 G'day, how are you going? I'm Tech and welcome to Boutlossophie, my channel about boots and boot reviews. I acknowledge the Wajik people who are the traditional custodians of this part of Western Australia that I live and work on. Today, I'm taking a look at a topic that lots of people have asked me about, which are my favorite Chelsea boots. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably have gathered that I own a lot of Chelsea boots. I currently have 16 pairs of Chelsea boots and depending on when this video is edited and uploaded, I have one that I designed with Fortis boots coming from Indonesia. So you can safely say that I like them. They're easy to pull on and depending on if they're work boots or something more dressy, they can be dressed up and dressed down and fit most occasions. So I'm going to go through five of my favorite Chelsea boots in my collection. You know, I had to think long and hard to make this list because asking for your favorite is like asking who is your favorite child. I'm sure you love them all, I guess, most of the time, but before I show you my picks, I want to run through the basic design and history of the Chelsea boot. A Chelsea boot is an ankle length boot that does not have laces and uses the elastic size called goring panels to open the throat for you to pull them on and off. The fit is totally dependent on the design of the last around your instep and ankle. Often people wearing Chelsea boots will experience some heel slip, slight half inch or so and that's not disastrous if the instep and shaft are snug. Too loose around the instep, bore, heel and shaft and you likely step out of your boots with each step. The best Chelsea boots will eliminate even this slight heel slip by ensuring the heel is also as tight as the instep and the shaft and that the goring panels are tight enough to keep the throat snug at the ankle. And if you think I'm waving this boot around because it's one of my favorites, although I like the Taylor Stitch Ranch boot, it didn't make the cut. There is a significant trail of evidence that leads us to believe that the original elastic sided design was made up by Queen Victoria's boot maker Mr Joseph Sparks Hall in 1837. She'd asked for a pull-on pull-off boot that she could walk in and ride in instead of that time's loops and buttons fastening. He's credited with making her a pair she liked and she was amused by his use of the new Charles Goodyear invention of vulcanized rubber. He went on to patent the design as the Jay Sparks Hall patent elastic ankle boots. Okay, not a name that trips off the tongue, so from that how did the Chelsea boot get its name? You know in my past videos I've been happily telling you that it's because the boots were made famous by groups like the Beatles in swinging 60s London. But I've come to more information that there may be some controversy about that origin. One version of events is that the boots obviously existed and in Australia and the colonies especially from the 1920s onwards were used as work boots or paddock riding boots but mostly called simply elastic sided boots. According to this version of events they weren't called Chelsea boots until the Beatles commissioned London theatrical bootmaker Anelo and David to make a version with Cuban heels and pointed winkle picker toes. The fashion caught on particularly in the very trendy Kings Road area of Chelsea which was and still is full of trendy boutiques and artifacty people wearing counter-cultural trends. Those of you around in the 70s and 80s will remember punk and grunge centred there as they didn't Seattle in the US. The other version of history I've come to know of is that once Queen Victoria was seen to wear them by the late 1840s to the 1850s they really caught on as riding boots and the very fashionable so-called Chelsea set of Queen Victoria's time wore them to follow her lead. They were around as a popular boot design at least until the First World War and then got revived by the swinging 60s trends so according to this version they've always been called Chelsea boots. Now in Wikipedia they seem to rely on the first theory of being made popular in the 60s but they also add a tidbit and I quote the term Chelsea boot emerged a few years before the beginning of the Victorian era being a name used by London cobbler Thomas Colton in 1831. Frustratingly they don't explain what the design of this Thomas Colton Chelsea boot looked like. It is unlikely that if Thomas Colton did use the name Chelsea boot in one of his designs that it included the elastic goring panels since varkenized rubber wasn't invented until at least eight years later in 1839. So you have the two versions of the history of the name at least if not the inventor and with that over let me take you through my five favorite Chelsea boots in my collection. Before I start it's been so searching to pick these five pairs of boots I do not rank them in any order as I pull