 G'day, how you going? Welcome to bootlossophy, and my name is Tech. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which I live, the Wajik people of Nongabuja. Now today, I'm taking a look at another RM Williams Chelsea boot, another comfort craftsman, this time in the makeup of their caramel calf skin. So this is not my first rodeo with RM Williams. If you've followed my channel, you'll remember that I have reviewed other RM Williams boots before. You can check out my first review of them up here, the classic craftsman in black calf skin. This one right here is the comfort craftsman version, where the classic craftsman has a leather outsole. The comfort craftsman has a comfort foam-based inner sole with better arch support and a medium thickness rubber outsole. It is a Chelsea boot design. The pull-on design with the side elastic goreng panels was created in the mid 1800s. They were first made for Queen Victoria by her bootmaker as a walking and riding boot. In the 1960s, of course, they became famous as the Chelsea boot, when they were worn by 60s pop music bands like the Beatles in Chelsea. This is a six-inch boot, has a 270 degree Goodyear welt, has a block heel, as I said, a rubber outsole, square shaped goreng panels, and a slim chisel-shaped toe. This also has a comfort lining inside, which is basically a rubber insole and a rubber cavity midsole with molding up the arch for more support. As you can see, although it comes from RM's early designs as a paddock work boot, the comfort craftsman is a very sleek looking boot. The sleekness is accentuated because it is whole-cut. A single piece of leather is formed around a slim last, with only one seam up the back, giving it a very clean look. As it is a three-quarter Goodyear welted boot, the line up the back of the boot avoids a Goodyear welted shelf and shows a sleek line where the uppers join the heel, a bit like a dress shoe. Don't mistake this for a dress boot though. It was originally built and still retains the tough standards of a paddock work boot. Now to my American viewers, think of this like a Western ranch boot. And in fact, where I go for work to the top end of Australia, where many of my clients run cattle stations, they and their workers still wear the craftsman as working boots. But many Australians will now wear the RM Williams' with a suit or in business casual for any offer situation. The caramel colour here stands out more than the standard black, brown or chestnut. So they're probably not as suitable to be worn with a suit. But you can certainly wear them in business casual situations with chinos, a button down and a sports coat. The slim Chelsea design is very versatile, so you can also wear them for relaxed social occasions in jeans and a jumper. And ultimately, don't forget that as work boots, people will wear them with jeans and t-shirts or work shirts. Apart from the craftsman model, RM Williams also make a few other Chelsea boots for both men and women, as well as a couple of lace up models. Each of their models and especially the craftsman and the comfort craftsman comes in a variety of uppers in different leathers and colours. RM Williams, the company, was founded by Reginald Murray Williams in 1932. RM was a swag man, that's a jobbing labourer, on outback sheep and cattle stations in South Australia, where he learned leatherworking from another mustering horseman. RM started with making saddles and made up enough money to start a shop in the Adelaide suburb of Prospect. The company grew in Prospect, making RM a rich man. RM eventually sold out and the company changed hands several times and was owned by various hedge funds and international luxury brands. It's now been bought by Western Australian mining magnet Andrew Forrest, who has made a commitment to bring all manufacturing back to Australia. To be fair though, the manufacture of their boots has never left Australian shores, unlike some of the accessories and clothing. The 270 degree Goodyear welt attaches the front two thirds of the uppers to the leather insole and the rubber outsole. In Goodyear welting, a strip of leather called the welt goes around the edge of the boot, in this case around the front two thirds, and it's sewn to the inside of the boot. The sole is attached and sewn to the welt on the outside and in this way the welt not only forms a moisture barrier, but it also means that it's easier to re-sole. If you want to go into the detail of Goodyear welting, check out my video up there. The back end is glued and sewn directly to the leather insole and uppers. This produces that nice sleek line from ankle to heel that I talked about earlier. The outsole is an oil resistant rubber that's been moulded with a gritty texture to give a good grip. The sole is proprietary and has a long horn RM Williams logo. The rubber is soft yet sturdy, giving good shock absorption and durability over city paving