 G'day, how are you going? Welcome to my channel called Boot Lossophy, and if we haven't met, my name is Tech. I live and work in Wojcik country, so I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of these land and waters, the Wojcik people of the Nungar Nation. Today, I'm taking a look at another iteration of the Whites MP Sherman Boot, this one in Hauwi, British Tan, Chromacel. This is the Whites MP Sherman Boot. The Whites MP boots come in a variety of make-ups. First, there's a difference between the MP Sherman model and the MPM1 model. They're both basically the same inside and out, except that the Sherman has a two-piece backstay design, the counter cover and the heel strip that covers up the seam. The MPM1 you see has a single-piece backstay, where this is one piece of leather in an original World War II US Marines boondocker style. Then, each of the different models are available in plain-toe or cap-toe versions, and they come on either a full-slip day-night sole and day-night heel toppers, on top of a stacked-block heel, or a half-commando lug sole with a commando heel top lift. They are service boot designs, meaning they're modeled after mid-20th-century military boots. I think it's beyond doubt that Brett Weiberg started the whole service boot trend when he brought back the 1930s Weiberg service boot model in the late 2000s. Most American boot companies after that scramble to produce or bring back their service boot lines, from Wolverine bringing back their 1,000-mile boot to Ellen Edmonds bringing out the Higgins Mill, Whites and the MP boot, and now we have this plethora from Thursday, Grandstone, Caswell, Parkhurst, Oak Street Bootmakers. The list goes on. But I think it's also fair to say that the two classic service boot patterns that are stuck in our minds is the Weiberg service boot and this Whites model of the MP boot. Now this is a chunky casual boot. You can see that this is a service military-style design boot made by a work boot manufacturer. While the look may be fashionable, the makers do not take any bows towards fashion. While not as far as slap dash, the construction is work booty. All chunky pieces of leather, heavy leather-based construction, powerfully hand sewn stitching that's sometimes six, sometimes five, sometimes even four stitches to an inch at the welt. Being built tough and not embarrassed about it, this is obviously not something you'd wear with a suit or even anything dressy. MP boots need to be worn with jeans or slim five pocket pants or alternately, straight leg work pants and even cargo pants. Wear them with outfits you'd wear to the pub for a Sunday session for example, with a white t-shirt and a bomber or work jacket. I have got away with a Frodo from the Shire kind of relaxed casual with moleskin jeans, a button down a vest and a corduroy sports coat. It's casual, stay casual. Whites has been around since the American Civil War or their abouts founded by Edward White although I don't think the business was called Whites at the time. His son John and then grandson Otto eventually took the business from Connecticut to Spokane in Washington State in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. In the early 1900s Otto grew the company into a work boot company supporting the loggers in the Pacific Northwest where well-built supportive and protective boots which eventually also caught on with parachuting firefighters called smoke jumpers who parachute into hard to get areas to fight forest fires. In the late 2010s Whites brought out their MP boots which as I said earlier effectively in response to the craving in the market that had been started by the Canadian neighbor Weiberg. In 2014 the majority family ownership of Whites was bought by American company La Crosse Footwear. La Crosse itself had been acquired by Japanese company ABC Martin 2012 so technically Whites is now owned by a Japanese company. This did cause a sometimes fluent, sometimes hysterical debate on one of the boot groups in Facebook. Ah Facebook. Anyway Whites MP boots are now sold online as well as through retailers such as Baker's Boots and partner online stores like Division Road who offer collab variations. I'll leave a few links in the description below for you to have a gander. I've already reviewed in some depth a couple of other versions of MP boots including the MPM1 in Cinnamon Wex Flash so I'll leave a link to those reviews below and point to this link up here. So I won't go into great detail about the construction methods but I will point out a few salient features. First the uppers are attached to the soles by what is technically a stitch down construction. That's where the uppers are flared out when lasted and they're then stitched directly down into the midsole and or the outsole. Traditionally stitch down or from the Dutch Feltschuhn construction method doesn't have a welt but things have evolved. In this case Whites call this variation of stitch down their hand welted rolled welt. It's extremely complicated to explain but basically the uppers are flanged out. A welt made from the same type of leather as the uppers is stitched onto the uppers rolled over and then sewn on to and through the flanged out bit of the uppers the midsole and the outsole. So when you look from the edge you see the rolled welt which is the same thickness as the next layer which is the uppers and then the midsole and then the rubber outsole. It's a lot easier to watch than to explain so I'll link to a video on the making of this legend. The next thing I want to point out is the last and the materials used in construction. This is built on Whites MP last which is a variant of the berry last as used by Alden. As a result and also because of how they built up the arch here arch support is