 G'day, welcome to Bootlosophy, and if we haven't met, my name is Tech. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands that I live and work on, the Wajit people of the Nungar Nation. Today I'm taking a look at this giant in the field of heritage-style service boots, the Weiberg service boot on the 2030 last. So it may be a sunny day outside, but we're well into our Australian winter, and it's cold enough for me to put on a merino wool tee and my new flint and tinder waxed trucker jacket. If you want to check it out, I'll leave an affiliate link to it in the description below. It is an affiliate link, doesn't cost you anything, but it will help to reframe my costs. But this is a boot review, and so this is the Weiberg service boot. That's capital S, capital B, the registered trademark Weiberg service boot. That's right. Weiberg registered their service boot pattern with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2020. What was registered was the visible distinctive double row stitch down construction, the unique 2 plus 1 triple stitch sewing the quarters to the vamp, the intentionally low profile in the toe box, the intentionally low 4.75 inch height, where they say most lace up boots are a minimum of six inches, a shorter one inch heel, where again they say a normal work boot heel is two inches, and the words Weiberg since 1931 written in the central region of the insole. Interesting. Of course, I'm not a patent lawyer, but I assume the trademark has to be breached in full, or it is not a breach. So all of those other service boots out there that aren't exactly as described, I think, are not breaching that trademark. But let's take a step back. It was in late 2000s that Brett Weiberg, grandson of the company's founder, fused his experience of the then burgeoning Japanese Americana heritage trend with his rediscovery of Weiberg's original 1930s farming work boot pattern based on Canadian military service boots, and he came up with the rebirth of the Weiberg service boot. As far as I can see, Weiberg was the first in this now crowded space of heritage styled American service boots, and soon were followed by whites with their MP boots, and new makers today like Thursday with the captain leading on to the Grant Stones, the Parkhursts, and even late to the party, old company makers like Ellen Edmonds with the reintroduction of the Higgins Mill. Older companies with older styles like the Wolverine 1000 mile boot saw fit to revive them so that by the late 2010s the service boot trend was, well, trending. This model is in the Weiberg 2030 last and is designed with a low profile and an almond shaped toe. It is a five inch shaft pattern from the top of the heel to the top of the collar with a brode toe cap, small, former looking brass eyelets, a low block heel, and sitting on a Ridgeway sole. As a service boot, you can't fault its design, looking like a slightly rounded military boot that I would have said was in the British rather than the American traditions, but Weiberg is a Canadian company after all, and if this harks back to the boots that they made for the Canadian military in World War II, they would have been very similar to British service boots of the time. Weiberg made this boot in a dizzying collection of different lasts, from this sleek last to chunkier, more spring toe lasts and rounder, more anatomically shaped lasts, as well as on a variety of different outsoles and a really amazing number of different leathers. In the other lasts, the Weiberg service boot looks more like the original style workboots, but in this particular last, it is a sleeker and more dressy version. In this 2030 last, and in this particular leather, the oiled husk collata, it is versatile in the sense that you can dress it up or dress it down. While I'm not sure that I would pair this with a formal business suit, it can certainly be worn as part of business casual, even really smart business casual, as well as the more relaxed jeansy Friday business casual. So in that dressier end, I'd be confident wearing it to the office to meet clients in a crisp button-up dress shirt and tie, and a smart pair of chinos and a tailored blazer. At the same time, they go well with the more relaxed, dark denim jean and button-down khaki shirt, pull on a jumper, maybe in a sports coat. You can also dress them right down and use them in an outfit that consists of faded jeans, a t-shirt, and a really casual jacket like a leather bomber. I think they're also fantastic in that workwear style of cotton pants, a plate shirt, and a chore coat or overshirt. With other lasts and leathers, they may lean more dressy or more casual and rugged depending on the leather, but this particular pair is very versatile both ways. And versatile is what Vibeurg has become, making, I think, a conscious decision to move some of its manufacturing and thus overall branding to a more dressy, casual style of boot, despite their long history as a work boot company. In fact, if you take a look at their website, there are no real everyday work boots shown on the Vibeurg website. You'd have to go to their separate website, workboots.com, to see the range of work boots that they still produce. Now Vibeurg is a Canadian company founded in 1931 by Ed Vibeurg in Saskatchewan. But it seems the Vibeurg family were cobblers and shoemakers in the native Sweden in the 1890s, the founder's father moving the family to Canada during World War I. After World War I, Ed