 G'day, how are you going? Welcome to Bootlossophy. My name is Tech and I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands that I live and work on, the Wajik people of Nungabuja. Today, something a little different. I've been looking at my Chelsea work boot collection. I mean, Dinkum work boots, not dressy or even casual boots, but those made to be worked in. So today, it's the challenge of the Chelsea work boots. Let me introduce you to the contenders in this Chelsea work boot challenge. I'm of course limiting the contenders only to those boots that I own and that I've worn for a little light manual work, digging in the garden, clearing trees and vegetation, building a pagola, some carpentry around the house, remodeling my wife's investment property, kitchen and bathroom. That sort of light manual work. The first is the Aussie favourite, the Blannies, a work boot that's been on the feet of Aussie farm hands and tradies since the early 20th century. Next in alphabetical order is the Bordeaux Isidro from Colombia, this one in tough wax suede on a commando sole. Then from another Commonwealth nation, the Jim Green Stopmen. Jim Green have been around since the 1980s and they bring this worthy, tough and value driven Chelsea work boot. Next, we come back to Australia from the national boot icons, RM Williams. This is their Chelsea work boot called the Gardner. Not forgetting their history as boots on cattle and sheep stations all over the bush, their Premier craftsman boot is now seen more in the boardroom than the stock room, but this Gardner boot is still intended for rough work. Next, we have another Aussie tradies favourite, the Redback from Victor Boots, which unlike Blundstone is still made in Australia. And finally, the budget Australian Chelsea work boot made in India, brought to you by clothing and footwear company Rivers. So how are we going to do this? Totally arbitrarily and my call is final. What I'm going to do is give each boot a score from 1 to 10, where 10 is the best on a series of categories. Here's what I'll be scoring them on. First would be looks, but bear in mind this is a work boot challenge. So the looks I'm looking for are those of a sturdy work boot. I'm not looking for style or sleepiness and I'm not giving any marks for versatility. How does it look as a work boot? That's what I'll be considering. Next, I'm going to score on their quality control. Now, here is where I'll look not only at their finishing QC, but overall. What's their construction like, including what materials are being used? After that, durability. In my opinion, and mine is the only one that counts, in my opinion, from the wear that I've had, how durable do I think they'll be? Then I'll score on their break in and comfort. Yep, we do want a work boot that you just slip on, right? A work boot that takes forever to break in is probably going to be very durable, but not very useful in the short term. And you know what they say, in the long run what's it matter? We'll all be dead. But in this category, I'll also consider comfort. Now this may outweigh a bad break in. After all, I've had boots that were held to break in, but after they are broken in, they become as comfortable as sliding into silk underpants. Also, I'm told. Finally, I'll score them on value. Not the price necessarily, but what you get for the price. Now, I've actually reviewed all of these boots already, so if you want to look at them in detail, I'll put links to the reviews in the description box below. Okay, ready? Let's start with looks. Going alphabetically, the Blunt Stones are definitely work boot chunky. They have a wide round last and a high volume profile, and the thick TPU soles look the business. The oiled kit leather also looks ready for work. I'm going to score them an eight. Next is the Bordon Isidro. Now, this might be a bit unfair, but I do like waxed suede uppers. They look really cool, and they are reminiscent of rough-out, the quintessential work boot upper. Also, the shape of the last is also rounded and roomy, and the chunky commando sole, that is a look to love, so I'm going to give them a nine. Jim Green. The Jim Green Stockman from South Africa. Some say this is an ugly boot because the toe cap is huge. I don't agree, but there is sometimes a line that may be being too rugged you can cross. Did I say toe cap? I'm at toe box. No, it's not all an ugly work boot only, but I am marking it low, only a five. Next is the RMs, the Gardener. Look, apart from the greasy kit leather and the round toes, you could almost mistake this for a craftsman boot, can't you? Bearing in mind I'm looking for a boot that looks like it's for work and not for going to the office for looks alone. I'd mark it really high, maybe even a ten, but for the looks of a work boot, now I'm sorry, but I think it looks a little bit too refined. I'm going to give it a seven. Next are the Redbacks. Okay, this is a chunky looking boot with that super thick moulded sole. It wins for looking aggressively work booty, I'm giving it an eight. And then finally the Rivers, the Rivers Goodyear Welter Chelsea. This is a nice looking boot and the tan is attractive, but you know, I think it looks too derivative. Just about every Chelsea work boot looks like this, don't you think? So I'm going to give it a seven. Next, scoring the Materials Construction and QC. Once again I'll go alphabetically. The Blummies I think score okay for a machine made, basically cement construction boot. The leather is fine, it's soft and supple, but it is supportive. But hey, there's a lot of synthetics used in these, so seven. The Bordon, I do like the materials. Waxwade from Italy. It's Hyde Commando Souls. A hell of a lot of veg tan leather and no wayward stitching or loose stitches or mistakes in construction. I'm going to give them an eight. Moving on to the Jim Green, you know, it's well put together, well made, but