 These are a selection of my Parkhurst boots showing their last evolution from their 2018 number 18 last to the Andrew Savisco design 602 last and then when they moved from their partner factory in Upstate New York to Spain during COVID the Spanish 602 and later 602 M last Now let's see how they've evolved and what you can expect in fit and sizing in the current last Hi, good day. How are you going? Welcome to boot loss ify if you're new here My name is tech and I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands I live on in Western, Australia the widget people I Have 14 pairs of Parkhurst boots to date 15 if you count their collab with Nick's handmade boots People ask me what are my favorite boots? I honestly don't have one But if you ask my favorite boot brand, it would have to be Parkhurst. So a bit about Parkhurst As a brand it's a it's a really small brand and his run Managed and worked on by one man the founder Andrew Savisco He was a finance analyst who had a passion for American heritage boots and started the brand in 2018 by bootstrapping The startup literally with his own savings. No investors. No kickstart campaign in order to retain control over his vision If you want an insight into the man and his struggles over the covert years go and see my interview with him up there During the height of the pandemic Andrew struggled to keep his American supply chain But many of his suppliers shut and even the factory he teamed with the former PW minor factory in upstate New York That had been rescued as the artisan boot and shoe company Finally called it quits and shut down With literally no way to turn Andrew could have followed But he was introduced by his other factory and supplier partners in the US to a Spanish factory Which could supply materials and make boots at small runs and make those small runs economical so park has moved manufacturing to Spain in What I want to say 2022 and started to make boots again During the history from founding in 2018 They have evolved their lasts and that will have an implication how their boots fit For example, all of these boots are us 8d But if you compare this Richmond boot in Ray's reverse Mohawk Against the Richmond boot in light natural double-shot leather You'll see the different shape to the toe box where the Mohawk Richmond was made on the older 18 last and Showing a more almond-shaped toe than the double shot in Parkhurst's 602 last But before I go on Not all of my viewers are boot nerds who study all the cobbler videos and how to make videos on YouTube So let me explain about lasts This is a last This is a vintage last I got locally But what it is is the foot shape mold around which you build your boot in this case This is a shoe last It would be obvious that whatever boot this is made on this last will be a quite low profile in the toes and Also with a sharp almond-shaped toe box So it should be obvious that the boots you make their shape will look like the last. That's why an iron ranger Looks round in bulbous. It's built in the round bulbous toe last That's why an RM Williams Chelsea boot Looks slim and has a pretty pointy chisel toe. The last it's built on looks like that Boots are made on the last by first sewing all the pieces of the uppers together and then you pull them around the last Depending on what type of construction a boot is made in usually you start with nailing the thick leather insole to the bottom of the last Then you pull the sewn uppers around the last and pull them tight and nail them to the inside to the insole and the last The uppers are left there until they take on or are trained to stay that shape probably several days The wealth is then sewn on to the insole and the uppers Then you fill in the cavity caused by the thick wealth forming like a wall around the edge With cork or some other filler Then you glue the midsole and outsole on and you sew the whole lot together through the outside edge of the wealth depending on Construction method. I missed a few steps there. There's shanks and gammings and things, but we're getting too technical Now a last can be bought from last makers for example spring line in the UK is a famous last maker designing and making lasts for many UK brands and bespoke makers Sometimes the boot brands design their own lasts and then get them manufactured in wood or fiberglass or plastic by last makers It gets fancy these days some of these contract last makers do 3d printing and stuff Sometimes like the Indonesian boot makers they design and carve their own last themselves from a block of wood. This is a block of wood vintage Okay, so as a boot brand you bought or you designed and made one last But what sizes it if you have a size 10, how do you make boots that are sizes 8 9 11 and more So you have to decide to buy a few maybe the more popular sizes But wait, what width is it a D? What about people who have skinny feet or wide feet? Bugger so with all the sizes of lasts that you bought you now have to buy them in multiple say three widths But wait, hold on You're getting multiple orders for a size 10 D But you only have one last in 10 D Does that mean the order has to wait and you delay manufacturer until you finish one and then start the other So damn you have to buy multiple lasts of the same size and width You starting to get the picture That's why some of the smaller boot brands offer a limited number of sizes and widths That's why Indonesian boot makers for example takes so long to make a pair of boots. You may have to wait your turn Depending on who owns the design and on customization One boot last could cost up to 750 US dollars So say you decide to offer sizes 7 to 11 in two widths D&E Now that's 10 individual physical lasts and say you want three copies of each to keep production going That is 30 individual lasts. So they cost you five hundred dollars each That's an investment of $15,000 that's before you even sell your first shoe So next time you see a small brand not offering half sizes or not offering doubly width or something Show a little understanding, I guess Anyway, back to Parkhurst When they started in 2018 they offered the number 18 last This Richmond in the reverse Mohawk is made on the number 18 last You can check out one of my earliest boot reviews on this up there As you can see, it's quite a slim looking last and a firm favorite amongst the earlier Parkhurst collectors in my standard 8d it's a good fit with a Snug heel quite a snug waist enough room in the ball of the feet Before closing into a pointy almond shaped toe It's different from other pointy almond shaped toe boots that often look Longer to fit your toes in without