Club Obi Wan

I just cannot afford Aldens. Is there a close-enough boot out there for around 100 or less? And what is the general style of these boots? Are they engineer boots? field boots? is there a general style reference

I cant find them online, but at my local sears I got a pair of great close enoughs for very cheap... I forgot how much I paid for them but I seem to remember seeing them on dysplay recently for 40 bucks... I love 'em

Aldens are considered a 'dress boot'. As such, they really don't have a tread, but rather a leather sole like a dress shoe - in fact not exactly practical for field work.

But many of the good close-enoughs are found under engineer boots and hiking boots.

If you search on 'alden' and 'close enough' (match ALL terms) in General Gear, you'll find a WEALTH of alternatives. I can't even remember them all at this moment, so I hesitate to give even a quick list...oh, what the heck. Search for these terms, too: Red Wing, J Crew Rugged, J Crew Decker, BMA Mason, ... help me out here folks...

But seriously, the search engine will get you MORE information FASTER than waiting for folks to weigh in here again.

J

I went with these HAVANA JOE'S because of the Heavy tread . In Chicago you need something to grip in the ice and snow here during the winter months. They were expensive though almost $200.00

Sorry, forgot the pic.

These are both from JCrew. On the left the 'decker' and 'ruggeds' on the right.
Both for under $100. The ruggeds do not have the purple-ish tinge to the color as in the photo..

Sadly, they no longer make the deckers. I would buy 5 pair if I had the opportunity!

Yes, do a search. Some where I did my top 3 close enough boot comparison. (most of which aren't available any more except through other members or ebay if you are lucky and find some)

Raging Blues' boots look like a better deal than any I've seen actually, but its all in the preference, weather you want more of a dress shoe part boot, or a boot part dress shoe...

Feraud wrote: Sadly, they no longer make the deckers. I would buy 5 pair if I had the opportunity!

Sometimes they bring them back, so wait and see what they do for the summer.

"Sometimes they come back..." ...like a Stephen King novel, or even like a burrito.

Jerry, if the body is like a temple, then you're the temple of doom.

Then I'm happy to say that in this Temple Of Doom, the bar is still open.

I just darkened my Deckers some with Meltonian cream (1 coat Dark Brown and 1 coat Red Mahogany) and they are now darker but similar color to the Aldens I have and look how similar they look! BTW, the Deckers had the hooks added, they didn't come that way.

Raging Blues,

I love the way those look. Unfortunately for me, J. Crew seems to be out of them, Again.

They must be out of all sizes. I tried both 10 and 10 1/2 but it just keeps going to "Were out of this item due to high demand" I'll just have to keep my eyes open for them.

Raging Blues, How does the 101/2 fit? Is it comfortable?

I wear a 10 but I also wear a 10 in boots.

not only do those look great but it looks like they have a huge price cut too...

$165.00 now $49.99

if anyone knows when they get back in stock please let us know

yea i went to buy them today because of the great price cut, but i decided to cehck my bank account first. Turns out i spent over 700bucks on all my indy gear in the past week or 2. I pretty much #### my pants lol I couldnt get any sizes to work, but teh 11s, and that would be good for me. I really want them, but i need to take a break from spending. Thats what happens though when u buy everything at once. My boots i use now look good enough, but the ruggeds def look better. I would think if j crew sold out of tehm so fast that tehy would make tehm again. But we can only hope, and hope that they stay at 50 bucks.

Well, the Aldens are available in size 15. Save your $$ and get measured, IMO. There is nothing like having a pair of shoes or boots in the exact size and width that you need.

Indiana MarkVII

Can anyone tell me if the J.Crew Ruggeds are welt-sewn or not?

I was going to say the same thing...anybody?

The soles aren't replaceable if that is what you are asking.

Ragingblues wrote:Well, they are great boots. But, I don't know if I would go so far, as to call them "Irreplaceable".

We've got a wise-guy in the house, eh? :evil:

I mean are the soles glued or sewed on`?

I want to order them then, but I'm not familiar with the sizes! My German size is 43! Isn't that a 9,5. And if yes should I go one size bigger like ragingblues did?

Here is the size conversion chart from Aldens. In case it is not clear enoguh to decifer your size, here is the link to that page:

"http://www.aldenshoes.com/fitting.asp"


American UK European Japanese
6 5.5 39 24
6.5 6 39.5 24.5
7 6.5 40 25
7.5 7 41 25.5
8 7.5 41.5 26
8.5 8 42 26.5
9 8.5 43 27
9.5 9 43.5 27.5
10 9.5 44 28
10.5 10 44.5 28.5
11 10.5 45 29
11.5 11 45.5 29.5
12 11.5 46 30
12.5 12 47
13 12.5 48


Widths AA A B C D E EE EEE
Very Narrow Narrow Medium Wide Extra Wide
The most common width is medium - D or E

Yeah, this didn't paste the same as on the Alden site. Click the link for an
easier to read chart.

Indiana MarkVII

Since were talking about "close enoughs" heres my Carolina Huskers:

they're not Aldens but for 50 bucks they arent too bad. If anyones interested, heres where I got them from.
http://www.shoeline.com/asp/dcpItem.asp?style=A164
Best Regards,
Joe

joe thanks alot for teh psot, i almost bought a pair of the ruggeds the otehr day, but im leaning more towards your boots now. Is there anythign else you can tell us about them before i order? Im going to get a size 10.5 , but whats with the letters after the sizes, what do they mean? Does anyone know? And whats a plastic shank, it says its made with that. How durable do teh boots feel to you, and is there anything else on them besisides the imprinted DK that makes them un indy? For 44 bucks though these boots look great,

I just bought a pair of J Crew "Ruggeds" since they were only $50. Now I'll have the "Deckers" and thr "Ruggeds." I've spent a grand total of $80 for two pairs of shoes; not too bad. -I still need those Aldens though. Priorities!

