 Hi guys, G'day. I'm doing something a bit different today. I'm not reviewing a specific boot But I thought I'd take a customer's point of view of what I see as the differences between Parker's brand and Grant Stone For what I want to bring you about the two companies. This is going to be a longer video than usual But of course there will be boots in this video lots of them So what I'm doing today is taking a look at Parker's brand and Grant Stone from a customer's perspective In doing so I have intentionally not approached either company to ask their opinions or to seek insider information about their companies So my personal opinion in this video is gained from buying and wearing their boots and on what I as a consumer Can see and hear about them on the web and on social media To help me I reached out to my fellow enthusiasts on Facebook's Parkhurst enthusiast group and Grant Stone enthusiast group. I will include some of your opinions in this Basically my op-ed piece to camera So I tossed the coin and Parkhurst was the first cab of the rank So let's take a look at all my Parkhurst boots that I have so far Let me start I'll take them in the order that I bought them Let me start with the Parkhurst Richmond boot in raised reverse waxy mohawk This is a mohawk leather from Charles F. Stead tennery in the old Parkhurst 18 last which is a slightly more almond shaped toe last It's in a lovely waxed rough out with the inside of the actual mohawk leather on the inside It's on a Richmond pattern with the cap toe and it's on a Ridgeway sole The second boot I bought was an Allen boot a plain toe boot In this case in green or what's called spruce kudu. This is Parkhurst's plain toe design And you'll see as we go along that although there are similarities. There are also differences It's on a daylight sole It has an antique wheeled raised welt Two-piece backstabbing. The third boot I bought I went off-script and I got a Brogue winter boot in natural chrome excel. This is called the Spaulding daylight sole And clearly it's sort of a country boot, but done in a very casual chrome excel uppers eyelets and speed hooks and a single-piece backstab Then I came along and saw these these are factory seconds This is the Allen boot pattern and as you can see there are similarities in the plain boot style But this is where the they start to diverge from time to time You can see the spruce kudu is a two-piece backstab and this is a single-piece backstab About the same time I can I was kind of bullied on Facebook into buying these The colorate Dublin. Oh, did I say this is a dark roast Dublin leather from Horween? This is also from Horween It's the colorate Dublin using the same dyeing processes as they do for their colorate shell cord of them Beautiful leather this Dublin leather. It just creases really nicely It gives you that rugged look, but at the same time if you keep it nicely polished in this dark burgundy color You can wear it quite dressy Then that's all again and again. You can see that characteristic wheel welt Then comes a slight diversion. This is about where Parkhurst hit their COVID restrictions in terms of the supply chain And this came up after quite a long wait for different boots to arrive this is back to the original pattern the cap toe and It's in a Seidel leather Called light natural tan. It's got differences again. We're back to that single-piece backstab the stitching on the toe is Two stitches across and in this Richmond. It was a three-stitching toe cap with a two plus one sort of pattern Again, you'll see that characteristic wheel welt Brass eyelets no speed hooks single-piece backstab And about the same time that was released another Richmond was released And this is called the gaucho moose in moose or Scandinavian elk leather lovely almost Newbucky kind of feel to it again, all eyelets two-piece backstab again and again a Three-stitch pattern with a two plus one on it. It's on a commander's sole from its hide in the UK And then my latest Parkhurst boot is this gorgeous animal It's in Seidel's natural veg retan. So it's a vegetable tan leather quite dry to the touch And I haven't had this long But you can see that it's creased quite nicely. The patina is developing really beautifully It's on a ridgeway sole, which is also made by day night, but in this wavy sort of lovely pattern Now we've had a look at boots. Let's talk about Parkhurst as a company Parkhurst started in 2018 founded by Former stock analyst Andrew Savisco Apparently with two clear missions in his mind The first scratch and itch that he had himself In a world of expensive not so great shoes that all look the same How do you find a quality boot at the right price? So he decided to make a product that would stand out at a reasonable cost His second mission I think was to make his boots in the US because as he says in an interview with stitch down the american shoe industries die He saw how the loss of factories and jobs could really rock a community And he was seeing the loss of generations of experience in the boot making industry So his decision was to source as many components from us producers as possible And where this was not possible because perhaps of a better product, let's say Charles State Swades or