 G'day, how you going? Welcome to Brutalosophy and my name is Teg. I acknowledge the Wajib people of the Nungar Nation who are the traditional custodians of the lands that I live and work on. Today I'm taking a look at handmade Indonesian boots. They have been the second wave of handmade heritage style boots lately. But are they worth it? This is my personal point of view. But first let me clarify that when I say Indonesian boots, I mean boots made in the Indonesian city of Bandung, only 150 kilometres or under 100 miles from the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. In the last maybe five years or so, Bandung bootmakers have been really coming to the attention of the Western market, but they have been around for a long time. Indonesia was a colony of the Dutch until just after the Second World War. The typical colonial trading model was where the colonisers took out raw materials from the colony and then brought in manufactured goods to sell to the colonies. In Indonesia, this was reversed in the shoemaking industry. The Dutch colonisers, whether by design or default, brought with them the technical knowledge to make quality felt-shown footwear and in the 19th century started the first shoe factory in Bandung. And as the years and generations went by, the trading skill was passed on and Bandung became a bit of a shoemaking capital for Asia. In 2013, not just due to this history, but also to its strategic geographic location in the centre of Asia and the rest of the world, as well as to government investment, the footwear manufacturing industry in Indonesia exported 3.8 billion USD worth of footwear. This does include footwear made for large international brands like Nike and other sportswear brands, Timbaland, Echo, as well as other well-known brands. Okay, so that's that. So what about heritage-style boots made in Bandung? In the market of well-made quality boots, I think most of Southeast Asia has always known that Bandung is the place to get your handmade boots. However, it wasn't until the late 2000s and maybe early 2010s that the Bandung bootmakers themselves started to work toward the American heritage trend that started in Japan. At the time, Vibe brought out their stitched-down service boot, and Red Wing was finding their heritage models selling so well in Japan and thus the rest of Asia that they started making export make-ups, especially for the Asian market. At that time, the Japanese were commercially expanding and active all around Asia and the Pacific, and so it wasn't unnoticed by the Bandung bootmakers that they were getting a lot of orders for American heritage style and specifically service boot-style boots. Then in the late 2010s, American boot collectors started to notice the work done by Bandung bootmakers in the heritage style in felt-shawn, stitched-down and Goodyear-welted styles that were handmade and for comparably cheap prices. Boots were selling with Indonesian leathers for maybe just under $300 with imported quality leathers when a bespoke made from scratch for U-boot in the US would have sold for $500 and above. And because they are handmade to order, you could take one of their basic designs or even a photo of a pair of boots you liked and get them to make it up with different configurations, including different leathers, outsoles, hardware, shaft length and construction. If you wanted hand-stitched felt-shawn construction on a double-vegetan leather sole, you could have it. If you wanted Norwegian stitching and some fancy embroidered stitch on the backstay, you could have it. Then maybe five or six years ago, serious reviews in print and on social media started picking up the work of these bootmakers and the knowledge of them really blew up. In many ways, their otherwise exponential growth has been throttled by a number of things. Firstly, in most cases, there is a language barrier. Most Indonesians speak English, but not very well and written English is not really good. This coupled with the fact that not many Bandung bootmakers have website means that their communications and ordering is often through WhatsApp or Instagram messaging. The main reasons they don't have websites is because most of these brands work on a shoestring and just don't have the access to good web developers nor have the time frankly to continually monitor their websites. Since the ordering process includes your providing them with measurements and different options, the whole communication process can be pretty stressful. Time is another barrier. Communication with them through WhatsApp and Instagram is kind of stilted because they don't have an eye on these apps all the time. Email is even worse. You can understand that, right? They're working on their boots and only look up and look into social media when they stop for a smoker or a coffee. On top of that, being a Muslim country, they will stop production during Ramadan, week-long religious festivals and on Fridays. And then there is the labour problem. They are small and I mean tiny businesses. One brand that I discovered, and I'm proud to say maybe help their growth, is Fortis Boots. When I first contacted Sani, he had three