Aldens boot leather

Herr Jones · Post by **Herr Jones** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 5:58 pm

I just got another set of Aldens and noticed that the color was much more of a brown than my first. I also noticed that the leather is quite different than the first. My first ones had a very stiff, smooth feel to it and had a hint of orange. My new set which is more brown, and no orange at all, the leather is more supple and soft.

I was wondering if any of you who’s had more that one pair of Aldens have different leathers or they are all the same as my first ones I described. If you have a pair similar to the second one I described what differences do you notice?

Mola Ram · Post by **Mola Ram** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:57 pm

I was just at the Alden shop on Madison ave in NY today,
and they had a little display for the Indy boot. I wore mine
around the city today, we walked about 7 miles, and I never noticed
how flexible mine are now. The new pair in the shop was as
stiff as a brick. They were the current "brick" color. In every
respect the pair I looked at was the same as when I got my pair.
The only difference is that the retail price of the boots is now $305

Adam

Indiana G · Post by **Indiana G** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:00 am

alden have changed the batch of leather they are using to produce the 405. instead of the brick leather, they are using more of a darker leather in their new runs.

i cannot really comment on the difference in stiffness between the old and the new as my comparison is tainted by the fact that i have a pair of broken in brickish boots and have tried on the new darker brown boots...old and new isn't a fair comparison.

though the new leather is a much darker brown leather, it is still far from the run that they used when raiders was in production. a few older members here can contest to that as some have that shade of leather.

i have found a leather close to what they used back in the day and put in a custom order for some 405's in that material......i can let you know in the fall as that is how long their made to order waiting list is.

Mola Ram · Post by **Mola Ram** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 8:53 am

Herr Jones · Post by **Herr Jones** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:52 pm

I like how on the new leather the tongue is more supple and less likely to turn to the side as did with my other pair. I have my own theory of why the tongue did that . . . . There is no bite in the back or side of my ankle like the first one did until they got worked in.

Indiana G, yes I’d like to know how your custom 405’s turn out and how you went about setting that up.

Mola Ram, thanks for the pics. My boots look most like the 3rd one from the left (darkest one) with a really dark trim on the inside like the 2nd one.
BTW, nice to see you made vendor status, (yeah I’ve been away for a while) , send me some links of the recent whips you’ve done.

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:44 am

My pair is in one of the newer kind (2 years old or so, original owner Alabama Jones)...barely worn, so when I got mine, the tongue in one boot kept trying to slide around to one side. Laces are painful directly on the ankle! I just had to keep putting it in place until the tongue got some good creases/wrinkles in it - after a couple weeks - and then it never slid or turned on me again. Try getting the tongue soaking wet (gosh that sounds odd), then wearing the boots till it dries...that should reform the tongue into a shape w/ the impression of the laces in it that SHOULD keep it from sliding.

(I'm hypothesizing this since the turning point for me was getting mine SOAKING WET walking in the rain...I was trying out the old axiom to 'wear em dry', to make them wear in a bit and conform to MY feet. And gee, after that, no more tongue slippage.)

No clue if that is an aspect of the older vs. newer leather, though, never having seen the old up close.

Indiana Johnson · Post by **Indiana Johnson** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:33 am

I've had my Aldens for a year and still get tounge slippage. I'll have to try the soaking method.

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:35 am

Check out my response to Shane here:

viewtopic.php?t=22094

A simple stitch from a cobblet will stop this.

Indiana Jerry · Post by **Indiana Jerry** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:52 am

binkmeisterRick wrote:A simple stitch from a cobblet will stop this.

I can't find a cobblet in my yellow pages...but we do have full-size cobblers in the area. Do you think they could handle those teeny, tiny little stitches like a cobblet?

(How things over there? I'm running low on ammo here...)

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 12:16 pm

A cobblet is a very small cobbler. Like those little elves that come into your shoe shop at night and do all your work for you while you're asleep. *DUH*

Indiana G · Post by **Indiana G** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:39 pm

isn't that common knowledge?!?! i heard they also make cookies inside of their tree-house.

Jaredraptor · Post by **Jaredraptor** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 10:03 pm

Nice to know that 405s are being made with a somewhat more accurate color than the Pumpkin color. Maybe I'll finally be able to get a pair.