squeezing them That's because in this case it sharpens down from a wide ball of the foot quite quickly. I Actually love this look, but it's not my best fit. I can feel my toes at the side of the toe box As far as I'm aware Parkhurst at that time offered only one width and Andrew used to advise people with wider feet to size up by a half This kind of makes sense because of the last measurements. They would be proportional a longer size means proportionately wider ball But not everyone was able to do this, especially if you were borderline going up a size anyway The longer length might not have fitted you length wise. I think that's why the 18 last was discontinued Soon after foundation the 602 last was introduced. This one is an early 2022 model The Richmond and Seidel's light natural double shot Andrew designed a 602 last himself It's called the 602 after the designation of the landing ship tank that his grandfather served on in the US Navy It's called a combination last like the famous old and true balance last Where the heel starts in a B width and the forefoot opens out to a wide slightly oversized D width going on E As a combination last it looks it locks your heel and waist in for stability and offers pretty good arch support Because of the narrow waist but also offers plenty of room in the ball of the foot while still technically an almond-shaped toe Compared to the 18 last it's a lot more roomy and less restrictive at the little toe side of the foot This is one of the best lasts for my feet In an 8d my regular boot size I feel secure without any heel slip once it's broken in the ball feels snug like a proverbial firm handshake With room in the toe box to curl my toes in Profile it retains a fairly low profile and in my view Arrivals the sleepless of a vibe about 2030 last When park has moved manufacturing to Spain I personally believe a new type of 602 last was used before the development of the 602 M In my discussions with Andrew nothing's been said and it may be due to legal commercial and confidence reasons but When the Batavia, New York factory shut it is possible that the small brands using that factory Lost their physical lasts to the liquidators In the contract factory world as the purchase of the last are very expensive Sometimes the factory will order and get the last made and fund it the bootmaker then pays them a license fee And then after a while ownership of the last move to the brand once they paid it off It is possible that when the factory closed they had legal ownership of the lasts or simply Possession between tenths of the law. They couldn't prove legal ownership and the liquidator took them I do know of another small brand that told me in confidence that they lost a lot of money by beat by losing control of the last That they had in the factory So if that's true, and I stress I do not have any confirmation of that Then parkers would have had to get new physical last made and shipped to Spain The reason I think this is what happened is that the look and feel of the early Spanish 602 last parkers boots Look and feel slightly different This is the 2023 Allen boot Parkhurst's plane tow model in CF Steads Gaucho mousse You can see my review up there If you ignore the plane tow and look at the profile in comparison to the double shot The curve down to the tip of the toe is a lot less steep On foot it feels slightly roomy in the tow box And this is before Andrew it just at the last into the slightly larger 602 M That Spanish 602 last felt good, but in my opinion I think not as good a fit for me as the New York 602 lasted boots They were a good fit rather than fitting like a glove More recently Andrew Divert the 602 M last initially to make the mock tow Niagara You can see my Niagara review up there and to make the Elmwood Chelsea's both of these boots needing a little more tow volume Since then he has made the 602 M the standard across all the models The current 602 M adds about one millimeter across the vamp area in the tow box Doesn't sound a lot, but it does affect the feel if not the fit This is the Allen in natural Dublin veg tan and is made on the current 602 M last If you compare it to the older goucho mousse The eye can't spot the difference. So there's no change to the aesthetic of the boot However, in terms of fit the 602 M Can take a thick what will unsock on my feet and I've actually put in a thin ortholyte insole Andrew says that it will affect those with narrower feet or lower volume overall or those with lower insteps Now if that's you like me I think you will feel the extra volume and Andrew says that if you fall into this category You may need a size down a bit a half size down more from your typical 602 last size My preference is still for the original 602, but the change to the 602 M has been marginal So it's still the best last for my feet even if I have to put in an insole The change is not enough for me to have to size down If I'm picky though I could say that the 602 M in my regular size makes my feet more tired Unless I wear thick socks or use an insert because my feet feel like they're you know trying to get purchase inside the boot when you're walking So what should you do if you order in the current 602 M last if you're a regular D I wouldn't panic I order in your regular 602 size or regular boot size, you know go a half down from brannock Park has generally offer sizes between 7 and 12.5 with a sprinkling of half sizes in between The standard in the combination last is BD width and you can to some extent Successfully size up or down by a half to accommodate slightly wider feet or feet on the cusp of going from D to E In some models Park has also offers double E width if you hover over shop collection on their website Link below in the description. You'll see wide widths in the drop-down Not too many remember what I was telling you about the cost of different lasts If you are puzzled contact Andrew through the email on the website He's really very good in responding and everyone myself included says that he gives one of the best personal customer experiences in the boot world Sometimes though and people have told me his lasts just don't work for them Sometimes a boot last just isn't for you as I know to my cost in some boot brands Okay, there you go. I hope that's been of some value to you Hopefully you've learned something about lasts about being in the business of making boots and of Parkhurst Evolving lasts and fit If you enjoyed the video, you know what to do make click on like and of course if you're still not subscribed What are you doing? Go click on subscribe Until the next time you take care and I'll see you soon