them up so they appear purely as I pull them out of my boot shelves not in any ranking. This is the R.M. Williams Comfort Craftsman. I have a few pairs of this boot in different make-ups but I pulled this one out in Caramel Carve Skin as one of my favorite Chelsea boots. You can see the review of this boot up there. Choosing between a standard craftsman and the Comfort Craftsman I chose the Comfort Craftsman because it's more well comfortable. The difference is that while the standard craftsman has a leather outsole and leather insole with cork filler the Comfort Craftsman has all of that plus a foam insert that cushions the shock absorption and it is slightly built up in the better arch support. It also has the Propriety R.M. Longhorn logo rubber outsole with excellent grip a better quality than their standard leather outsole. R.M. Williams' boots have a fiberglass shank which I like as it's very airport friendly while still offering good stability and arch support. Obviously as an R.M. boot it has the iconic R.M. Williams branded pull tabs. Still made in South Australia the construction quality and QC processes are excellent and you never see a loose stitch or loose grain in the full grain leathers used from Australian or New Zealand tanneries. It has a 270 degree Goodyear welt and so affords that sleeker heel profile. This means that you can and many Australians do dress it up even to the extent of wearing it with a suit. Now although I probably wouldn't wear this caramel calfskin version with a suit it is brighter than really dressy would allow I think. However the color and the gradual darkening and patina over the last five or six years is a particular favorite for me so that's why I've chosen this as one of my favorite five pairs of Chelsea's. Sizing wise I'd go at least two to size and in my case I even had to size a half up in the G width. Onto my next pick which is the Bitflex from Italian boot maker Astorflex. I got this pair from the Hutvery website. Now put links to the websites where you can get all of these boots below. Astorflex is a multi-generational family owned business based in northern Italy. I have reviewed this boot and you can watch that review up there. At 215 US dollars or about 300 Australian dollars it's in a different price bracket than the R&D Williams at 649 Australian dollars and you can see that the quality which I think is good as it is doesn't quite match the RMS. They are made well though don't get me wrong just that these are made as a more casual beat them up style. Again I couldn't see any loose threads and everything was even and straight. This pair of boot flex is an Italian tanned stone suede and it's fully lined inside as well. The suede is soft and light to the touch and really be fits a casual comfortable boot especially with a light crepe rubber sole. I usually wear these as the boot by the door when I go out shopping or doing errands and also around the house. This is a stitch down construction where the uppers of the boot are lasted and then flared out and the flare is stitched to the midsole. It's maybe in the midsole where the quality of materials fits the lower price it's leather board. Not that at this price there's anything wrong with that by the way. Leather board is greener being made from recycled and waste leather scraps and actually can whip moisture out faster than a slab of leather. Sure it doesn't last as long but I'm not sure you can reasonably say that you want this casual boot to last you 20 years. The design of the last is more of a casual style. Looser in the ball of the foot and in the toe box. In terms of comfort oh well that's why I picked these from my collection. They are just so comfortable. It's like walking on air and like being wrapped in a tall sneaker. That's the combination of the last of course the soft suede and the crepe rubber sole. Size wise these are an European 41 which for me is a half down from true. The next boot I chose was Bordon Colombia's Isidro Chelsea's. This version is an Italian wax suede and on a commando sole. They also make a version in a wedge sole and you can see my review up there. They also make them in wicket and craig and other four grain smooth leathers. I chose the wax suede version because of the protective functionality of wax suede. Someone commented on my video of these that they had held off buying because it wasn't full grain. Look I think there's a lot of misunderstanding of what full grain means and maybe one day I'll make a video about that. People seem to think full grain means it's good leather but this is quality leather. Okay maybe not to the quality of stead's waxy commander which is also not full grain but it is tough and the wax covering applied at the tannery is waterproof and productive and boy does it patina well. The last on which the Isidro is built is snug in all the right places holding your foot in but wide at the rounded toe box which to me means ultimate comfort