 G'day, welcome to my channel Butlosophy and my name is Tech. I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that I live and work on, the Wajik people of Nungabuja. Now today I'm going to review these Parkhurst Niagara boots that I bought in October 2022. Let's see what I think after nearly six months of wear. This is Parkhurst's Mokto boot, the Niagara. I bought this pair in October 2022 through a group MTO organised by fellow Parkhurst enthusiast Jace Hodges. He's classic.jace.65 on Instagram. You can check out my unboxing video up here. As you can see it's an old and indie like design, a dressy toe box, not the high wall toe boxes of the work boots style Moktoes like Farragut Moktoes or Red Wings 875 classic Moktoes or even Grant Stone's brass Moktoe. I'll go into it when I go through the construction but the Moktoe is not a real Moktoe in that this stitch is cosmetic and does not stitch the two pieces of leather together. This is a special design in fact designed by the said Jace Hodges and Andrew the owner of Parkhurst agreed to make it for a group MTO. I think Andrew eventually made some for stock but they have since sold out. Parkhurst does make other Niagara models in rugged leathers like Wax Swayed on the Commando sole and I think intend to bring this makeup back. The difference in this model from the other Niagara models is that they are built in French Navy blue calf and are on a leather sole. The French Navy refers to the colour not the tannery location. It's not as dark as regular navy blue in fact it's slightly smoky grey. The design is of a casual boot but with a very dressy background. And so what would you wear it with? I think that all leans towards the dressy casual. I mean I don't think you'd want to try to wear this with work pants and maybe not even t-shirts on their own. To me they are either better suited for a dressy casual or a business casual outfit. I mean certainly you can wear it with jeans but I think torn or very faded jeans are out and my preference would be towards dark denim or darker fades. Jeans that you could wear with button downs or button up shirts and maybe match with a sports coat or a dressy leather jacket or dark bomber jacket. You can try it with a t-shirt or a henley but I'd want to throw on a dressy jumper or some sort of darker jacket. The business casual side of things would work with earth coloured or neutral chinos and pants, you know, browns, dark greens, black, blue. As business casual you'd probably finish that outfit off with a dressy button up shirt and a blazer. Now for those of you who know about Parkhurst, bear with me, I'm going to take a minute to talk to the others about this brand. Parkhurst was founded as a direct to consumer brand producing limited run boots by Andrew Savisco in Buffalo, New York in 2018. He started with a simple goal to build a quality boot with sole and that sole should take the form of combining refined with rugged. The refined comes from the lasts that Andrew designed. A last for those of you who don't know is the foot shape mould around which shoes and boots are constructed. Andrew first designed his 18 last then modified it making it less almond toed into the 602 last and now he has the modified version of the 602 last. Built on these sleek shaped low profile lasts, Parkhurst made dressy shaped plain toe and cap toe boots. The rugged part of that sole comes from the leathers that Andrew chooses. So in the past he's used chrome pack mousse, Stead's kudu leather and mohawk leathers and tough leathers from Seidel. I'm on record as saying I love Parkhurst's aesthetic and with that combination of refined and rugged I have been known to ask why one needed Weiberg. But that's a story for another day. Another goal of Andrew's was to build the boot in the US and use as many US components or at least use US suppliers who bought the items he needed from overseas thus giving American suppliers a lifeline. As an Australian I'm obviously not passionate about made in USA and I think most other nationalities are not as passionate about where their boots are made other than a natural desire to support and admire local manufacturers. The made in USA thing is much more of a passion amongst Americans and one of the reasons is of course that us boot collectors tend to congregate around these American service and work boot models and makers. The trend in boot collecting is toward the American heritage and culture and history of these American boots. So I can understand the passion of made in USA even if I'm more blasé about it and ready to buy a boot in a style I like for the quality of its manufacture and not just for the source. That's a way to start to explain that the COVID years were not kind to Parkhurst because of the US supply chains. The suppliers that Andrew partnered with started to be unable to supply items. Even the factory he used drastically cut production and eventually shut down for good. Parkhurst fans will remember a year to I guess almost 18 months when there was literally no product shown on Parkhurst's website and for a small direct to consumer brand that basically spells trouble. Eventually Andrew was able to find a Spanish factory to build his boots but still using as many US products like uppers from famed US tanneries and bends leather for mid-soles and outsoles. When I was writing my review of the Caswell Lisbon boot, Caswell's owner Kevin Wilson who also started using the same factory told me of the difficulty he had in reclaiming his lasts when the factory closed. I don't know if that's what happened to Andrew but as Parkhurst moved from that factory to Spain he designed and made a new 602M for modified last and