moved his family to British Columbia, making logging boots and heavy work boots and eventually moving the company to Victoria. By 1970, Vibeurg had gained a significant reputation for making tough and durable work boots for miners and loggers, and Ed's son Glenn started to take the company into overseas markets. Today the third generation of Vibeurg's Brett, Ed's grandson, is in charge of the company. It was in fact Brett that recognized the need to transition into marks other than tough work boots and continue the tough and durable construction methods in a line of dressier casual boots like the Halpert boots and of course these stitch down service boots. While using the traditional Vibeurg methods, recent innovations include the clean double stitch down design on these service boots, which reflects a classic British work or military boot with a low heel and rounded toe box, which rather neatly segues to the construction of these boots. Now let me start from the bottom and move upwards. This particular model sits on a British Ridgeway Soul, made by the same company that makes the ubiquitous day-night studded soul. The name Ridgeway reflects an ancient 5,000-year-old trackway of about 140 kilometers, which is about 90 miles long, running through southern England just north of London. It runs from Hartfordshire to Wiltshire. It runs along a series of ridges that, when you see it from above, are wavy and connected by peaks and valleys, exactly like the elongated raised studs of this outsole pattern. The soul is connected to the uppers using the stitch down method of construction in the forefoot and a series of glues and nails and interior stitches from the waist to the heel. The double stitch down method with two stitches securing the vamp to the midsole apparently had not been done before this version of the service boot, but you see it a lot in other makes nowadays. It flares out the leather at the front of the uppers vamp area over the midsole and then stitches the uppers to the midsole. The double stitching ends at the flared out uppers, but one of those stitches continues all the way into the waist and the heel portion of the boot. So through the vamp at the front and continuing into the back through the midsole and the outsole. The stacked leather heel is then glued and nailed and from what I can see super securely. As an aside, while no doubt durable, the level of the care and quality in the double stitching is just incredible. The stitch per inch work is even and uniform and the two stitches are so close together and to the edge of the midsole that it must be incredibly exacting work. The midsole and insole is all leather including a shaped leather shank. The insole is a five to five and a half millimeter solid leather piece which forms the base of the construction and then this along with the stitch down design that doesn't have a welt means that there's no need for a cork filler. The thick solid leather molds your feet during the wear just like a thinner leather and cork filled insole wood except that it's hardier because unlike cork it won't break up in time. The also solid leather midsole in turn is also about five millimeters thick which means that gold standard of wearing in your leather insole and midsole to take on the shape of your feet for long term comfort is actually met. Inside the boot is a padded heel liner that runs well into your arch for comfort. The inside of the vamp is lined with a soft leather lining but the shaft itself is unlined. The ungusseted tongue is also lined with the same lining leather. The edge of the eyelet facings and the top of the collar are reinforced with the same leather as in the back. This oil collator leather used for the uppers is not very heavy I think it's about two millimeters thick which is average for a boot but surprisingly thin for a sturdier boot but it does feel a hardy toughness and I'll talk about that when I talk about comfort. The toe box is structured with a leather toe puff and there's also a leather external heel counter covered by a one-piece generously sized backstay. The quarters are cut so that the lace facing stay wide. I used to see on Facebook boot groups an expert who sized people by their photos whenever he saw the lace facings too wide apart he'd helpfully tell them that their boots were too small as they should come together to about half an inch to an inch apart. If someone tells you that call out bull the width of the lace facings depend on the pattern of the boot. Generous dressy quarters are cut so that they will meet whereas others are designed to be wider apart. It's not one size fits all. I'm not sure but I don't believe the toe cap is a true toe cap and that I think it's a piece of leather covering the toe that is sewn on to the vamp that's been cut short. I'm guessing this by feeling for a seam inside the boot but I tell you if it is a true toe cap where there are two layers of leather covering the toe box man the way they scribe the leather pieces so they skim fit together must be incredible. As I mentioned earlier this is a brogue toe cap or what Bible calls BCT for brogue cat toe. There's a very delicately punched out brogue pattern running along the edge of the toe cap. Running up the five inch height are nine small antique brass eyelets. There are no speed hooks and I'm not often frustrated by the lack of speed hooks but these small eyelets and this really thin lace that comes with the boots can be frustrating. In