Leathers He made sure that he partnered with the local reps of those products So that he kept as much of his supply chain benefiting american businesses I haven't seen him mentioned it in interviews But I suspect Andrew also is aware of the carbon footprint of his products For example, the factory he contracts with is only 40 minutes away from him The boxes that he ships in a well designed but very frugal box that acts as both shipping box and boot box These seem to be acts of think global at local When he started rather than buying a last as many small manufacturers do He designed his own last and created his own boot designs to make sure that his boots were different from the mesh producers up there There's quite a lot in boot design that often we don't notice. For example, take his Richmond boot Just a simple cap toe boot you say Yes, but he changes the pattern so that the back stay for example switches from a two piece to a One piece The cap toe may have a double stitching and others A triple stitch Small little changes that create interest and diversity Parkers used to produce four boot designs the allen plain toe service boot The Richmond cap toe boot The Delaware brode cap toe boot, which I don't have and the spaulding brode wing tip He also produced the big world derby shoe When I first became aware of parkers the production of the spaulding I understand to be a particularly difficult operation That was seizing and I bought one of the last pairs There were also only a few Delaware's left brode cap toes, but I missed out on them COVID affected parkers quite badly As a small batch manufacturer who cannot afford to buy big stocks of hides to make a lot of boots in inventory Parkers has always focused on making small batches of pretty unique letters But even so their website was pretty full of different makeups that changed around frequently When the effects of the pandemic really hit in late 2020 parkers supply chain was severely affected Due to supply and labor delays with people under lockdown or off-stake Parkers found it very difficult to source components to arrive on time And several of his us supplies were shutting down either temporarily or permanently For most of 21 and early 2022 this resulted in very few makeups appearing in inventory for sale Andrew makes sure he keeps in touch with his followers and his recent announcements Give us some scope for optimism He has had to find different sources and factories and while still remaining a small batch manufacturer He will continue to carry inventory as the supply chain pressures ease up While the ability to ensure that us manufacture is retained through a new partnership with another american factory This second phase of development will see a more global and hopefully more consistent components supply chain Andrew anticipates the new production law to take place in late northern hemisphere summer So that's the parker story. Now, let's take a look at grand stone These are my grand stone boots Again, the operative phase is so far because I do have my eye on a few more So this is the diesel boot by grand stone. It's their version of plain-toe service boot This is the diesel and saddle tan veg from Badalassie Carlo tan in Italy It's tan as if it were saddle leather and it's it's a tough leather at patina's beautifully Came originally orange out of the box But gradually with wear and patina has got to this lovely sort of tan color Then I bought through ebay. This is an ebay purchase the edwin boot in tobacco wax suede This is another wax suede from charles elf state in england Like all of grand stone's boots, they're fully lined It comes in the proprietary day night studded sole proprietary Lookalike day night studded sole as you can see it's patina in quite nicely All my grand stone boots and indeed all my parkers are in size at The grand stones in a d this was a seven and a half e Because through reading the grand stone website, which is why I grabbed this one. They came up on ebay You can go a half size down and one with up and still end up with relatively the same size My next purchase was another diesel boot plain toe cap toe As you can see characteristic hardware from grand stone On the leather sole quite controversial to some people. I love the leather sole black chrome excel Tough little boot as this wears it will tickle. There will be a brown background that starts to come to the surface And then came This little beauty here. It's a rough outdoorsy go and kick something boot on a commander's sole again Proprietary commander's sole by grand stone It's in a wax suede that they call earth again from charles elf state tannerin So you can see that where the rough and then this start to come from a mock toe With high walls but a strange mock toe in that the mock stitching is actually inboard. It's not at the edge And it's got this little Toe path before you actually get to the to the mock toe Sturdy little boot i've taken it on a lot of hikes And then I bought this boot another diesel boot you can see where i'm going What my favorites are in in grand stone? This one is in tan sx from Hawin sx is the base tannin for Dublin leather that comes from hawin So this is developed first and then more ores and waxes put into