maybe he had to. At any rate the Spanish factory that Andrew now uses is an experienced multi-generational business and he believes that they share the same labour and quality values as he does. At the same time he has also acquired a partner tannerie in Spain that produces articles like veg tan, wax suede and hot stuff leathers that are almost proprietary to Parkhurst. This supplements the leathers he purchases from American tanneries like Seidel and UK tanneries like Charles Astead. Parkhurst does not name the Spanish factory but for the conspiracy theorists amongst you this is not unusual. Many smaller Spanish and Italian shoe factories make footwear for multiple brands including some very big names and they contractually can't say who they make boots and shoes for. So the smaller brands that are made at the same factory are also contractually bound in NDAs, non-disclosure agreements, not to name the factory. Although not completely devoid of supply chain problems, finally the Parkhurst website is filling up with new drops and restocks. Oh by the way Parkhurst has also started to produce a line of women's boots so the women who watch my channel all 0.7% of you go check it out. Ok so in moving to construction we'll obviously also take a look at quality, particularly in respect to this pair being made in the Spanish factory in what I believe to be Spanish tanned calf skin. But before I start don't forget to click on like and subscribe. Ok now you know the drill I'm going to start from the bottom and move my way up. At the base is a leather sole. It's about 4 or 5mm thick. It is a full length sole and at the heel base is built up with real leather stacks, a rubber lift and then a rubber top lift with a rubber mitered insert. This leather sole is in my opinion a smidge harder than those on Grantstone boots. They seem to take more wear without showing it. Now many people dislike leather soles but I've worn them since I was a kid, especially in dressy formal shoes and to me once you're actually conscious that you can slip and don't do silly things like run on wet surfaces they're fine for everyday urban wear. The sole is attached to the uppers using Goodyear welter construction. Check out the details in my video up here. Briefly a leather welt is run around the perimeter of the boot, the inside of it is sewn to the uppers on the inside and the outside edge is sewn onto the sole. Goodyear welting is popularly gold standard because you can re-sole the boot and it provides a more water resistant performance. That water resistance is increased here by a split reverse welt which splits the welt halfway, flanges the outside half up against the uppers forming a lip against water. Now I've always called this a split reverse welt and differentiated it from a storm welt which I learned was a welt where the lip was a ridge carved into the leather strip. I've since discovered that many English boot makers call the split reverse welt a storm welt and they call that welt with the carved lip a barber welt after the company that makes them. Just a tidbit for interest and to show you that there are a lot of things in naming boot components that is kind of made up by the people who use the terms. Anyway looking inside the floor of the boot on top of the leather sole is a 4mm thick leather midsole. Now that 4mm thick welt going around the edge on the outside is also going to create a 4mm thick cavity inside. In these boots that cavity is filled with the traditional cork into which a steel shank is inserted and then on top of all of that is a leather insole. On top of that the heel is a leather heel sock liner for comfort and shock absorption. This one has the Parkhurst logo printed in gold I'm hoping you can see this. The uppers are fully lined on the inside with a soft veg tent calf skin, a departure from other Parkhurst models which are generally lined in the vamp but unlined in the shaft. The tongue is also lined and it's a semi-gusseted tongue where it's gusseted up to the final eyelet. Useful for more water resistance and to stop the tongue sliding around. The toes are structured with celastic that's a thermoplastic that's used to structure the toe and keep its shape. The heel counter is leather and it's tucked in on the inside and covered not only by the lining but also by a suede heel cup to grip your socks at the back. That's a very nice touch. There are five brass eyelets and three brass speed hooks. These thin round blue laces come with the boots and take a bit of getting used to aesthetically. At first they seem too thin but after a while you get used to it and they look just you know just right dressy. The collar and the lace edgings are rolled so there's no raw leather edge there that's another nice touch. Now let's take a closer look at these uppers. As I said it's a French navy calfskin from I believe a Spanish tannery that's soft and supple. It does crease a little more than say the calfskin or yearling on a pair of RM Williams but probably about the same as some calfskin dress shoes. It looks to me like a slightly corrected full grain leather not particularly oily but pigmented to take that really nice shade of navy. It's a good enough leather but I'm not sure I can rave about it. There are basically four panels being the two quarters the vamp and this little back strip. The stitching down into the welt is neat at the inside edge it's invisible so it's a hundred percent better than Parker's original rugged welts. The stitching on the uppers is extremely neat and even at the quarters there's triple stitched but single stitch almost everywhere else. The stitch at the mocktoe is cosmetic but before I talk about that a little