 G'day. How are you going? Welcome to my channel Bootlossophy, and if you're new here, my name is Tech. I'm working on Wajik Country, Nunga Buja, in Western Australia, and I acknowledge the Nunga traditional owners of this land. Today, I'm pondering on the choice that Dr. Jones might make if he'd been faced with the Alden 403 boots and the Rhodes Owen boots today. So this is the Alden 403 and this one is the Rhodes Owen. In case you don't get the reference, Harrison Ford wore an Alden boot in all of the Indiana Jones movies. So much so that the Alden Mokto work boot in its various make-ups is now known as the Indy as well as by their model numbers. In this case, it was actually the Alden 405 in brown calfskin leather. The story is that the costume designer originally chose a pair of Redwing Mokto boots but Harrison Ford, having worn the Alden 405s as a work boot when he was a carpenter, insisted on wearing the Aldens because they were so comfortable. And as it transpires, also versatile for the movies because Indy could wear them when he went adventuring and then he could brush them up to wear as he walked the halls of academia. Since then there have been many makes that make designs very similar to the sleek Mokto design of the Alden Indy. This one, the Rhodes Owen boot, is no exception. Even though there are some immediate differences like the 360-degree Goodyear welt as opposed to Indy's 270-degree Goodyear welt. So let's take a look at the style. These are built both six inches tall, Mokto design. The Mokin Mokto is short for Mokkasin toe referring to the Mokkasin shoes made by First Nations Americans. And all categorized by this U-shaped stitch along the edge of the vamp. Usually the Mokk stitch sows two pieces of leather together. The vamp and the piece making up the walls of the toe box. In the case of both of these boots and in fact this flattened sleek design, they are a Mokk stitch. The stitching gathers up a raised pucker to create the impression of a joint, but it's really one piece of leather. You can also see in both that the stitch is a bit inboard of the edge of the side walls. Unlike a thorough good Mokto or a red wing 875 and making it look sleeker, lower profile and more dressy. They have different outsoles, but both are connected to the uppers with a Goodyear welt form of construction. That's where a thin strip of leather called the welt goes around the circumference of the shoe where the uppers are sewn to the inside edge and then outside the outside edge of the welt is sewn to the mid and outsoles. Goodyear welted shoes are either made with a 360-degree Goodyear welted form or a 270-degree form. The difference is, like in the Rose Owen, the welt goes all the way around the boot, hence 360 degrees or full circle, or like this Alden 403 where the welt only goes three quarters of the way around from one side of the waist to the other side and then the heel portion is glued and nailed. The advantage of the Goodyear welt is that it's more easily resolvable. You can undo the stitches, peel off the outsole and attach a new one and then sew it back on. It's also more water resistant because there are no stitch holes that go from outside directly inside. The welt forms a kind of barrier between the two stitches. The difference between the 360-degree welt and the 270-degree welt is that the heel on the 270 is said to look more sleek and doesn't have an ugly ledge sticking out. The Aldens do look more dressy there, don't they? The disadvantage is that in theory the Aldens are slightly less water resistant because there's no welt barrier to the heels. This design by Alden as evidenced by Harrison Ford's use of them when he was a carpenter was intended as a work boot. Today that mid-century modern aesthetic is now so trendy especially when work boots are mostly technical plastic and fabric padded boots that their aesthetic is quite fashionable outside of work by a carpenter builder or otherwise. Let's take a look at each of these. I'll start with the Alden 403. Not quite the original Alden Indies, that being the 405s in calfskin. These, the model 403 is in brown chrome excel. I've actually already done a detailed review of these boots which you can see up here so I'll only do a brief run through of them here. Alden is an old New England shoe company started in 1884. That's New England in the US, not New South Wales of course. It's the only New England shoemaker that's left of the hundreds that started in the same time and remains a family company to this day. They make high quality and quite pricey shoes and boots. Some say still fully deserving of the price. Some say today showing some evidence of lapsing quality control. The old and indie boots are still made in New England. As far as I can see Alden were the first to create this sleek mock mock toe look. In my research I can't find exactly when it first appeared but it seemed some time in the 1960s or 70s. In most articles these days they write this office always decades ago which I cringe a bit at because I very well remember the early 70s as a kid in high school and it doesn't feel like decades ago. The chrome excel leather from Horween in Chicago is a waxy oily combination tanned leather and quite