Club Obi Wan

Hello there eveyrone!! My new Alden 405s from Schmidty is finally here!!
First of all, I'd like to thank Schmidty for his excellent service!! You've provided me the service that was just way above and beyond my expectation. Hope the other pair I ordered will come in soon!!

Now on to the review...In short, they are fantastic!! It's just like everyone said... It's comfortable from the getgo. I've been wearing my Redwing 1908s for about a month now... Redwings are pretty good shoes, but it wasn't really that comfortable right away (It took about a week of breaking in time), but when I slipped my feet into Alents, they immediately went "Aaahhhhh...." These are awesome shoes. To be honest, when I first ordered them, I was a bit skeptical, but now I am a believer.

As for the weight issue everyone was talking about? Call me crazy, but these are lighter than both my Redwings and my Windriver boots. I've always wore heavy workboots and Aldens aren't really that heavy compared to everything else I've been wearing so far. If you are used to sneakers? Yes, it'll be heavy and stiff for you, but if you are a regular workboot wearer, no, these aren't heavy at all. So far the tongue hasn't really bothered me either... So far wearing it for about 5 hours straight... I can tell these are solidly made boots. It may not be for everyone, but it definitely earned my trust. I've already ordered another pair for my friend who has trouble finding right shoes for him, and I am absolutely sure he'll love the Alden 405s as much as I do. Oh yeah, and one last thing... Go with Schmidty... With him, not only will you get a good deal, you will gain a friend.

P.S. Oh by the way, thanks for the extra shoe strings as well... I had a good chuckle out of the letter you wrote too!!

Well, without much ado... here are the photos...


Redwing 1908 on the left and Alden 405s on the Right...

hey gi....those look like the older colour....ie - same as mine that i got in 2006 and not the ones that i've seen more recently in the darker shade (or am i wrong?).

regardless....if you nailed the fit, these are the last boots you'll ever need for day to day adventuring.

congrats!

Hello Indiana G!! Yes, I think the new ones come with darker shades... Mine must be an older stock or something... It's got that old red brick kind of color to it... Anywho, I like them so far, I guess the color really wouldn't matter after I wear it for a while anyway...

I can't wait for the day when I can finally buy from Schimidty.

Are his Aldens the same as the regular ones? Or do they somehow differ?

I would also be interested to see how much postage to Australia would be… total price, including shoes, actually.

There is a difference, actually...

Schmidty's Aldens are $270, instead of $320. Other than that, they are the same quality etc. that you would purchase from any other retailer. Brand new shoes with no defects.

I would also be interested to see how much postage to Australia would be… total price, including shoes, actually.

It was $21.20 International Priority mail for Canada, so I am pretty sure that's probably the same for Australia for shipping... Yeah, get it from Schmidty... you won't regret it!!

Congrats...

I am hoping to have mine in hand by Saturday. The boots were shipped out yesterday. Then the ultimate question will be "Did I choose my size wisely?"

Canuck,

I'm glad you like them man!! And I gotta tell ya, I don't remember the boots being that red when I was packing them up to be mailed. I wonder if your camera flash had anything to do with that? All of the Aldens that have been going out, have been more of a brown-brown, as opposed to the brick red brown, or the baby poo brown from 4 or 5 years ago.

Schmidty

Yeah, I am pretty sure it's flash... It's more brown in my own naked eyes... Must be the pecard I put on before I took the shot...

Yup. That could very well be the cause of the Hi-Pro Glow too!!!


Schmidty

@gi_canuck

nice boots, but could you please tell me which sizes they are ? i had sold 2 months ago the same pair red wings on ebay, the moctoe was to high and the shoes are too clumpy for my taste. as i can see on the pictures, the aldens have a fantastic form and i want buy a pair but i am not sure which size. my red wings are us10,5 D.

thanks for your help.

indynoob2009 wrote:@gi_canuck

nice boots, but could you please tell me which sizes they are ? i had sold 2 months ago the same pair red wings on ebay, the moctoe was to high and the shoes are too clumpy for my taste. as i can see on the pictures, the aldens have a fantastic form and i want buy a pair but i am not sure which size. my red wings are us10,5 D.

thanks for your help.

I sugest you'd PM Schmidty: he sells them for a living, so if anyone can help you with Alden sizing questions, it's him

Regards, Geert

thank you for this hint. i have already send him a message. he needs a footprint from my feet. but i havent have a scanner @home.

May I ask where you live?

You could always put it into an envelope and mail it to him: that way there will be no scaling issues.
An other option is asking around if there's anybody you know who owns a scanner you might be able to use. I would sugest putting something next to the drawing that has a fixed size, so whatever hapens schmidty can resize the scan to the actual size (a dolar bill, measuring tape or marking the edges of the paper at a one inch interval would be things that would work).

Regards, Geert