Scott wrote:Another thing about the truck boots is that the heel looks full, or new. Either this was a new pair of boots that had been distressed, or the heal had recently been resoled.

The older Alden 405s had a black rubber stack; actual heel material/piece, then black rubber or leather stack. Alden has changed this as well.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:28 pm

I dunno. more tribbles more troubles.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 12:37 pm

So a question about the AB boots.
I found some pics of them out of the box. Besides these being vegetable tanned calf leather and not chrome tanned, what is the main difference in color? The natural CXL has more of a brown tone to the light color while it looks like the AB ones have a more grey tone to the light color. Both age darker with some wear and polishing. Right?

The rest of the shoe looks the same aside from the vintage stamp inside. The biggest difference to me is the price.

I like both though.

Stefan · Post by **Stefan** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:06 pm

Here's a snapshot of one of our pairs. A little bit shiny with all the light. Still shows what a warm, non red, milky chocolate they turn into over time, only using tender grease and care.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:38 pm

Looks good.

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:27 pm

whipwarrior wrote:Everyone prepare for another batch of elephant hide Aldens...

Yellow Indy boots? C'mon...

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:28 pm

Indiego Jones wrote:The original color of the boots was not that dark.
Everything in that picture looks saturated, and too dark.

If you want to know the real color of the boots, just look at 70's Aldens.
Remember this was a standard factory made item. Not like the jacket, which was custom.

Ford brought his personal Aldens to the set. Most probably bought them only a couple of years before.
So, that's the hero boot. Standard Aldens 405 boot, from mid 70's

Cheers.-

I wrote 'very good', not 'perfect'.

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 4:47 pm

Texan Scott wrote:The truck boots look reddish brown to me.

Castor Dioscuri · Post by **Castor Dioscuri** » Sun Nov 01, 2015 1:25 am

I might be the only one, but I think these boots are fantastic. Is AB still taking orders?

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Sun Nov 01, 2015 10:53 am

Castor Dioscuri wrote:I might be the only one, but I think these boots are fantastic. Is AB still taking orders?

For what I understand they are taking orders right now.

Jeremiah · Post by **Jeremiah** » Sun Nov 01, 2015 11:20 am

And you are not the only one.

lankywookiee · Post by **lankywookiee** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 6:13 pm

I think the Ab Aldens are fantastic. Had a second pair on order and was really disappointed to get the message in January that the order was being cancelled. Yes, they're too light in colour when they first arrive but I found they begin to darken quickly and continue to age into an increasingly darker shade.

Here are mine when they were new:

And here they are after 6 months of wear in a fluctuating British climate with a regular application of Alden Neutral boot cream:

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 7:57 pm

The 'new' photos resemble the natural chromexcel boots. Mine are basically the same hue after 2 years of light wear.

Post by **Cajunkraut** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:43 am

TheExit148 wrote:No way the boots in Raiders are Cordovan leather. It's a dress leather, that is way more expensive then the regular leather. I don't even think 405's were available back then in that leather. Alden only offered the 405 in the standard "brown calf leather" which changed over the years due to suppliers.

I'm 100% convinced that these boots I found on Rakutan are the boots worn by Ford as the "Hero" boots. These are 70's deadstock.

I'm with Exit. Barring the reproduction of the deadstock in both color and leather, the mark will be missed again and again. How hard can it be.

Dangerfreak · Post by **Dangerfreak** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 11:24 am

Crickey, the past two pages have been an interesting read, and apparently a cautionary tale for manufacturers claiming to have a definitive version of an Indy gear item. The screen shots posted up show quite a variety of boot shades within the same film. There are so, so many variables from the lighting, the level of distressing and environmental conditions such as, earthy jungle temple or desert sand. Even the colour balance on a T.V could effect what a person considers to be screen accurate. Is it even possible to get a definitive shade that pleases everyone?

whipwarrior · Post by **whipwarrior** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 12:36 pm

Nope. Those cherished Raiders-era Aldens were manufactured in an obscure type of leather called unobtanium.