and country sand and gravel. The midsole is leather. There is a cork filler and in the cork is a fiberglass shank for stability and arch support. On top of that is a leather insole and then a foam comfort insole with arch support. All that combined makes for excellent shock absorption. The fiberglass shank is really useful if you're a traveller because it's airport friendly. The heel and the toe box are lightly structured with composite material stiffness. The boot is fully leather lined from the vamp right up to the shaft. The uppers leather is calf skin sourced from either Australian or New Zealand tanneries. This calf skin used is a full grain leather and it's really tough in my experience, resisting all kinds of scuffs and scratches. Caring for it is easily done by brushing it regularly to keep it dust free and conditioning it when it feels dry with something like Venetian shoe cream. This colorway is called caramel and you can see that after five or six years of wear and conditioning, it's turned quite a bit darker than I remember it when new into an almost toffee like burnt caramel color. This is a whole cut, meaning that only one piece of leather with only one seam at the back, which is an extremely difficult lasting task that requires a lot of skill. At the top of the shaft are the two RM Williams cloth pull tabs and the shaft itself is cut and sewn so that the throat is quite tight and secured by the elastic goring, which is firm around the ankle. This is important because the elastic goring and the snugness of the shaft is what makes a Chelsea fit really securely, or that in the snugness over the instep. The RM Williams craftsman last fits most people's feet around the ankles and the instep if you buy the right size. So let's look at sizing. RM Williams uses the UK sizing convention like Weiber does. The UK sizing convention is one number down from the US sizing convention. Now take my example. I measure seven and a half in UK sizing in an average G width in RM Williams wide measurements. In US sizing, that's a Brannock Truder size of eight and a half in average D width. The RM Williams craftsman has a very slim last and despite my true seven and a half, I find that I have to size up to an 8G. A seven and a half wide was too roomy in the waist and heel for me. Now that's me, though. For most people, I think you'll find Truder sizes good. Once fitted, these were perfectly comfortable out of the box. There was a little break in period because my right foot is slightly wider, but it only took a couple of ways to stretch it out. I bought these five or six years ago when they were around 500 Aussie dollars. Since then, they've rocketed in price and now sell for 649 Australian dollars. Are they worth it? I don't really know what to compare them with, to be honest, to figure out a comparable price to value ratio. To be honest, there are no other Australian makes that are in this class. Another Australian quality brand is the Thomas George Collection. And you can watch my review of their Frio service boot up there. You know, but those, good as they are, are made in Vietnam, if that's important to you. Blanestones and redbacks, not all necessarily made in Australia and other similar types. They're no comparison, really, because those are glued TPU souls and they have less quality construction and material. So I suppose I'd have to compare these to imported boots. White's boots sell here for nearly 1000 Australian dollars. Even Grantstone Chelsea's, if you think the quality is similar, land in Australia after post and duties at over 600 Aussie. So price wise, they kind of compare. Well, if you look at the price, quality value ratios, tell you what, though, my suspicion not being privy to R and Williams books is that while they do use premium materials and they do use expert and experienced Aussie labor in an Australian factory at high occupation costs, there's probably a hefty make a markup for international marketing costs and the luxury brand factor. Are they worth it? Well, it's economics, supply and demand. There is clearly a demand for R and Williams boots at a price of 649 Aussie dollars. So in summary, I think this is an awesome and good looking boot. It's stylish and versatile. It's made well, uses quality materials by expert hands. I can vouch for its sturdiness and hardiness. My pair in black calves can have lasted nearly 20 years with hardly a scratch. But then there is the price, not great. But hey, people buy it and not just Australians. It's wildly popular in Asia in the UK. And while not as big as a market, it sells well in the US. There you have it. Hey, if you like the review, don't forget to click on the like. And if you're not already subscribed, click on subscribe. YouTube will notify you so that you don't miss the reviews and boot comparisons and other boot videos when I upload them. Until then, take care and I'll see you soon.