workers. I think he's grown now, certainly got into a new workshop. But if they get a big number of orders, the queue to start the order starts to get delayed. For a popular brand, especially after COVID, the wait from order to delivery can be up to eight weeks or more. Sure, they can start to hire more people, but in business, there is always a lag between demand, having sufficient capital, and hiring people. As a buyer, it can be quite frustrating. And if you're not into social media communication, if you're unused to communicating with someone who doesn't have a good command of English, if you don't have patience and if you're a nervous person, buying from Bandung may not be for you. Let me state that quite clearly. For Australians, we're more used to our neighbour to the north and many of us have been to Indonesia, or at least to the holiday island of Bali, and some can even speak the language. It might not be as daunting for Aussie buyers, especially as postage to and from is a lot cheaper. And in my experience, albeit of only three pairs of Indonesian boots from only two makers, but with a lot of sharing of notes with others who have bought Indonesian boots, quality can be patchy. Everyone seems to agree that quality is generally good, but whether due to a rush during particularly busy times or maybe just an off day, there are sometimes products that don't match the height. Quality control is usually the owner looking over the finished boot after he's had some stake in the process itself. The lack of an independent eye can cause defects to be missed or ignored. From my conversations with other boot collectors, I'd say it's quite unscientific, but maybe 10% of product is not totally up to scratch. Now, that's not too bad, but if you received one of those 10% after an eight week, 10 week wait, you might not be too happy. However, I also know from personal experience that they bend backwards to satisfy the customer. They understand the pyro social media and how it can affect their business. If you have a legitimate complaint, most would take the boot back, remake it even, or give you a refund on return. However, depending on where you are, again, this process involves communication, the cost of postage back to Indonesia. But let's take a look at these three examples I have here. This service boot from Santalam, and this service boot from Fortis, as well as my collaboration boot with Fortis, the Strider. This model by Santalam is called the Milestone Service Boot. I'll leave Instagram links to the boot makers below, but note that Santalam may have stopped production, at least temporarily, I understand from my Bandung sources that the owner had an accident and has been unable to continue. Look, I don't know more than that and I don't want to spread rumors, but their social media stopped posting in August 2022. You can watch my original review of these boots up there. Just know that when I order my Indonesian boots, I've so far ordered them in local Indonesian tanned leathers. I've always felt that I would like to encourage their supply chain to stay local. You can order and Santalam usually make their boots in Halloween leathers. You can order, like most Indonesian brands, boots in Italian Mariam tannery or Japanese Shinky tannery, as well as many American tannery and the English Charles Havestead Swades and kudos. In fact, I found an ordering that I have to curb the enthusiasm of the boot maker in trying to get me one of these foreign leathers. Not so much for the price, I don't think, but just because of the enthusiasm in working with these great leathers. This one is in local natural veg tanned rough out. It is a nice thick leather and the smooth grain on the inside is really nice. The rough outside, not so much, because the nap is uneven and it's quite prone to pilling. If I'd known what the rough outside was like, I think I would have ordered it grain side out natural. The construction, apart from a glaring error which I'll get to, is actually very good. It is felt shorn construction, double stitched, where the front of the uppers are flared out and stitched once to the midsole and a second time to the midsole and outsole. The stitching there and all over in my chosen contrasting red thread is precise. The hardware is solid, the toe cap is real, the midsole is a slab of veg tanned with cork filler and steel shank, it's a fully leather stacked heel and the outsole and heel topper is a doctor's sole cork infused half sole which as I said is stitched on as well as tacked with brass tacks. Look, the last is not to everyone's fancy being slim at the heel and the waist but quite wide at the ball of the foot rounding off to a rounder shaped almond toe, more almond shaped than most almond toes. Look, I don't mind it. The width of the ball is appreciated but sometimes when I look down I'm surprised at the quite pronounced narrow to duck bill shape. I have three things I'm either annoyed with or I'm unhappy about. First, the sizing is too big. When I measured for this order they got me to measure the usual length and width of the ball of the foot but also around the ball of the foot, around the instep and around