the dark mornings feeling your way to thread the skinny laces through the tiny eyelets can be a slow process. The little eyelets are nicely finished at the back though like everything else about this boot it is finished off 100% but I must say when I first saw the laces provided I just thought they were ridiculous. Now that I've worn the boots for a while though I think they fit the aesthetic quite well. The aesthetic works. It speaks to designing boots. It can be so easy to do the normal things you know big eyelets, speed hook, leather lace but a designer who can see the subtle changes in how they make the boot look can make a hell of a difference. The stitching is a marvel not just the double stitch down stitching the stitching on the toe cap around the quarters in the backstay around the edges. This is exacting work and it's done carefully. This may be constructed tough as a work boot or a military service boot but it is definitely finished dressy. The boot model is called Oiled Husk Collator. Husk Oiled Collator. Now I know Charles Hofstede from England tans this Oiled Collator leather so I'm guessing Husk is the color. It's a really nice deep walnut like color and does have enough pull-up to show dark and light areas that give it character. You all have heard of Charles Hofstede tannery of course famous for suede and nowadays exotics like elk and moose and kudu. Surprisingly they also tanned smooth leathers like this Oiled Collator. This is steer hide not horse. The Collator refers to the area of the animal not the animal itself meaning it's the back quarter of the animal taking in the bend belly and rump of the animal. Collator is heavily oiled and textured full grain leather. The heavy treatment of oils and waxes in the tannage strengthens the hide and gives it weather resistant properties. The resulting hide has a firm hand or feel in the hand. Great longevity from cuts and scarves and is very durable with a slight irregularity in the grain showing some natural scars and variations. The oils and waxes also show in the pull-up characteristics and give it a variegated depth of color. The color and movement in it make this one of my wife's favorite boots. How do you care for this oiled Collator? You know do you think I can find collator leather on Stead's website? I usually look to the tannery to see if I can get advice on leather care and if I can't find it there I check the maker's website. Charles of Stead scratch no info. On the Vibro website they talk about smooth grain leathers as a group. They say that as they normally choose leathers from the back of the animal for its thickness, durability and minimal stretch their smooth grain leather shoes need minimal care. They suggest applying a shoe cream or conditioner every three or four months or depending on your own environment. Now they do sell Venetian shoe cream and the leather conditioner is made by Steel and Co and it's a beeswax based emulsion and natural oils. So I conclude from this advice that good old VSC is perfectly fine for conditioning and cleaning and if I did want to deep condition it something like Needsfoot oil would be fine. Even mink oil I think might be okay for conditioning but just be careful as mink oil can darken leathers. Otherwise I just take care to keep the boots clean, brush regularly and if necessary wipe them down with a damp cloth. If really necessary I think a good quality saddle soap can be used but it's not often you need to saddle soap a pair of boots unless you've really been trekking through mud and clay or brick and cement dust that might stick to the leather. Then every three or four months or more or less depending on use and conditions when the leather feels dry condition it with VSC let it dry on the surface, let it haze and then brush it off with a good quality horsehair brush. Otherwise enjoy them without feeling stressed about it. Now how about sizing? This can confuse my American viewers but Viberg being a Canadian brand uses the UK sizing standard. So in UK size numbers they are one number down from US sizes. In other words a ten say in US size is actually a nine in UK size. So when people talk about taking a whole size down from your usual size in Viberg boots what they really mean is take your usual size but only remember it's called one number down in UK or Viberg's numbers. However I think these fit true to size as measured by a Brannock device. Now let's take my own example to show this. I measure a US 8.5 in D width on the Brannock device. In UK sizes that's equal to 7.5 in average width remember one number down. However I usually buy US boots taking a half size down from my Brannock in an 8. That's just the way US bootmakers generally size their boots. They make an 8.5 boot but they call it an 8. Don't ask me why. Sometimes I can Oak Street bootmakers they really are true to size meaning they make an 8.5 and they actually call it an 8.5. Surprise! Okay so I'm US 8.5 in D width to the size. I find Viberg to the size meaning I should take a US 8.5 in D width but because Viberg uses the UK numbering system that means I bought these in Viberg's or UK 7.5 in D width. True to size but one number down in the UK convention which is why Americans say go down a full size from true. It's all in a numbering system like comparing centimeters and inches. Once you've dialed in the size though the fit is just right. These boots are built on Viberg's 2030 last. Now for those of you who don't know a last