 G'day, how are you going? Welcome back to my channel Boot Lossophy, but for those of you who haven't been here before, my name is Tech. But first, let me acknowledge the To's of Wajik Country where I live and work. Today, I'm looking over the Thursday Boot Company, Mokto Wajso Boot that they call the Diplomat. This is the Diplomat from Thursday Boot Company in uppers that they call Black Matte, which is in the rugged and resilient range of leathers. It's in the familiar Mokto Wajso Workboot style, so you get the stitched high wall moccasin style toe box, you get the cream wage sole, it's six inches tall, but there are some small stylistic changes to make this look different from your Redwing 875 Moktoes and your Thurrogut Classic 6 inch Moktoes. The sidewalls of the Vap are a little sleeker and lower than a standard workboot Moktoe, and that alone makes it look more of a casual boot than a standard workboot. In its construction, of course, it feels more like a casual boot as well, and I'll go into more of that later. The Moktoe name is a truncation of moccasin toe, as in the moccasin shoes made by First Nations Americans. A real moccasin construction actually has one piece of leather that wraps under the foot and then a top vamp is sewn on in the toe area that reaches out and hence causing that moccasin stitch. In workboot construction, there obviously isn't a piece of leather that wraps from underneath. Instead the vamp and the toe box area is created by using a piece of leather that forms the wall of the vamp and then the toe box and an apron piece sewn on top to the edge of the sidewall forming the moccasin stitch. Then the variations with where it's actually a Mok, M-O-C-K Moktoe. Like in this case there actually is only one piece of leather that forms the vamp, the apron and the toe box, but it's gathered and puckered at the apron edge to form the Mok stitch and look like it's pieces of leather sewn together. This is a Mok Moktoe. The Thurragut classic Moktoe boot is a Mok Moktoe. The Olden Indies even more of a Mok Moktoe in that the stitching at the edge of the apron is purely for looks only and doesn't even pucker up the leather to pretend to be two pieces. Redwing on the other hand, their 875s are real Moktoe stitched pieces of leather. To be honest not that there's any real advantage that I can see, only possibly that you're able to form the walls a bit taller and straighter and thus make it a little roomier for working in. But then with the right shoe last, for example Grant Stone's brass boot, you should be able to shape your boots like that anyway. Now normally chunky Moktoe boots don't look like anything other than work boots. So you normally say that they're very casual and you usually wear them with jeans and t-shirts or work shirts or flannels and rugged outdoorsy gear. These however in Thursday's style and flair have been sleek and slimmed so they look more like casual sneakers than work boots. Particularly in this black mat with the cream wage sole and the nickel eyelets they pass for minimalist sneakers. So I think you can wear them with a whole range of casual gear from the rugged casual style jeans, five pocket pants, t-shirts, hoodies and outdoor layers to some smart casual like what you might wear out on dressy date nights. Dark pants, chinos, button down shirts and bombers or a Harrington jacket maybe. Now I'm not 100% convinced you can wear them in business casual, at least not my definition of business casual, see video flagged above, which to me is one notch below a suit meaning dress pants, a crisp button up and a blazer. I have tried, it's okay, but I'm never sure it works. Now before we look at how these boots are made I'll just explore a little bit of the bootmaker's history. Firstly I've done a video on Thursday and all the boots that I own and you can click on the link above. By the way if you do click on any links above in the video you don't automatically get taken away from this video to the tagged one. All you do is you open a list of tagged videos in the description below that you can watch after you've watched this one so you don't actually miss anything. Anyway Thursday very quickly Thursday boot company started in 2014 when two MBA students Connor Wilson and Nolan Walsh set out to make a versatile combination service and dress boot at a good quality but also at a price that they could afford. Starting with a Kickstarter campaign their most well-known boot is the Thursday captain. Their main line of boots are made in Mexico where a lot of good quality boots are being made for small and some very large brand names but they also have a number of models made in the US. Most of their boots sell for 199 US dollars and even their US made boots even those with Halloween leather uppers don't sell for more than the mid 200s. At the time of recording they have not raised their prices since they started. It's an MBA thing you know people say they use cheap materials and cheap construction methods but as you'll see when I dive into construction it is pretty gold standard not the best materials maybe not the most sturdy construction because you get what you pay for but it is pretty gold standard. They keep prices down not by skimping but by using negotiated long-term partnerships ordering in the numbers and global economics. As I say it's an MBA thing because they keep margins low but volumes up and they invest in customer facing activity. High engagement through social media and customer service response even when the quality fails the large majority of social media reports is that their customer service comes through. MBAs know that one dissatisfied customer is going to damage 100 good reviews so they work hard at it. So let's get into construction. Let me start at the bottom and I'll work my way up. Right at the bottom the outsole is a wedge sole made by Vibram. Vibram is an Italian company started by Vitali Bramani Vibram in the 1930s when he invented the rubber commando lugged sole as an improvement on climbers boots. Since then Vibram has expanded beyond Italy and has a license factory in the US as well as also being made in Brazil, China and the Czech Republic. They make a huge variety of outsole with a lot of them specifically aimed at safety, the military, fire and rescue and industrial use. This is their famous model 4014 