u/Whattaboutism

These were an impulse buy, brand new from the ‘bay at a great price, I “had” to do it. I recently ordered some Dome boots in Green Pastures from Nick’s but I am impatient and the wait is killing me, so these puppies were godsend. I was nervous about the fit and yesterday when I got them I had a hard time just putting them on, extremely tight instep. But once I got them in they felt great, so I worn them around the house for a few hours, they slept with two baseballs stuck in the instep and voilá, I’ve been wearing them all day today including a 2 mile dog walk. They’re already feeling like old friends, it’s impressive how such a thick leather can also be so pliable. They don’t have the typical arch support of the 55 last but the hybrid wedge/lug soles make up for it, they’re amazingly comfortable. I’m a happy camper.

Snapped a couple of pics while walking my dog in the farm across the street. I got these beauties over a month ago but I’ve spent most of that time traveling so today was the second time I laced them up.

Two observations: first, these are beautiful, super comfortable out of the box, and with the top notch quality you’d expect from Parkhurst. Second, I got them during the wide models sale and upon getting them I immediately went back and got a pair of wide Richmond Apollo Waxy Commander, because I realized that I sorta need an EE width in the 618 last. I got a D in the 602 last a while ago and it was perfect, so I got the same in 618 when they first came out and it took some stretching to break them in properly. Nothing dramatic, but the sale made me realize that if I ever get another pair in 618 it should be wide. I know he discontinued the wides because they sold slowly, but I think that now many of his repeated customers like myself have experienced them and they would sell better if he makes another run. At any rate, I am happy that he is bringing back a modified version of the 602.

A couple of days ago I posted about my struggle with a pair of Iron Rangers that feel perfect everywhere except for this tiny area in my pinkies, where they created a very painful chafing… It was intended as a comment on the infamously hard break in of this model, but instead I got a lot of comment from people who knew, just from looking at a couple of pics, that my feet are fat, that the boots are too small for me, and so on.
Now this is not my first rodeo breaking in boots, and I know for a fact that some of my favorite boots didn’t feel great the first few wears. Apparently, many people in Reddit think that boots should be comfortable from the get go and break in is for idiots. Weird.
Either way, after wearing the boots around the house a couple more days, today I took a bold step (lame pun intended) and I wore them to work. I walked the dog in the morning and again when I came home, right before writing this, and all I can say is that the Traction Tread soles are very very comfy, and I can see why some people compare them, after proper break in, to sneakers. They even have a mild but noticeable arch support that is absent in my Beckmans and Blacksmiths. I am eyeing a regular sole Amber Harness pair.

…and I’m finally able to wear them for a few hours arpund the house without massacring my pinky toes. These boots have given me the more trouble (and pain) of all my 30 odd boots I own now or the ones I owned in the past. I have thought about selling them, giving them away to charity, burning them so that they feel exactly what my pinkies felt these last few weeks.

But I love their look and the thick Oro leather, so I kept coming back for more toenishment… I finally decided to put them in the boot stretcher and crank it to the max, and voilá, here I am wearing them at home for a few hours without pain. I am still afraid to go for a dog walk with them, I might do that in a few days. But there’s ligth at the end of this bootunel… although I am still hopeless when it comes to lame puns.