easy to scuff so I'm pretty sure that while it might be suitable for the college indie work that isn't going to be great for when you get pinned to a canyon wall by a Nazi tank. The construction is a light but sturdy touch. The boot is fully lined the good you welt at 270 degrees doesn't add a lot of weight to the boot and the toe is only lightly structured. People say the 270 degree welt is not as water resistant I bet indie knows after jumping over a sinking ship and swimming up to a U-boat. The true balance last used in most indies is a combination last that is a wide comfortable last. It's built on cork and leather mostly it's incredibly comfortable there's a wide heel with this quirky curve that puts part of the heel under your arch to give it support over and above the shank. The cantilevered construction of the uppers under the arch gives it a built-in hugging support. This is potentially the most supportive arch support you can get in a boot and would be great for indie as he trudges around the world and stepping over all kinds of unpredictable terrain. Even after kicking the odd Nazi I reckon his feet wouldn't feel tired or achy. I said the sole construction was mostly cork and leather. There is a leatherboard midsole. Leatherboard is like the chipboard of the leather world and while cheaper may not be as durable as proper veg tanned leather midsole something to be aware of. The sole is made of flat nitro cork a rubber compound mixed with chips of cork. It's soft enough to be comfortable and durable enough not to lose chips when you're crawling through a Petra. Is it grippy enough? It is for me I don't live with this ice or snow and I think it would be fine walking over Egyptian sand dunes but walking in the snow and ice of Tibet or the mud of the Amazonian jungle. I don't know. It's a versatile design you have to say. You can wear it in tough conditions if you don't mind getting the chrome excel scuffed and the sole matches the terrain and you can you can brush it up to be dressier for social occasions. They sell for around 600 US dollars possibly a bit steep for a college professor's salary unless he boosts it with a tenure and a little adventuring on the side. Now the turn of the Rhodes Owen. This is made by Rhodes which is the house brand of Huckbury a one-stop online retailer of men's apparel everyday carry footwear gear and home items. The Rhodes Owen is made in Leon the Mexican capital of leather and boot making. Obviously Rhodes has way less history than old and in the shoe making department but first off let's say up front that while not oldens the QC and construction of these boots are good. There's nothing wrong with the stitching everything is stuck together the way you'd expect and nothing's fallen off this pair in about a year and a half of regular but not frequent wear. The leather is foregrain wax leather. I think it's chrome tanned it's not especially remarkable leather it's a little stiff but it's not uncomfortable and has a smooth waxy finish not unlike dress shoes. Yeah they have less character than chrome excel but maybe they'd stand up better for crawling under a Venetian cathedral and swimming in the sewer. They don't scuff as easily as chrome excel even when I took them for a walk across some tricky rocky terrain in a forest reserve near where I live. It's easy to clean up and they take Venetian shoe cream just as nicely as chrome excel. They're also fully leather lined but I'm going to say that they're lined with a leather that's not as soft and comfortable as the oldens not uncomfortable but doesn't feel like a soft glove. Like the olden 403 they've decided to give you nine eyelets and speed hooks nine of them up a six inch shaft that usually takes seven and they both give you the flat wax laces but when you tie them up they lay so close to one another that fully lace it looks like you're strapping up something from the curse of the mummy's tomb. Wrong movie but you get the idea. The main difference you see is that this is a 360 degree Goodyear welter boot. The welt is clearly going around the whole boot and in this natural color stands out a fair bit. You know it goes the whole way around all right. It sticks out not only at the heel but all around a lot further than the welt around the indies. In the indie boots the welt is sanded quite close to the stitch almost to dress shoe standards. Some will say these are more water resistant especially in the heel area but these welts mate they stand out baby. Interesting thing though is that maybe because of the welt which makes the boot feel heavier maybe because of the stiffer and less supple leather these boots feel like you could kick things and people and they take a lot better than softer most comfortable olden 403. I think it would feel like punching someone wearing a boxing glove as opposed to a soft baseball glove. The solidity is helped by the Vibram mini lug commando sole on a veg tanned leather midsole it creates a thicker and harder outsole than the nitrile cork. The rubber of the mini lug sole is harder feeling than the nitrile cork and the commando lugs even if low profile in the mini lug version it's a lot grippier so running down an amazonian river back to your