as I get no pinching of the toes or squeezing of the knuckle of the ball. There's only one pull tab and it's a leather one big enough to get your finger through but also big enough to catch the cuffs of slim pads. First world problems. It's a stitch down construction boot and designed as a go anywhere and possibly even work boot. The stitch down is effective it's a double stitch down. It's water repellent since the water flows off the uppers. The uppers are stitched through the thick veg tan leather midsole and through the commander sole from the UK It's Hide company. Inside the insole is also veg tan leather with a cork filling for comfort and a leather and steel shank. Construction wise this is gold standard leather everywhere including building up the shank area with a leather shank before adding a steel shank as well. The cork filling this is one of those boots where you can say that it really molds the shape of your foot over time. QC wise yeah there are some issues on my wage sole version the wage started to to a part of the toes and my cobbler just reglued them for me. Some of the stitching is a little wayward but as rough and tough boots I'm a lot less picky about that. None of these little issues have caused me any structural concerns and I have followed Bordon for a while now and seen that with each batch QC just get better and better as they learn and improve. They sell for 329 US dollars and sell from their website through a group MTO model releasing I think three or four times a year. If you subscribe to their newsletter on the website down below you'll be told when the next batch is coming up. Sizing this is in European 41 or a US 8 so go a half down from true. Now the fourth pair I picked out is the Blunstone 650 model. I picked these not because they're Australian but because they are just so damn comfortable. Comparing them with the Astroflex Bitflex they are quite a bit more comfortable underfoot but slightly more restrictive around the foot because of the firmer uppers leather. You can check out my full reviews of these Blunnies up there. In Australia they are work boots not fashion boots and lots of my builder and laborer and trade declines and friends wear these to the building site and they wear them to the death. You can see the genesis from the wide round toe box but again the design of the last keeps them snug in the instep and ankle so that they stay on your feet. They're made in Vietnam these days not Australia if that's important to you. They are injection moulded soles they're not stitched and for some that means a lesser boot but for others it's what makes the boot so comfortable and affordable. I know they sell for more overseas but in Australia I picked up this fully leather line model at a trading store for 120 Aussie. They're actually listed for 173 Australian dollars but you often get sales and discounts all the time. The comfort factor is due to the soft TPU injection moulded sole as well as the comfort removable foam EVA insoles that come with this pair. In fact they come with two pairs of foam insoles. There's a flat pair and a more moulded pair with light arch support built in. The idea is that you can switch between either or combine them for a more bespoke fit. Everything under the foot is just so squishy that you can always pull these on after you've had a hard day of heavier weightier boots and your feet need a bit of a relief. Surprisingly for a TPU outsole and a low heel there is a steel shank between four foot and heel to aid arch tightness and torsional stability up and down ladders. The soles are heat resistant up to 140 degrees Celsius as well as oil and acid resistant. You can also get them in safety toes and in different models with different uppers from newbuck to crazy horse. This pair is in walnut kip leather slightly corrected and not particularly thick and under two millimeters thick but the glove leather lining adds to that and gives a lot of comfort as you slip it on. It's not a hole cut like the RM Williams and it has an interesting V-patch up the instep which is said to shape it better to your instep giving it that crucial snug fit to the instep and ankle. There is the classic Aussie configuration for Aussie Chelsea boots, the two pull tabs, better at gripping and opening the throat when you pull them on. If what allows the throat to be last more snug and lets you slip it on more easily. The sizing is in UK or Aussie sizing and half sizes actually mean an increase in width not length. This is a UK 7 which is a US 8 and so my advice is to go a half down from true. All in all a great boot to both work in and relax in after work. And now the last pair I picked the Christian Daniel Chelsea boot. This is called the Fernando and is by Christian Daniel Boots. I've done the review and you can watch it up there. Christian Daniel released this through a Kickstarter campaign offered in this black leather as well as in a maple color both from