Christie wedge sole made from a blown rubber compound. They are characteristically comfortable from the outset and they will soften over time and provide even more traction as they soften. This compound version is more durable than the full rubber versions used in the Redwing 875 which can wear out to give that rocking look from front to back. Wedge soles are supposed to be more comfortable because they sit flat on the ground and support your arches. Without a heel they're not great for climbing ladders but they're great for people who work on steel or concrete because they don't get caught and trip you up. As a work boot outsole it's also good for not tracking dirt and gravel from outside to newly constructed polished hardwood floors or whatever. The Christie wedge sole is securely glued on to a three or four mil thick leather midsole which is in turn good year welter to the uppers. Good year welting is the gold standard for fixing the uppers to the sole. The uppers are turned inwards and on the inside of the boot they're sewn to the insole and to the inside edge of this thin strip of leather called the welt. On the outside the outside edge of the welt is sewn through into the midsole with a hefty thread and the top of the welt is dyed black so that at first glance you think this is a stitch down construction boot where the uppers are flared out and stitched down. Because of the two stitches the good year welted boot is more water resistant if the stitch went through from inside to the outside without the welt forming a barrier. They're also re-solable a good cobbler can peel off the rubber outsole and just glue on another one all of the need to they can unpick the stitches and replace the midsole as well. Because the welt goes all the way around the edge of the boot it's called a 360 degree good year welt and also because the welt is about two to three millimeters itself going all the way around the boot that creates like a cavity or a well in the middle of this boot. In this boot that cavity is filled with cork. A steel shank is placed inside the cork layer. The shank is a piece of steel that sits between the heel and the ball of the foot providing more arch support and stability. If you go to Rose Anvil's channel where he cuts a pair of these in half you'll also see that under your archers Thursday builds up the arch area for better support and you can really feel it when you put these on. The idea behind the leather midsole and cork footbed is that it will compress with time and wear to better fit your feet. Then above that comes the controversy. Inside the boot is a leather covered poron insole. Poron is an open cell urethane foam that's used in athletic and running shoes to soften impact. It's very comfortable and it's anti-microbial so it will lessen food odor. In fact it's used in the Hubble Space Telescope as a shock absorbing seal. So great material, what's the controversy? Boot traditionalists think that anything artificial is bad news. They have poron, foam, leatherboard, even thermoplastic stiffness. They think everything should be leather and cork. Well in my opinion that's how things were made and I admit my white MP boots for example made that way are incredibly tough and sturdy and super comfortable ones worn and broken in. But all that leather and more leather and even leather shanks those boots cost over 600 US dollars. In the traditionalist's opinions the poron will collapse over time and then that softness will have worn away without the leather insole working with the cork filler and leather midsole to shape to your foot. This is not my only boot. To tell the truth I wear this regularly but not frequently so it would take a while before the poron flattens. It would have taken a while for my feet to shape any leather cork leather combination anyway. And take a look at poron running shoes. I run every day. I have no idea how many kilometers I do in my running shoes but I can tell you there are a lot and I can tell you it's probably your experience too that poron is still pretty good by the time the outsole wears out in your running shoes right? The economist J.M. Keynes once considered a theory of money supply which had economic effects in the long run. He said it didn't really matter because in the long run we're all dead. That's my take about how eventually the poron might feel bad. For now they are comfy as you put them on and I'm happy with that. Okay lesson in macroeconomics over let's move on up to the uppers. Inside the uppers are fully lined with a soft glove leather. Now I don't know what glove leather is but it does feel like my soft leather glove so I'm assuming it's either lamb or goat skin something like that. Outside this makeup is in the leather from Thursday's partner tannery in Mexico using American bovine leather. It's in the rugged resilient line which is made up of leathers that are sometimes a wax newbuck type of leather and sometimes in this smooth grain leather. Looking at it I'm pretty sure it's top grain leather where the full grain hide is corrected on top to remove scars and marks and then oil and wax to make the ruggedness in the rugged and resilient range. In the case of this black mat I think it's also waxed on the outside to make it a little smoother. This is not matte black like some of the other boots if this were a war paint finish I'd be calling it low sheen rather than matte. It's about two mils thick and combined with the leather lining it totals to about three or four mils thick overall which is about average for casual boots. It feels very soft and supple and on foot is very comfortable. Unlike my rugged and resilient burnt copper leather on my Thursday vanguards this leather feels like it will stretch when you break them in. There is some slight reinforcement in the heel and the toes I'm guessing is elastic. The heel counter is internal covered up by an internal pocket and the lining inside and stitched in place through to the outside with a neat double stitch. There's a single piece backstay strip up the middle. Stiffing everywhere else is single with some double stitching where it matters like at the edge of the quarters. The mock mock toe stitch does not sew two pieces of leather together as I said earlier it just puckers the leather at the edge of the apron into a fake seam. It is I believe