develop the Dublin leather You can see that all the hardware on grand stone is really the same It's on the studded day night like sole This is a beautiful leather that ages really nicely because of the lining It it doesn't crease as much as as Vagetang leathers generally do but it will do it'll patina quite nicely And then of course there is the diesel coffee suede which is another Charles F. Stead suede in a dark coffee colored brown This one's on a vibram Cavity wage so this is one of the most comfortable boots I've got really lovely Looking at the company grand stone started in 2016 and was founded by white gilmore and josh land White's family had a long-term relationship with a shoemaking factory in the chinese resort city of xiamen His father had worked for old and for 15 years where he made contact with the owners of this factory And then spent another 25 years as agent for the factory liaising with other american shoe and boot companies who were using their manufacturing services White himself worked for eight years in that factory after a young career racing motocross After an injury his father suggested that he go to work in the factory for a few months just to experience a bit of the world He stayed for eight years He really got into making good year-old shoes and stayed for eight years learning the trade of a shoe manufacturer The idea for grand stone was actually started by white's father and the factory owner The name being that of a legendary old and salesman But white revived the idea in 2016 seeing the opportunity to make good year-old shoes and boots using premium components and selling direct to consumer The concept as their website says is to use leathers and components from boutique producers worldwide And create non disposable footwear that fits properly Leading to the principle for their customers of buying better and acquiring less while always supporting craftsmanship Putting it in a nutshell what drives them quality product from quality components Handcrafted by skilled and experienced craftspeople Durable products reducing waste focusing on fit and sizing for comfort It's interesting white is quoted as saying that the price point was not the driving force He basically decided to spec shoe that was well made and whatever the price landed at would be the price When they first started they designed their own last the leo last I made a long wing and a plain toe derby shoe Today they make seven different models of boots the diesel boot The edward boot The brass mock toe boot The Ottawa Norwegian split toe boot The cap toe boot called funnily enough the cap toe boot A chucker boot called the chucker boot and the Chelsea boot Again just called the Chelsea boot They also make an amazing six more models of shoes a plain toe derby or blucher a long wing An oxford cap toe a wingtip oxford shoe a penny loafer and a tassel loafer But wait there's more Mixing up different components like different welts different soles Different uppers and other limited edition make-ups. They actually currently list 96 different models on their website And they are not a made-to-order boot company. These are mostly in stock in the michigan warehouse at any one time All this sounds like grandstone are a huge company But actually up until his father passed away recently It's fire people Wyatt and josh Parker who looks after order fulfillment. Wyatt's wife who's the company accountant And his father until his passing I'll put a link in the description below of an article on this stitch down website about how the business of grandstone is run The obvious clear difference between the two companies is that parkers is made in the us And try to maintain a us supply chain even though this is likely to be diluted in its phase two development Grandstone boots are made in china using us and european components So how this made in usa versus made in china play out at least to a non-american Well, these are my thoughts and my opinion come from the viewpoint of being an australian Looking at made in usa and made in china Here are the things people think about when they think about manufacturing overseas Number one quality number two loss of jobs in the local economy Three ethical concerns, particularly over sweatshops for politics Let's take them each in turn first quality Quality is not a function of geography Quality is a function of the specs the factories ask to meet process control and the available skill and experience Wyatt himself has said that if he wanted to make a hundred fifty nine dollar shoe This factory could do it But he chose to spec his designs with quality components And then let the price fall as it may In most cases you can go anywhere in the world and spec a product with quality components and a high qc measure And you get a good product because the factory has to produce what you want At the quality standard that you set or they won't have your business Second the local economy now Loss of jobs at home is a bad thing. I get that australia has also gone through this Economics today though is based on a global economy Business is about efficiency So a good business will seek efficiency wherever that is In the 1900s, that's what made one company move from one small town in