Joe, those are great boots but for some reason I really like shoes and boots whose soles go perpendicular to the bottom of the shoe, like at a straight up and down right angle rather than tapered in... am I the only one who factors that element of appearance in? (and perhaps the tapered part could be cut off of those...)

The new Duxbury ruggeds seem to be much closer than the Ruggeds I bought earlier this year though(in color, leather, and with the addition of the speed-lacers).

i decided to order the husker boots. They are very cheap at $44, and they have free shipping. They seem to be the most accuarte non alden ive seen yet. The flat sole, shoe height, color, and curve to the boot back make it a good looking buy. Plus you can send it back for a full refund if you dont like them. I think if someone wants aldens, but wants a ruffed up version, this is a much better choice. This is going to be just one more of many packages my mom will be yelling at me about this week lol She thinks im wasting my money....she jsut doesnt understand

MorgonKenbur wrote:i decided to order the husker boots. They are very cheap at $44, and they have free shipping. They seem to be the most accuarte non alden ive seen yet. The flat sole, shoe height, color, and curve to the boot back make it a good looking buy. Plus you can send it back for a full refund if you dont like them. I think if someone wants aldens, but wants a ruffed up version, this is a much better choice. This is going to be just one more of many packages my mom will be yelling at me about this week lol She thinks im wasting my money....she jsut doesnt understand

MK,
I think you'll like the Huskers.they are great boots for the price.as far as how durable they are, Ive owned them for a few months and they've held up well.Im glad I was able to help you make a choice on boots
Best Regards,
Joe

yea thanks again joe. I almost bought the ruggeds the other day, and might have bought them (if there were any left) because the sole on those is more practical. I think the huskers will be great though. I wanted a boot i could beat up and not care about, and I ahve a feeling these will look great once they are worn in better. They look very indy to me, and im glad you posted them. Just another toy im waiting to get!

Yeah, that's a really good price. I was thinking they were over $100, thus I didn't buy any. I thought they looked pretty good, but didn't want to spend that much, but for less than half that they are very tempting!

THE RUGGEDS ARE OUT!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I just wanted to buy them when I saw it!

Yeah, I've been watching for a pair of size 10's all weekend...no luck here either. On the sizing issue with; with the ruggeds I wear a 10 which is the same as all my other shoes. Sorry to confuse the issue.
I found the Ruggeds slightly snug in width when first purchased about 2 years ago. But after daily wear for a couple of weeks and a treatment of Pecards the leather relaxed considerably. Now after 2 years they fit like slippers; that is to say very confortable boots. I really can't say if a half size would make much difference, but it sounds like it's livable based on Ragingblues account. I'm glad to see that some folks are making out well on the sale.

Regards,
Indybill

The huskers look great and the price is incredible.

can anyone comment on sizing? I wear timberlands a lot and are thecarolinas like Timeberland in sizing?

i really dont know, i ordered a 10.5 D, which is apparently a medium width. I used to buy my boots and shoes in 11 but now that i know my foots not getting bigger im getign 10.5s again, they fit tight at fist but loosen up nice after a bit. For your Timb sizes, im not sure, check their chart on the site, thats what i did. If it doesnt fit you can send it back for a refund or exchange it says. For 44 bucks no shipping, thats a great deal.

awesome, then i ordered a good size. I guess i might be wearing them as regular shoes then.

The ruggeds are back in stock in lots of sizes. I just ordered a pair of size 10's. Get 'em quick before they're out of them again. Good Luck!

Regards,
Indybill

well i already grabbed the huskers. If i dont like them ill send them back and get the ruggeds. I think I'll like them though

Hmm, that link keeps spitting up the 'Out of stock message'...did gearheads really swoop in that quick and clean them out...?

Oh yeah. We're like vultures. Maybe they only got in one pair or had a return or something.

Maybe they only got in one pair or had a return or something.

No, there were several different sizes available this morning. Now it's back down to 11 1/2 and 13. Probably a lot of people just waiting to nab 'em when they become available. I've been checking pretty constantly for the last two weeks for my size to show up. I guess I just got lucky.

Regards,
Indybill

Yay i got my Husker today and i think they are PERFECT. They are the best replica i think for the cost. They look alot like aldens, i think even more than the ruggeds. The steel toe really isnt an issue if anyone thinks so, it actually makes it better for kicking Nazis in the face Qaulity and comfort is very good. Best off all, if these get scuffed up, i really dont care, they were only 44 bucks with no shipping! Definitely look into these people, if you dont like them you can send them back for free, whats there to loose...besides 44 bucks if you end up loving them like me

Ill post some pics later today hopefully.

Thats great, Morgan
Glad the Huskers fit the bill for ya Enjoy beating up your new boots
Best Regards,
Joe

yea i already went through a few puddles today and ran around with them while doing some errands. And they were verrrry comfortable doing so. I also got my pecards dressing, mainly for my IOAB coming soon...But they sent me some shoe oil too as a sample i guess. Did you put anything on yours Williams? I kind of want to keep them sorta nice, but i do want to ruff them up. Decisions

ordered some carolina huskers last night. I used their sizing chart on the website and figured I am an 11. They should ship anytime and I expect tpo have them in a week.

good pick shadwell, youll love them, they seem to be made modeled after the aldebs. And the HK on the side of the boot is barely noticeable in person, i thought it would stick out really badly. Ive been wearing my boots all day.

For the Ruggeds, if they're sold out, does that mean they're gone for days, weeks, months, or for good? Anyone have any experience with how often they re-stock?