hand stitched because the stitch density is longer and hand stitching is usually the only way you can pucker that leather in that way. The tongue is also lined but it's not gusseted but even so I've not had any slip. The hardware is all nickel plated and looks good against the black. There are five eyelets and two speed hooks at the top which I find a good combination for unhooking the laces and just pulling the lacing facings apart. The hardware is washed back so it doesn't tear into your tongues and they look pretty solid to me. The speed hooks don't bend under any kind of pressure that I put them to. I can't complain about any issues on these nothing's chipped off the soles or the edging no loose threads that I've had to burn off all the stitching looks regular and nicely lined up. The leather wears well no loose grain or ugly creasing. The outsole particularly the heels have worn better than my red wing 875 I don't know what that's with all in all I'm very happy with them. Thursday recommends special care for the rugged and resilient line which involves brushing off loose dirt cleaning them with a leather spray cleaner and then wiping them down with a microfiber cloth. They do not recommend applying any conditioners. Trenton and Heath on their channel have done a couple of videos on caring for Thursday's rugged and resilient line which basically follows Thursday's recommendations but also includes using suede spray conditioners like those from Saphir or a Tarago product. I have some links to those products in the description below. This black matte feels a bit different from the look of the other black matte leathers that they have on their other boots. They look and feel smoother. Guilty admission. I have conditioned these with big four and to tell the truth they haven't changed the texture or the look at all so no harm done on these. Where you have Thursday boots where the rugged and resilient leathers feel like a bit more newbucky you know like Timberland yellow boots don't use liquid conditioners. If you want to you can clean the edges of these cream wage soles but to me that's more trouble than it's worth. If you do want to clean it any combination of magic eraser or just liquid soap a brush and scraping it with a spoon would do a reasonable job. As for sizing I'm true to size as measured on a US brannock device at eight and a half in D width. In UK and Australian sizing that's equal to seven and a half in average width. However as 90% of boot makers especially in the US make their boots and call their size numbers a half size smaller I don't know why so much easier they name the sizes the same as brannock. I usually wear US 8D in boots. Thursday don't offer these in white sizes so their size eight feet fits my D width. So my advice is to go a half size down from your brannock if you have D width feet but I guess if you have wide feet you may have to go to your brannock size. Actually on their website they have a pretty cool find my size function where you nominate your sneaker size any known good year well to boot size and whether you wear white widths and then it gives you a recommendation. If in any doubt though reach out to their customer service I have always found their advice to be pretty spot on. In these at their size eight they fit me well. They are sleek and slim so they are snug. If you like lots of room in your toes I'd size up by a half. Getting the size right means there really isn't much of a breaking. These were comfortable immediately. The sole didn't need much of a break in to get rid of that initial heel slit. The leather midsole was kind and the Christy wedge isn't that thick so the sole started bending when my foot wanted to bend quite quickly. Overall comfort wise oh these are light enough to feel like sneakers. In fact I wear them when I would normally wear sneakers and as I mentioned already with the cuff of your jeans down in a good length break you look like you're wearing minimalist black sneakers when you wear these. I'd be happy wearing them all day. These cost you has $199 on their website. They are Goodyear weltered. The leathers from a good tannery that gets a gong from the leather working group for environmental practices and chemical waste management. They are comfortable and reasonably well made. So for all of that $199 is a pretty good price for a well constructed boot like this. What other Goodyear weltered boot made reasonably well could you get for under $200. I do want to make this clear though value is relative. You do get what you pay for when you buy a Thursday boot you are not getting a Pacific Northwest overbuilt quality boot or an RM Williams elegant boot or a Wolverine or even smaller batch quality boots like Parkhurst or Grant Stone but then you pay less or even way less depending on the brand. It's like complaining that your Hyundai isn't as well built as your neighbor's Mercedes. No it ain't but you didn't pay what he paid and a Hyundai in and of itself is a really good car. It's just not a Mercedes. Don't compare them mate it's totally fruitless. I'll leave a link in the description below to your website. You can have a look for yourself. So overall I think it's a pretty good buy for that price. Okay it's not made in America but I'm not American so that's not truly important to me. I own amazingly well made boots that are made in Vietnam and India, Indonesia, Mexico, Japan you name it or in China. Okay I don't own Flame Pandas although I hear they are amazing handmade boots but I do own Grant Stone. Okay yeah that's an American company making their boots in China but nevertheless all of those examples show that geography is no indication of quality. But the vision of the owner setting a target, the process control, established QC inspections, personal responsibility are. They are versatile and comfortable and have no faults that I can see. What else could you ask for? So there you go. Anyway we've come to that time when you need to explore your conscience and ask yourself why you haven't subscribed yet. Go on click on like and subscribe so that you get notified when I put out more boot reviews, discussions about brands and the philosophy or boot philosophy of why certain brands stay true to their vision and values and do certain things their way. In the meantime take care and I'll see you again soon.