virginia to another small town in oregon The availability of cheap land cheap workers and lower taxes It's just become globalized now But you still don't necessarily lose out Your companies are still american or british or australian companies and they will employ people at home Just not so many and probably not doing the same things And they will pay home country taxes Guess where those taxes go If your government has it right, hopefully to develop in future industries and future jobs And here's where lost jobs are such a tragedy As western governments embrace the global economy for reasons of politics and influence or for other economic reasons Why didn't they foresee this and develop training pathways and re-skilling policies for their citizens? Singapore a planned economy that is not communist Recognized in the 1960s where the world economy was going and moved its citizens from an Ontopo trading nation to electronics international banking and other new industries so that by the 1980s it was and remains an economic giant Third ethical concerns. Yeah sweatshops exist But once the country develops economically their cost of living increases and the country's economy must move on On top of that the development of ethical concerns in multinational companies due to protests and concerns at home Means that they now ensure in fact they audit the working conditions of the factories that they contract I think you'll find that most countries with some notable exceptions no longer have sweatshop labor Finally politics I can't say much about that if you won't buy made in china because of politics and nothing that I've just said will sway you Well, you do have a point about the autocratic or paid government So if you feel strongly then don't buy made in china What about made in usa? You get that from my comments that I won't not buy made in china if the company has the right foundations that grandson seems to do At the same time not being american. I won't simply buy parkers just because they're made in the usa If I thought that way, well, I just buy Australian r.m. Williams No, I buy both because I like the motives and quality driven philosophies of both companies While it's not relevant to me that parkers is made in the u.s I must say the driven passion of the brand to react to how unemployment can destroy communities resonates with me The passion to keep the generations of experience in one industry going The drive to change the american shoe industry by providing a quality product made in america with new designs and thinking These qualities apply to me as a vision not as an american Ultimately I buy both bradstone and parkers because I like the beauty of their designs and the quality of their product Not because of where they're made however If a grandstone was a faceless conglomerate making shoes in faceless human factories If a parkers was based on a lie and was unethical In the way it treated suppliers and customers. I would drop both in a flash Their vision as seen in their design manufacturer and marketing first attracts me to them Their quality product keeps me interested Now let's look at how their styles are reflected in customers views This is where I got a lot of my great opinion from my facebook Boot friends members of both the parkers and the grandstone groups Most of us are agreed their signature design may both be quite simple plain-toed service boots But their execution is what's different Parkers will generally give a rugged heritage feel in their leather selection Their welp design and the overall construction You can class their look as fashion rugged Grandstone on the other hand is more sleek and sophisticated with cleaner stitching Cleaner welp cuts and lining They produce more of a classic boot although the introduction of a brass boot Gives them some claim to ruggedness and work wear fashion Don't get me wrong both are made tough But the choice of leathers and the makeup design makes parkers look great for the yard Grandstone for the urban jungle There are some exceptions I have taken grandstone's brass boot in earth through some really challenging terrain And it's performed like any tough boot you'd like to mention Parkers colorate options look so elegant. You just want to baby them But still despite the variety in each brand people seem to equate parkers with a pacific northwest vial And grandstone with a more corporate feel So they look at parkers when they consider Truman say And they look at grandstone when they're also looking at for example, ordinance Some say parkers due to the choice of different and unique leathers shows more character They have charisma Whereas grandstone has loads more choice in leathers and is much more versatile to wear You can wear them with any outfit style from rugged casual to business casual And if you stretch it a bit some models with a suit Now in terms of overall construction I find their last the grandstone leo and the parker 602 are perfect for my feet Both are snug at the heel and open out at the ball of the feet Gives your toes room to wiggle with no pinching or squeeziness Parkers has slightly less volume if you have a high instep, but not by much Both sets of uppers are from famous and well-established tanneries