 G'day, how are you going? Welcome to Brutalosophy and if you're new here, my name is Tec and I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of widget country on which I live and work. Today, I'm taking this look at Australian brand River's Chelsea Work Boot. This is the River's Chelsea Work Boot. It's a no-lace Chelsea design following on from typical Australian work boots like the Blunstones and Redback type of Aussie Work Boot. The name Chelsea Boot signifying the lace-less pull-on boot with two elastic goring panels and either one or two pulled tabs at the top is synonymous with the London Borough of Chelsea where the Beatles and other swinging 60s pop groups made a Cuban-heeled, pointy-toed version famous. It was first made for Queen Victoria as a riding boot and Australian farm and ranch labourers took it up in the 1920s long before it became fashionable in the 1960s and long before the style came known as the Chelsea Boot. In those days it was just called an Aussie pull-on work boot. River's is a popular Australian clothing and footwear brand known for its, theoretically, stylish and certainly affordable fashion for men and women. Established in 1943, the company has a long history of providing customers with affordable and value-for-money clothing that are both reasonably attractive and practical. The brand also offers a range of footwear options including shoes, boots and sandals. In addition to its own retail stores, River's products can also be found in department stores and online. River's has built a following among people who seek lower-end clothing and footwear that look good and are practical. Based in the state of Victoria, they outsource almost all of their manufacturing. The company was involved in the 2013 Bangladesh Factory Collapse and has since signed the Bangladesh Accord to improve factory conditions. In addition to Bangladesh, they manufacture in China, India and Pakistan. This particular boot is made in India. Their website does explain about their ethical principles including the use of monitors and auditors who certify their outsourced factories for ethical work practices. Take that how you will. Looking at construction, the amazing thing is that this is a good year-weltered boot. For the price, which I'll get into in a minute, that's really quite a surprise since most boots in this price range of just over a hundred Australian dollars are mostly cement construction or thermally injected TPU construction. The welt, however, is a plastic welt, so it's hardly the most durable. My new fairs-fair, the Tharagut classic 6-inch mock-toe boot, also has a synthetic welt. In this case, and with the price in mind, I am almost bet your house on it certain that it's stitched on either under mostly machine or probably by automated computerised machines. A lot of mass-produced brands will do this, often using contract factories that make many different brands under one roof. The computer-controlled machines will cut the leather pieces, stitch them, last them in a mechanical mould and even add the welt and stitch that on. Most human hands will guide the work in progress through the conveyor system and only really get involved at the end in QC inspections and packing and sorting. You can tell I'm not a fan but you have to get it, wear it and experience it to do a proper unbiased review of the product. The outsole is a plastic rubber compound. It's not TPU because it doesn't feel as squishy. The moulded lugs, they're not too bad. The leather on the uppers is an unimpressive but it's pretty sturdy chrome-tanned cowhide. It's a very dry leather as you can see and it really sucks in moisture and even conditioner. Even if you condition the oil at well, it dries very quickly and every drop of moisture will get sucked in and darken the leather and patches until it dries. It's not very water-resistant in that sense but my socks don't often get wet. That may be because it is fully lined on the inside with a breathable, stretchy, goring-like material that may absorb some of the moisture before it actually gets to your socks. The stitching is fine as you would expect from a computer-controlled process. The last is actually a very comfortable last. It's generous in the toe box but snug in the instep and ankle so that it grips your feet securely without strangling your ankles. The heel is a little wider than I'd like but it's not uncomfortable although bending on your knees and these do give a bit of heel slippage. The pull tabs are sewn securely and like another pair of River's Chelsea riding boots that I bought and looked like RM Williams crafts some boots the pull tabs actually pulled off after only a few ways. As cheap as they are, leather care is probably not a concern for some people but I think it's important that boot collectors don't look downed at noses at cheap boots. They need a need. I think we all try to argue that investing in a $300 or $400 or even $500 work boot is a good investment because you can re-sold them and they'll last you for years so the cost per wear is very low. But not everyone has $300 or $500 to spend in one go. Some people have lower weekly incomes that they spend on rents and food and so don't have a huge discretionary expenditure. So they'd rather spend the $100 they have in their pocket then and if necessary in a year or maybe less six months they'll spend another $100. That's more reachable for them than spending $500 in one go. So if that's the case certainly you want to keep these well maintained for as long as you can. In that case because of its thirstiness I recommend a boot oil rather than any expensive conditioner. I think you want to keep these as well oiled and water resistant as possible. So just some liquid mink oil from Amazon or if you have any oils from your other boots they'll do. Believe it or not I oiled this only a few weeks ago. Make sure you clean the boot by wiping off dirt, sand and mud with a damp rag. Saddle soap them if you need to then let them air dry overnight and just lavishly wipe on the oil. Once the oil is soaked in I consider getting some cheap kiwi dubbing wax and one or two coats over the top to further provide a waterproofing layer. If you really need to a spray once over with a silicon waterproofing spray like the Tarago Nano spray will do. I have links to most of these products at the bottom of the description below. As for sizing they run large. I'm an Aussie 7.5 which is equivalent to a US 8.5 but these are an Aussie 7 and they still feel a little roomy. Okay with thick socks though they'll be fine. They were comfortable off the shelf but there was and still remains a little heel slip. You can see I've worn them to hell and back really from the uppers in my yard but the heel is still a little problematic in terms of that slippage. These sell for around 120 Aussie dollars but even in their own retail stores which always seem to be on some permanent sale I've never seen them for more than 90 dollars. I bought these for 69 dollars. Now okay they ain't going to be handed over to my grandchildren if I had any but at that price and a waste and global warming aside that's not bad value. On the pro side they have proven to be pretty sturdy. I have kicked them around to really test them and the uppers get scratched but nothing has torn and importantly the soles haven't fallen off. The outsole is also pretty sturdy. I've used them mostly on gravel, sand and dirt in the yard, not on concrete but the outsole hasn't worn badly and the grip is pretty cool. On the con side, well I hope the legal interpretation of manufacturing ethics is as sturdy as the moral requirement. I don't know. The leather is very thirsty and not very waterproof. The fit is okay but it's not great. It is a cheap boot. Would I recommend these boots? Not if you're already wearing blunnies or you've invested in red-winged work boots or some other well-made, good-you-welded or stitched-down boot but if all you can afford is 100 dollars or less well mate it's not my role to educate you about heritage boots. You can't go past this because for light manual labour it has stood up as well as I'd expect brown stones or redbacks or Aussie mongrels to stand up. So, well, I hope you enjoyed that review. You know what to do. 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