the ankle at the ankle bone. Now this was very precisely instructed and they sized me in an European 42. That's a US size 9. I'm a US 8.5 true to size on a Brannock or an European 41.5. I usually buy European size shoes in 41, a half size down from true or equivalent to my usual US size of 8. I queried them when they said 42 but they said no, no, they got it right. When it arrived it was roomy. I fixed it by putting an aftermarket arch support insole that I got from a pharmacy locally and now it fits really well with thick socks. Okay, I wear them but the size thing is annoying. The next thing is an aesthetic annoyance. The quarters are small. When I lace them up tight there's a good five centimeter or two inch gap at the instep and way less at the ankle going down to a more normal three centimeter or one inch gap up the shaft. I just don't think they're packing for the quarters is size right for this size. The last thing is more than just annoying. When they're made the ungusseted tongue is attached to the vamp piece and then the quarters are sewn onto the vamp piece. Where the quarters meet the vamp on the inside of the lacing flap the stitch misses the lowest part of the tongue and there's a gaping half centimeter hole under all four flaps. Look I haven't worn them that far underwater. I haven't stood in a puddle of water but that can't be good for water resistance nor I suspect for longevity if the leather tears at that weak spot. That bit not great. My next foray into another Indonesian maker was with a small maker called Fortis Boots. When I first contacted Sani Diona he already had several basic styles but had just started with about 19 Instagram posts. I like the look of the service boots style that he calls the Dakar article. You can check out my review here and I'll bring you a long-term wear review quite soon. I asked for a higher shaft from going six to eight inches and I ordered it in local crazy horse leather or an Indonesian tanned oil new buck. I also asked for a Vibram 100 commando sole. Communication with Sani was difficult. There could be long moments of radio silence and the completion date was beyond what was promised as was the case with the santum but on and off I get a progress report so as I said if you're a nervous waiter this could scare you but patience is worth it because when I received this I couldn't find fault with it. The sizing is worth a mention Sani only asked for length and width measurements and for a standard fitting that's all he needs but I think if you have weird feet you should tell him and send him photos and extra measurements. I know that he can use his standard lasts and add leather add-ons to change the shape for special feet orders. Now he also sized me in a 42 and with my experience with the santalum pair I checked and double checked and he assured me it was right. They use a different scale apparently and he quoted my length measurements back to me which I checked and it was correct so I crossed my fingers and let it go. When I received this I was relieved the fit was so much better than the santalum but it still had quite a high volume at the instep. Again I fixed it with a thinner slip in sole. I asked for a double stitched felt shown construction again and this stitching goes through a double leather midsole with cork filler and inside a steel shack. The stitching of the vibram commando sole with the deep lugs is excellent. At about the same time as I got these boots I had bought Bordon Colombia's Tucano boot their second generation with the same outsole. That was Bordon's first entry into stitch down construction and I pointed out to them that their stitching was kind of bridging the gap between the lugs leaving stitches in the air as it were. The stitching here is excellent. Each stitch goes down the lug across the gap and then up to the next lug. It's actually better than the pair of nicks that I have. Quality wise everything was stuck down and sewn down as it should be with all stitching and cutting carefully done. The clicking was good based on the Indonesian leather. This is the first time I've tried Indonesian crazy horse and it's probably not as good as the crazy horse that I've seen on my Chippewa service boots or similar old newbuck in Thursday's rugged and resilient range but it's good enough and it pertains us really wickedly as you can see. One thing was a corner of the rubber top lift the heel in fact not exactly sitting flush to the sole but it's been over a year of regular wear and it hasn't come off or even worsened. Apart from the extra volume in the middle of the boot and the instep I have no complaints. In fact I like the look quality of construction and the fit so much that I asked Sani if I could design a boot for a collaboration with him. I came up with an upland Hunter Star boot on a wedge sole in this what I call Strider boot. You can check out my first review up here and again I'll bring you a long-term wear review in a few months time. We decided to use the Dakar last same as the Dakar service boot but with a few adjustments at the toe box and for my own boot he adjusted the last to reduce the volume in the instep and this