I have to mark it down for some of the materials that they've chosen, like the synthetic footboard, the poor comfort insole and the leather isn't the best as sturdy as it is. I'm going to give the stockman a seven. As for the RM Williams, well, you expect the best and you do get the best. The Greasy Kip Leather is way better than the Blundstone Kip or the Redback Oil Kip. The construction is immaculate. It's solid and well put together. Not quite a ten because I found one loose stitch, so nine. Next, Redback. A seven. Same kind of thinking as the Blunnies. Seven. Finally, Rivers. Not great. Always thirsty leather, rubber welked, not great rubber compound sole, loose stitching everywhere. Sorry, just a five. So after two rounds, the lead table looks like this. Some of you may be surprised to see the RMs in second place, but they are close behind Bordon's Isidro boot. Coming up joint third are Blundstones, Redback, and surprisingly, Rivers. And now we look at durability. Okay, this comes from totally personal experience. I've worn RMs for years. These are my second pair of Blundstones. And as for the rest, I've really worn them quite hard over varying times from over a couple of years to a few months. But I think I have enough time to judge. For durability, I'm giving the Blundstone and the Redback a six. You can't re-sole them. The leather is good, but hardware will tear into them. I'm going to give the Bordon and the Jim Green an eight. They score highly because they've protected my feet shoveling out gravel and crawling over sharp rocks and they're none the worse for it. Then comes the Rivers. They're looking really abused and they're not re-soleable, so I give them a four. The high score is the RM Williams Gardener Boot, a nine. I've been literally to high water and over rocky cliffs in these and they've just stood out. So yes, a solid nine. Now breaking in comfort. Both the Jim Green and the Rivers score medium, only seven each. I found the Rivers didn't need much of a break-in, they aren't the most comfortable with a lot of heel slip even now. I think their Chelsea last just isn't right for gripping your ankles firmly. As for Jim Green's stockman, they were hard to break in and they were not comfortable until I put in my own removable insole for more shock absorption. What pulled them up from a lower score was how well they fitted and gripped the foot securely. The Baudon Isidro, I gave an eight. They were tough to break in because of the Vagitan midsole, but once that was over, they were certainly comfortable. The Round at Last gave my feet room without losing that secure snugness you need in Chelsea's. So now we move to the Blunnies and the Redbacks. I gave the Blunnies the edge of the Redbacks because they were both easy to break in. Their leather was supple and their TPU soles were shock absorbing from the goal. But I gave these Blunstones the edge for comfort because they are fully lined. So nine for the Blunstone, eight for the Redback. And then finally, the RM Williams. Outstanding. Easy break in, perfectly fits the foot if you nail the sizing. Comfortable and shock absorbing. I can wear these all day and all night. A 10. Woohoo! The first 10! Okay, so let's take a look at the lead table after four rounds. Well, the RM Williams gardener has jumped into the lead quite closely followed by the Baudon Isidro, just two points behind. Then after them, the jocking has taken place. Blunstone comes third, then Redback, followed by Jim Green and Rivers is getting left behind. Just one more round, value for money. So how do they score for value? The Blunstone 650s, I scored an eight. Okay, they're largely machine made and they are stuck on TPU soles, but at least it's not just cement construction. The soles are thermally injected into the leather fibres so they're a lot more secure. But at the price of $130 in Australia, for what you get, they are good value. The same goes for the Redback UBOK Chelsea's, also an eight. In fact, I surprised myself by giving the Rivers an eight as well. They cost me under $100 Aussie dollars. They are good year-welted. They'll do. So not bad value for money at all. Next, I gave Jim Green a high nine. They really are good value. From the South African ran pricing into Aussie dollars, they're comparable with the Blunnies and the Redbacks in price, but you get stitched down, good leather, a shank, and a solid rubber sole. Finally, the RM Williams. They are a fantastic boot. They are made from excellent leather from Australia or New Zealand. They are good year-welted. They have a rubber sole similar to the Vibram Vibar sole. What's not to like? But they cost nearly $700 AUD. That's a lot to pay for work boots. $100 less and they might have scored more, but at $700, no, not great value for money. I'm giving them a six. So there it is, my scores for the international Chelsea boot challenge. At least for those I own. How did my boots end up? What's the league table look like? And who won? Well, here it is. The table moved a lot in each round and ended up with RM Williams and Bourdon in equal first. Only three points behind in second is Blunstone. Only one point behind is Redback and only one point behind Redback is Jim Green. Finally, the reverse came a poor last. I think in retrospect, the results are pretty much what my gut would have said. If there were to be any call for a recount, I think it would be for Jim Green. They were close and on another day, I think they could easily have scored as high, if not more than the Blunstone and the Redback boots. It was a game of interest, but then's the breaks. Go check out the individual reviews I've already released of each boot. The links I'll put down below. Go, go, go. Don't forget though, before you go, click on like and subscribe. If you like stuff like this, click on the subscribe button and go do it. Until next time, take care and I'll see you soon.