explanation about mocktoes. Mocktoe is short for moccasin toe a moccasin of course are the shoes made by the first nations people in North America and are those one piece leathers that wrap around the foot and is then topped by the apron at the vamp and sewn on the sides. Just think of moccasin slip-ons or slippers that you get from other makers like Rancourt or you know some bedroom slippers from Target. In many mocktoe boots like the Tharigut or the Redwing Mocktoes they have high sidewalls to give you room when you're working and twisting around. These clearly don't have high sidewalls and yes they are like the olden indies and in these they have the same cosmetic stitch. The stitch does not join a sidewall to the apron piece unlike I think Grandstone's brass boot, check my review, or their Norwegian split toe Ottawa boot. I don't think these stitches are hand sewn they don't need to be because they don't pucker up the leather between the stitch lines. Overall the quality is really good with some nice touches in construction and some real improvements from the more rugged old models. The leather is not an especially oily leather so I think leather care would be the same that you use for other smooth pigmented full grain leathers. Rule number one is of course always keep it clean meaning brush it regularly. Best shoe makers like Trickus say to brush your shoes every three wears and polish every five to six wears. I'm not sure I'd be so anal about it but I would brush it with a good quality horse hair brush regularly whatever regular means to you in the number of wears that you have in a week or a month. Just keep the dirt and dust off the leather and especially off the welt. In my view the best conditioner for this leather would be Venetian shoe cream. I've never used Saphir but I guess you could. An optional step after conditioning is to apply a cream polish. A neutral cream polish put on top of the conditioner allowed to dry to a haze and then brushed out and finished with a polishing cloth can give this a shine if that's what you're after. You can use a matching blue cream polish but if you do be very careful applying it on top of the white mock-toe stitching. I usually avoid wax polishes but in this case every now and then I would put a very thin smear of neutral wax polish at the end of my conditioning regime just to give it a light waxy protection from the elements. Now let's look at sizing. Parkhurst is said to run large and not many of their boots have wide lasts. This is because the 602 and this 602M last are combination lasts in that they start as a narrow width in the heel and the waist and open to an e-width in the ball of the foot. In sizing terms I take a half size down from my Brannock size. Go and get yourself measured on a Brannock device. Don't rely on your sneaker size or the wear your usual dress shoe size. Then once you know your true size Parkhurst will fit the majority of feet at a half down from true. On my feet the 602 lasts are almost perfect but I do know people where the Parkhurst last just isn't suitable for their feet and the lack of wide widths does make it hard. If you're in any doubt don't ask me. Contact Andrew at the email on his website. Give him some examples of common boots and shoes that you wear and what sizes you take them in and Andrew will help you. He is one of the most helpful and decent men in this game. As for comfort, if you get your size right these are downright comfortable from the get go. The calf skin is supple. The skiving of the leather pieces and so on don't create hard spots or thick lines and the leather coat leather sole is super comfy at least for me. The thick leather sole layers were initially stiff when I walked and flexed my feet at the ball but they loosened up quickly. In six months of regular but not particularly frequent wear after I broke them in I can feel the sole molding to my feet and the up is becoming softer and softer. Arch support is good, shock absorption is good. As to value, for the Group MTL these cost US $438. Most Parker's models sell for the mid to high $300. So this was an exception. The iconic Spruce Kudu Allen boot that I reviewed up there is $388. And you can see why these are more in the calf skin uppers being fully lined and the leather outsole. I can't remember how much they were when they briefly came on as stock boots but probably about the same. In terms of value I think they're close to the limit when compared to the other Parker's boots but I take in mind the fact that maybe as a Group MTO order quantities would have been smaller. So would have cost Parker's more to make. And that price gives us owners of this boot after all a slight uniqueness value. For that I'm not complaining especially if I compare them to old and indies in their various make-ups at the US $600 mark. More leather in here. But maybe less structural comfort than the indies but I'd still compare them favorably. So are they worth it on the edge? Would I buy them again? Yes, but only after a long think about it. And there's your review. In summary, good quality, well made, good last for my feet and an improvement in some areas from the New York factory. On the con side maybe at the edge of what I would pay for it and maybe the leather could be more impressive. Well, I hope you found this review informative. If you did, you know what to do. Click on like and if you haven't already, click on subscribe. I'll have reviews of some of my Truman boots coming up along with a long-term review of the Helm Zind Black Boot as well as a few best of videos. So don't miss them, click on subscribe. Until then, mostly guys, 0.7% gals. Take care and I'll see you soon.