boot feels like a glove. When you first look at it you think oh no it's too roomy again I mean it's big and round but no it's a perfect snug fit without any pinching or extra volume. My friend John the happiness carpenter in YouTube and on Instagram also says that he had the same sensation of thinking it was too big when he saw it but then he put it on and they were like totally made for his feet. I chose again a local leather. This one is local burgundy pull-up with a rough outside out. The inside grain side shows a deep burgundy but the outside it's not as bright as it looks it's a berry color and I love it. As an aside I'm not a fan of the local pull-up leather as a pull-up from this experience because the grain side is not particularly pull-up. It's nice enough as a smooth grain leather but certainly not an oil-infused pull-up like chrome excel so if you order it with a grain side out expecting that well don't. In this case I designed another double stitch felt shown boot but Sunny has created a strided two with a fancier norwegian stitch on a storm well. That's what I mean about holding back their enthusiasm they do like to use fancy leathers and add fancy touches and stitching and if that's not you you just have to resist and hold on. Put on top of a Vibram 2021 soft wedge sole glued on a double leather midsole the comfort's exceptional combined with the great last and supple uppers honestly these are like slippers the construction quality is just as good as the Dakar article every stitch carefully placed and the double stitch on the welt area is perfect by this time with more and more orders Sunny was getting better and better in his quality control in this boot I know I designed it I can't see any imperfections in build quality nor fit now before I finish I should tell you what I know about other Indonesian boot makers there is one that I want to try out next called legwin legwin or legend I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it it's another new kid on the block and I'd like to try a service boot from them and then maybe try for another colab if I like that first boot I'll tell you how that goes obviously however the other names that I always get reports of good quality and great design are sagara bristleback formerly benzene junkard or young card Monroe prof barnett's renav goods and texture txt ure now I can't personally recommend them you understand but there's also a standout apparently called on the hood but you have to win a lottery seriously before you can even put your order in I don't have first hand experience of all of these brands but there's an excellent article by stitch down and I'll put a link below listing out all the Indonesian brands the incomparable stridewise channel also has a video called the eight best Indonesian boot brands you should know about I'll try to link it in the card up here if I know how to but I will also put a link in the description below so all in all are Indonesian boot brands worth it now on the plus side despite recent price increases you get a handmade boot to your exact specifications for up to 300 us dollars less than if you get a handmade boot made to order boot from anywhere else that price variation can change depending on the leather you choose of course and in that regard you can choose local leathers cheaper or just about any leather from Mariam, Shinky, CF Stead, Horween, Seidel, Wicked and Craig and many many more including the shell leathers from different tenories the quality is mostly good in the majority from what I can figure and you get really special designs stitching felt shown construction if you want and added flair if you want on the whole they seem to fit well with care taken in the measuring process on the minus side the ordering and waiting process is nerve wracking now I say that never having had to order a Pacific Northwest made to order boot but still when communication is patchy and your English may not be totally understood you have a right to be nervous then of course at the try on and the palava if it doesn't fit and ultimately what happens if you want of the 10% and you get a boot like my Santalam on balance my experience has been good I admit but you have to have the right temperament for it for the price saving of what can be essentially a bespoke boot and if you're patient the quality you likely get at that price is worth it I'm going to be trying other Indonesian brands soon well that's my take on the Indonesian boot scene I'm hoping that my take on it covers what you might be interested in but maybe we're afraid to ask and stick your toe in the water I've tried to give you enough information and opinion to make a decision if you're not on Instagram you might want to just sign up and take a look at Indonesian boot brands on there that is basically the way they show off their catalog look I hope you found this useful let me know and that's about it but before you go just a reminder to click on like below and if you're not subscribed click on subscribe so that you don't miss out on my other boot reviews I'm going to bring you other boot reviews quite soon so until the next time take care and see you then