excellent following the berries tucked in cantilever support under the arch. In Whites the arch is built up using the arch ease design. Basically this has layers and layers of thick shaped and carved veg tan leather built up under your foot. This means it could be held to break in but once you do and the leather has compressed and moulded to your feet it's like they were carved to the exact shape of your feet. Materials wise even the heel counter is leather not thermoplastic as in many boots these days. The toe cap stiffening is primarily achieved through this being a true toe cap that is a piece of leather is sewn on top of the vamp so that there's actually two thicknesses of leather in the toe. The third item I want to point out is the use of the day night outsole. I find it interesting that the MPs are offered with a half lug sole and a day night sole. I think the day night design is obviously an understanding that these are casual lifestyle boots in design even if construction is just as sturdy as Whites other work boots. Day night is an English brand from the Harborough rubber company in England and it's another ubiquitous part of boot making. It's really the perfect blend between a sleek profile and a good grip between sturdiness and flexibility and it's used by boot makers at all price ranges or are copied by others who produce their proprietary versions of this studded design. Finally the last thing I want to point out is the thickness of this Horween chrome excel in British tan. Horween is as you probably know a famous tannery based in Chicago and probably its most famous product is chrome excel. Chrome excel is a combination tanned leather, chrome tanned at first then veg retanned and then finally hot stuffed with oils and waxes in a process that involves 89 separate processes over 28 days. The result is a supple but sturdy pull up leather where you can pull up on the leather and see the oils and waxes move around inside. It's a pretty ubiquitous leather for boots but the reason I bring it up is because in this case it's over two millimeters and up to two and a half millimeters thick. This is one of the thickest samples of chrome excel I've seen and speaks of the quality of materials used. Caring for chrome excel is relatively straightforward. As always make sure you clean and brush the boots regularly. If you wear them casually and regularly I think you should try to brush the boots with a good horse hair brush at least once a week. You don't have to get too worked up about it just brush them vigorously to brush off the grit and dust that may be on the boot. Dirt and grit and dust they're your leather's worst enemy because the build up of it can dry out the leather and scratch and cause cracks over time. If you mix all that dusty grit with a conditioner without brushing it off first all you're doing is making up a seriously abrasive emery paste. Vigorous brushing also helps to move the oils and waxes inside the chrome excel. Apart from luster it can help to smooth scuffs and scratches and keep the leather moist. If you wear them as a hiking, outdoor or work boot on a work site that's not an office you should clean them up whenever they get dirty. Wipe most of the mud or dirt off with a damp rag then settle soap and clean it before drying and brushing. Conditioning is also simple. My go-to is Venetian shoe cream or you can use Knitzfoot or with chrome excel. Honestly you can't go wrong with VSC because it's a reasonably mild conditioner. It replenishes oils and gives a waxy protective surface and will shine up the smooth grain to some extent. Now to sizing. I have already done a last and sizing comparison of the MP boots up here and I'll link to it below but briefly this MP last is long and narrow. My advice is to go a full size down from your brannock size and a full width up. So taking my example my brannock true to size is a US 8.5 in D width. For most American heritage boots I usually go a half down and wear an 8D. For the MP last I suggest you try a full size down from true so in my case from 8.5 to 7.5 but go a full width up from a D to an E. As for comfort if you get the sizing right these are the most comfortable boots I own for arch support and for the overall support around the boot. That's not to say that they're like sneakers or far from it. These are made from solid materials and you never forget you're wearing a boot but I can stand and walk in these all day for hours on end. As for value they're currently listed on White's website at US$680 to US$700 depending on the options. They're not the cheapest boots but you get what you pay for and at US$700 you get a lot. No cardboard, solastic or leather board you get all leather hand sewn and a handful of nails. What else can you get for US$700? The Old and Indy is in that price range the Pacific Northwest brands like Nix, JKs and Franks just a little bit below it's in good company and not an embarrassing amount more than its compatriots. I think it's worth it but then this is my grail boot. So in summary this is a tank of a boot. Yes there is an intentional pun these are probably named after the Civil War general who captured Atlanta but the Sherman is also the name of a World War II tank surely that's worth a laugh or a like. Yeah so in summary these are well made unique good looking but durable boots and while expensive should last you many many years taking the cost per wear formula down to a low enough amount to compare with boots that won't last as long. Before you go don't forget to click on like and subscribe I have more and more videos to bring to you reviewing boots about boots boot care and more interesting things about boots than you knew existed click on subscribe and until the next time take care and I'll see you soon