Grandstone feature leathers from Halloween, Charleston and Badalassee Carlo Top tanneries producing a lot of hides with top names Park has feature also Charleston Stead, Horween, Seidel and other famous American tanneries Their leather selection tends towards the exotic Like neti tans and kudu moose double shot What's been described to me is beefy chrome excel that double shot Both use quality American leather for their welts and their mid and insole construction Grandstone will play with flat welts and clean split reverse welts to preserve elegance and sleepless Parker sticks with a wheeled split reverse welt that is generally antique so it looks rugged Grandstone controls this applied by sourcing their proprietary versions of a day-night like studded outsole and the version of the commando lung sole They feature a lot of leather sole boots again showing their sleek design Their hardware is also similarly proprietary generously sized and sturdy and backed Parkhurst probably a function of their size will source outsole from famous brands Day-night it's hard rich way no leather sole versions Whoever heard of taking the leather sole boot up some Pacific Northwest trail right Parkhurst's hardware is less impressive more normal and they tend not to be well they're not backed They're just star pressed Quality control is great by both brands They both seem to weed out factory seconds ruthlessly and I have bought seconds from both but I'll just talk about my experience of factory firsts here I have never seen a stitch out of place on a grandstone in fact they always display perfect stitch density and placing Parkhurst stitching is also pretty good although I think it's fair to say that befitting their rugged vibe a little less precise Clicking or the choice of where the hide is cut when cutting the pattern is better in grandstone their uppers come to you like some upmarket brand like you expect Leathers from Alden or Ellen Edmonds or Locke Parkhurst again I guess befitting the more rugged Leathers they use may show some less perfect choices of where they cut or click In the overall construction itself both are good but grandstone does feel more premium They are both undeniably quality goods their pricing between $300 and $400 are in that sweet spot once you pass the entry-level pricing of $200 Thursdays and before you get to the $450 made-to-order boots of Truman and Knicks and enter into that heavy realm of whites and Viberg twice the price in value terms when you look at the markets that their styles aim for they represent really good value for the mid $300 price Parkhurst are definitely worth that price overall I think grandstone is better value for money and arguably could be priced mid $400 if not for that made in China tag honestly I think if grandstone had made in Boston or made in Melbourne or made in Northampton stand all over them you'd get mid $400 for them as for customer service both companies impressive queries complaints and returns are handled quickly and in my opinion well I've heard some say that grandstone takes a long time to respond to inquiries but I've never found that I usually get a reply by the next day and in general the replies are thoughtful and helpful I suppose you'd say that there's a less personal approach from grandstone's team they're not as active on social media so they rarely grab and repost enthusiast posts on their own feed and I haven't seen them much reply to Facebook or Instagram posts however white is on the stitch down discord and I have seen him reply very personally very frequently to all inquiries there one of the comments from my Facebook enthusiast inquiry said that speaking with Andrew is one of the most pleasant customer experiences Andrew seems to be more personally in touch with fans remember him he is a one-man band he responds to comments on Instagram and Facebook he replies very personal replies to email as I said Parkhurst is a one-man band apart from contracting a factory to actually make his patents he does everything himself from marketing to QC and even finishing off the boots in his basement and perhaps this makes Parkhurst look a lot more engaging so guys there's my comparison of Parkhurst brand and grandstone tell me what you think put a comment down below look at the end of the day I love both both companies last fit me really well so much so I never have to break in their boots and I can wear them straight out of the box without feeling any pinching or pain I certainly will keep buying them although I think I may slow down buying grandstone at some stage once I feel I've had enough of the variations sufficiently represented Parkhurst I'm always excited what new drops will announce because they'll always be different and quite exciting here's a thought I wonder what if one day Parkhurst and grandstone merged offering two faces of boot design and character from one company all right guys don't forget to click on like and if you haven't already click on subscribe too I'm going to keep bringing you loads more boot reviews and boot unboxing videos so don't miss them and if you like this sort of longer format in-depth video let me know that in the comments below and I'll make a few more until then take care mates and keep well