well-known Lafarque tannery in Leon, Mexico. This is Lafarque's specialty albatross tannage which is chrome tanned and then mixed re-tanned rolled in hot wax in a drum and then wax finished. It's characteristically has a medium gloss finish more of a sheen than a shine and although not visible in the black the maple has a strong pull-up effect due to the wax isn't it. In the black from looking at the edge it looks like the dye is struck through. It's 2 millimeter thick smooth supple leather. The maple sits on a full Dr. So day night light studded insole but I chose this black version because it sits on a Dr. So super grip half sole something different from all my day nights at So boots. The last is a comfortable lass rounded and roomy at the toe box but snug at the instep. While roomy it's not a big clown shoe round and it still looks quite elegant I think mainly because there's a hint of an almond shape and the volume of the toe box is low. If I have one complaint the top of the throat is a bit too wide for my taste. It's not that my feet pull out as I walk it's that it feels loose something that I'm not used to. The fit around the ankle and the instep is great and it keeps me snug there and secure but this upper shaft area here just feels a bit loose. It's personal taste. I spoke to my wife who hates her ankle's feeling strangled but I like the firmness of a boot all around on and up my ankle. The construction is a 360 degree Goodyear storm welt meaning that the leather welt has a raised ridge that when sewn onto the uppers and midsole is pushed up against the uppers creating an additional water barrier. The midsole and insole are both sturdy vegetarian leather and there is a cork filler inside the cavity formed by the welt in which is inserted a steel shack so it has good stability and arch support. Quality control of construction is good but there are a few questions. The stitching in the welt has obvious stop and start points and I'm not sure why but the welt seems to have two joints as if an extra strip was put in between. My cobbler said that it might be designed that way to allow more easy breaking of the sole as the double joints allow the boots to flex more easily where your foot flexes when you walk. Otherwise stitching is straight even and totally secure around with some really close double stitching where it counts. I chose this as one of my favorites for a few reasons. It wears well by that I mean it's comfortable and it's easy to break in and like your best boots you forget you have it on. It looks good the natural welt sets off the black uppers nicely and the last is a combination relax and dressy which is not an easy feat. It's been through a bit by that I mean Christian Daniel. After this successful Kickstarter campaign they met with some serious supply issues getting the doctor's assault from Taiwan due to shipping and other issues caused by Covid and the story of a Christian Ramos the founder is so compelling. I just find putting them on reminds me that with a clear vision the struggle is worth it. I end with that message because my passion for collecting boots isn't just about the product. You know a lot of manly boot wearers sneer at trendy hipsters they call them for collecting boots they don't wear to the work site. It's kind of like saying stamp collectors don't write letters. My masculinity is secure enough thank you not to get rattled by commentators with clearly insecure self-images if they have to defend their boot turf like that but my main message is that I collect boots because I like apart from the aesthetics and practical uses the histories the evolution of design the imaginative use of different leathers and most of all the passion and vision of bootmakers especially the smaller brands that seek to make the best damn boots they can imagine being a stock analyst and deciding you want to make boots, imagine being a management consultant and deciding you want to make boots, imagine surfing in Nicaragua with your buddy and deciding you want to make boots, imagine being a former go-kart racer and deciding you want to make boots imagine being almost down and out and deciding you want to make boots. All of them really vision-driven people. So there you go. My five favorite Chelsea boots in my collection. I hope you like this comparison of my favorite Chelsea boots. Let me know if you like this sort of content and I'll think up some more videos like this. In the meantime, share me some love and click on like and subscribe to help me grow my channel. Apparently, you can share even more love by clicking on the thanks button down below. Kind of like leaving me a tip. Always appreciate it to help defray my costs in bringing you some free entertainment. I'm going to bring you more boot reviews. I have a few new boots coming up and a few long-term wear reviews to see how some earlier buys have gone. Don't miss them. Until next time, take care and I'll see you again soon.