u/L00nyT00ny

The Sandhurst seems to be JG least popular offering, and I kind of get why. It is JG going full in on traditional "formal" styling (unlike the half attempt with the Shoellie), while doing their usual rugged construction. What you get is a stylish boot with a lot of leather and rubber. However, it comes at a cost in comfort. The slim last, though not as slim as many Italian dress boots, still squish those pinky toes in tight from the side and also squishes the toes from the top. The thick (for dress boots) full grain outer leather, the leather midsole and thick rubber soles make for a very stiff boot. When taking a step, there is almost no bend at the base of the toe area like most boots. Instead the foot takes on a sort of rocking chair motion in its stationary position (I don't know if many people will get this reference). This causes quite some pain on the heel, and even started to radiate up towards my butt with the way I had to walk in these. All the leather and rubber also makes for a bulky and heavy dress boot. Though you get the silhouette of a dress boot, you also don't really get the refined slim dress boot look upon closer inspection. Personally, there will only be around 30-40 times a year where I would wear something formal or business casual like the Sandhurst, so it will probably take me 2 years to full break these in, and even than I'm not sure how comfy they will get.

JG is lauded for their rugged construction, thick leathers, at very good prices. When it comes to the Sandhurst, it shows that JG designers really tried to put a good effort into expanding their catalogue into proper formal wear while sticking to their roots. However, I feel trying to inject their rugged roots worked against them here. You have to assume that the customer isn't going to be abusing the boots on hikes or on the farm if they are buying dress boots. You also do not need these thick leathers and rubber soles to make a dress boot that will last. Really for a last/silhouette so slim, you really need to have thinner materials to make a comfortable boot. I would say I wouldn't recommend these, however at the price they are positioned the Sandhurst is competing against cemented/non resolable dress boots that will probably have low quality leather. So I guess if you are looking for a cheapish dress boot that will last a lifetime, get these but you are getting a fairly bulky dress boot that will put you in a world of hurt for quite a while.

My Vellies that replaced my AR's as my everyday shoe. Pictures on the website made them look more pink than light brown, which put me off on the shoe for quit a while. I than saw the shoe on one of JG Youtube video's and really liked the actual colour. Lucky for me, the Vellies were on sale for I think 13% off at the time. Light and comfortable after break in. Toe box is a little flatter than the AR's, but still wide enough that my toes can spread. The crepe sole has been surprisingly slip resistant on wet surfaces around town. The sole has also held up well in rougher terrain such as loose gravel (My Clarks desert boots crepe sole got destroyed on gravel). Trying to keep the white stitching clean is my only complaint, but than again it kinda adds some needed flair to the shoe.

I've had the regular Vellies for about a year and a half and love them. They have completely replaced my AR's as my everyday shoe, and my AR's became more of a trail/hiking shoe for warm days. However, I didn't really like the smoothish tyre wedge sole for trails and hikes in my area since it was prone to slipping on tree roots, loose soil and gravel on the uphills. So I had the choice to either resole or buy a new shoe. The smooth KH sole on the Trubo Vellies ruled that out for me, but resoling would cost like $60 less than buying the Bantam which is like a Turbo Vellie with a lug sole. I already knew I really liked the Vellie style over the AR style, so I opted to buy the Bantam for my summer hiking shoes.

Initial walks through town has really got me feeling the stiffness and extra weight of the shoe compared to the Vellie. So I would definitely choose the Vellie over Bantam for an everyday shoe. However traction on uphills is definitely an improvement over the tyre wedge AR. Water test on the leather was pretty darn poor like I have noticed on all my JG shoes. The leather just soaks up water, but I don't think I'm going to Sno Seal it since its a summer hiking shoe where I will want more breathability. Great shoe all around, and looks so good that I think I'm going to have a very hard time getting them dirty.