plane would be a lot safer in these. The heel is solid so it's also pretty grippy but not as supportive as the olden's. So grippy but maybe with a little less arch support even with a steel shank and at the end of a hard day on your feet whether you're lecturing or walking over a rope bridge I think your feet might ache more. While I have found these comfortable I can't say that my feet don't feel tired at the end of the day whereas I can say that of the olden's. As for the aesthetics well they look similar to the indies so they're pretty versatile maybe just maybe they can be said to be less dressy because of the way that welt stands out especially showing that ledge of the back at the heel instead of a sleek line from the achilles tendon down to the heel. I touched on this but let's take a closer look at fit and comfort. First though sizing I'm a us 8 and a half in D width on the brand new device. In most American heritage style boots I wear an 8D because most of them size large. These Rhodes Owen boots are in 8D they fit me well a goodish fit around the back of the boot and just enough room in the kind of rounded toe box that I don't feel cramped. The width across the ball of my feet the widest part is just right. The leather being a little stiff caused some pressure at the top of the mock toe stitch just there but after a couple of weeks it softened and gave way. I still feel a little tight in the volume there but it's not uncomfortable. The olden's are in an 8 and a half D. I was told to go true to size but after getting these I disagree. The true balance last is such a well-shaped combination last that 8 and a half D for me is a little roomy and I think I should have gone with an 8D. Even these perhaps a half too big even these snug up at my heels and I think in a half size down it would be perfect around the heels and waist. The toe box also around its shape is beautifully roomy and allows my toes to flex as they need. The last also has a little more volume I feel so I don't have any press down effect and breaking in these was a breeze. The significant difference in comfort was the arch support. That reveals Olden's heritage in making orthopedic shoes. The Olden's give superb arch support. I don't know how they do it but they must have something built up in the shape of the mid and insoles because it feels like there's something pushing up. The tucked in can't believe it opposite the arch also support the foot just there. Then on top of that the curvy heel is designed to put basically a solid heel structure right under the arch helping the shank do its job. It strikes me that Olden have constructed a wage sole boot without using a wage sole. The Rhodes Owen cost 266 US and are more often than not on sale. I got these for 130 US dollars. Now let's be fair you can't ever compare Olden quality to a new boot maker using less renowned leather than chrome excel but that aside what are the comparative values? Well for Olden you get quality leather mostly but not all quality materials. You get shoe making experience the type of experience that creates a boot you can really walk around the world with twice and not really feel any boot pain. You get mostly good QC. The Rhodes Owen you get fair but unremarkable leather pretty good materials and from what I can see pretty good QC. All in all in both cases you get what you pay for. You can't compare them but I don't think you'd complain that the Owen at 265 dollars is oversold in value. I think you can argue that at 600 dollars the indie is fair value but possibly just possibly with more modern competitors in the quality boot making world if not experience making really good boots at four to five hundred dollars I think you could sneak in some doubt that maybe it could be priced a little less. So finally here's the question which boot would indie choose? If you're thinking overall comfort and quality I think you choose the Olden's that bear his name. If you're thinking about value for money for a reasonably robust boot hit by the Owen. If you're going to wear them in the office standing and lecturing at the podium wear them with a suit and then after work change into jeans or chinos and maybe doing a little light carpentry at home maybe if you need to walk around the streets of Rome or Berlin or even across the tops of sand dunes to observe what those Nazis are digging up then the Olden 403s for you. On the other hand if you're going hiking and then you go out to a barbecue or date night if you're going to scuffle through rock cut tunnels and and try to muddy river banks and get your boots all scratched up and especially if you don't have six hundred dollars to spend the Owen is a pretty good sub for the Olden. So there you have it guys that's my comparison of the Olden 403 indie boot with a hugbury homage to it the Rhodes Owen. I hope you liked it and if you do please click on the like button below and if you haven't already click on the subscribe button too. Both will help me to grow my channel and if you subscribe you'd be told by youtube when I upload more videos which I will. More videos on boot reviews, boot comparisons, boot brands, as well as other leather goods. Until then guys take care and I'll see you soon.