is that foot-shaped mold on which they build the boot around and the design and shape of a last creates the different shapes of different boots. Their 2030 last is their most popular based on an original Canadian army shape with a rounded but decidedly almond-shaped toe. It's designed to be narrower in the heel and in the waist and wider in the forefoot. Now this is a great shape for my feet and it really fits me well and of course fitting well helps with overall comfort. As for comfort now underfoot it is really comfortable. I'm not even sure I've actually broken these in yet but already walking in these feel like there's enough shock absorption in all of that leather plus the great grip of the Ridgeway outsole and I can feel almost on a step-by-step basis all that leather underfoot slowly move to mold to my feet. There's plenty of arch support although I have to say not as obvious under the arch as in my Nick's Robert boot on my white MP boots where you can feel the layers of shape leather building up under your arches. I think those American Pacific Northwest boots feel better underfoot under the arch. These feel at least as comfortable as my Grant Stone boots or my Parkhurst boots which are good if not better. Way more comfortable than any Red Wing boots I own anyway. Possibly as the sole construction breaks in and really shapes to my feet I may come back to tell you that comfort has gone up another level. Let's see. As for the comfort around the boot, oh this is stiff leather. As I said I'm not actually sure that I've broken this pairing yet and maybe with a lot more wear the uppers will also mold to the shape of my instep and ankle and I won't feel the edges of the collar and the tongue digging into my ankles. At the moment they're very supportive around my feet if a little stiffen are moving in them. The sizing is perfect so in that sense they wrap around my instep and the heel and waist so they're comfortable in that sense. I'll come back for a long-term update in a few months time after I've had the chance to really wear them on a field trip in the forest that I'm planning next month and then we'll see what I think about them. So now to value. Wow, let's go there. They cost $1300 Australian dollars. If you're in Canada, they're 1100 Canadian and in US dollars they're 805 bucks. I bought these on sale for a thousand Aussie bucks which I can tell you is a saving. So expensive but are they worth it? On the plus side plenty of the best materials from the old leather construction that you almost can't get elsewhere to that Ridgeway Soul. The construction is impeccable from the marriage of old-style methods to the new innovative changes they all stack up. The totality is a hardy rugged durable product that shouldn't fail in normal use. The quality control evidenced by that stitching quality as well as the clicking that's a choice of leather pieces from the hide. Chef's Kiss Superl. The looks and versatility due to the ruggedness but designed and made like a dress boot gives it an extra plus because you can wear it in almost all occasions if you only have one boot. The comfort? Well it's good enough but let's see what develops. On the minus side I honestly can't think of one leaving aside the price. Now what about comparisons? Against other service boots so much better made with better quality materials I think than Grandstone or Parkhurst and the smaller makers like Caswell and Bourdon love them as I do. Perhaps not dissimilar to White's MP boots or Truman boots although I think you can credibly argue the QC in these is uniformly better. Against Alan Edmonds Higgins Mill or any Redwing boot or Wolverine thousand mile boots definitely better quality and as against the Higgins Mill much more rugged and durable. Thursday captain I love them as good as they are for the price they don't come into it in comparison it's not horses for courses. Price wise they're close to Truman boots at around the 500 US mark for Truman and perhaps even closer to White's MP service boots at around 700 US for those MP boots. Those have their pluses but they have more noticeable minuses around quality and materials. Overall then particularly in Australian dollars their price comparable to the MP boots but a lot better finished. Now I love my MP boots you know that but I don't think you can argue against that. Overall are they worth the 800 US dollars? For what you get I think so. Would I buy them again? I'm already planning my next purchase one in Chrome Excel I think. So there what do you think of my conclusion? Let me know in the comments below. In fact I hope you liked my review whether you agree with the conclusion or not. If you did let me know by clicking on the like button down below and if you haven't already why haven't you please click on the subscribe button in order to subscribe. Do you know half my viewers don't subscribe they just watch my videos as they occur come on. There's no spamming email list or anything like that. Subscribing just means that YouTube will notify you when I put up more of these boot review videos and also some other videos I'll put up about boot comparisons, brands and maybe I'll throw in some gear now and then. If you like the look of the Viberg service boots you should explore the gazillion makeups they have in different outsoles and some really interesting levels. Go look for the link I've put in the description below. So keep in touch and until then stay safe and I'll see you soon.