 G'day people. Welcome to Bootlossophy. My name is Tech. I come to you from Wadjuk country in today's Western Australia And I recognize the traditional owners of this land and the elders and leaders past and present Today I'm reviewing this pair of well-worn RM Williams comfort craftsman Chelsea boots in chestnut yearling leather Hey, did you know this year is RM Williams's 90th anniversary? This is RM Williams's comfort craftsman boot one of the 11 current styles of Chelsea boots that they make for men RM Williams was founded by Reginald Murray Williams in 1932. So this year is their 90th anniversary year RM was a swag man or itinerant laborer in the outback sheep and cattle stations of the north of South Australia In the Flinders Rangers and he learned leather working skills from a mustring horseman called Dolomik Yep, this is the land of people with names like Dolomik and Crocodile Dundee. Hello. My name is Bootlossophy Tech Anyway, RM took to leather work like a duck to water. So he decided to make a living making leather goods He started with making saddles mainly and made up enough money to start a shop at 5 Percy Street in the suburb of Prospect in Adelaide The Address is still embroidered on the boots pulled had today and is now the site of the RM Williams Heritage Museum From there, RM continued to make leather goods But his most popular product turned out to be his boots Sort after by farmers and livestock station hands as a work and riding boot What set them apart was the construction from a single piece of leather which obviously enhanced durability with only one scene But it also created a timeless clean look The company grew in Prospect over the years making RM a rich man His boots started to be worn by gentlemen who had never worked on a farm and by the 1980s was worn by city bankers and stockbrokers wearing suits and off work in casual gear In 1989 RM Williams opened a London store and in the 1990s it took off internationally RM had sold out by then and the company changed hands several times across the 2010s Including a stint with LVMH Louis Vuitton's luxury conglomerate brand a couple of years ago It was brought back into private Australian ownership by mining magnet Andrew Forrest As I said, this is their comfort craftsman one of 11 styles of men's Chelsea boots made by RM Williams I assume you know that the Chelsea boot was a design from the mid 1800s But what you may not know is that Chelsea boots were apparently made for Queen Victoria and by her personal bootmaker as a comfortable walking and riding boot Considering ladies boots in those days comprised of hooks and laces and eyelets all the way up the calf I CMO Vicky loved simply pulling these on and off While they've been used as riding and work boots from that time Their popularity didn't take off until the 1950s and 60s when they were associated with pop music bands like the Beatles The swinging 60s were centered on the King's Road in the London sub above Chelsea and they became stuck with the name Chelsea boots Actually in those days, they were also known as Beetle Boots for a time Apart from the craftsman and its different geysers RM Williams also make other Chelsea boots called the Macquarie the Arnhem, the Gammon, the Gardner, the Turnout, the Lachlan, the Sydney, the Santa Fe, and the Tambo And the Yearling that's the Yearling style with a high riding heel not the type of leather They differ by shaft height shape of the toe Heels and the shape of the goring. That's the elastic sides on top of the different designs Of course, they make each of those designs with different leathers and use different types of soles At the time of filming this they actually show 63 different makeups on their Australian website This boot though is based on the craftsman design a Chelsea boot 6 inches high from top of the heel to the top of the shaft a block heel a rubber sole a Knife-shaped goring and a slim chisel-shaped toe. I Also have a pair of craftsmen with a leather sole just called the craftsman, which I've reviewed here This one is called the comfort craftsman because it has a medium thick rubber sole It also has a comfort lining inside basically a soft foam cavity filled midsole That's all there is to it. A third version is called the dynamic flex craftsman Which has a leather outsole with padded rubber inserts in the middle of the foot pad and a removable arch support insole Then there's the fourth more expensive version called the signature craftsman made of veal calf skin and with a red leather sole a brass logo in the sole under the arch and it's signed on the sole by the by the maker The craftsman is a very sleek looking boot that single piece of leather is formed around a slim last so that it has a Clean look without the stitching you otherwise see under the goring or on the vamp joining different parts of the boot I understand it's not easy cutting that one piece of flat leather and then lasting it into shape So it can't be easy to make Because it's a 270 degree Goodyear welt more of that later the line from the ankle down to the heel is very elegant and Continuous no chunky ledge formed by the welt at the back Much to the disbelief of Americans You can wear it with a suit that's done all the time in Australia and nobody bats an eyelid That's because of its slim last and it's in a smooth dressy leather You'll see people in the financial and legal districts of Australian cities Wearing rms with their suits with or without ties This means of course you can also wear them in business casual situations with non matching pants and a blazer or Dress them down a bit with dressy dark jeans in a sports coat Or the iconic bush look is a pair of light-colored moleskin jeans and a short sleeve shirt The slim Chelsea design is very versatile Which means you can also wear them with light wash and faded jeans along with work shirts or polo shirts and very casual tops I have worn these in my office in the old days when everyone wore a suit and tie And I have taken them up to the tropical north out bush or you might say into the out back which we don't Once I was wearing these while I was crossing a river in a tinny small tin boat Which capsized and I had to swim to the riverbank in these Dried them out. No worse for wear Obviously people who wear them on cattle stations. That's ranches to Americans. They wear them hard on horseback or just in the dust and mud versatile and tough interesting fact they are so sleep yet tough and Capable of being shine up to the nines that they were once issued as parade boots to the Australian defense force If we dive into how these are constructed Let's start from the bottom and come up. I said before these are 270 degree good year welter Good year welting is one way of connecting the uppers to the soul It starts with a strip of leather that goes around the edge of the boot that's sewn to the inside of the boot Then the soul is attached and sewn to the welt So the soul is never attached directly to the uppers. They're both attached to the welt at different places In this way the welt forms a moisture barrier between soul and uppers so that good year welting is technically More water resistant than some other methods I say technically because in normal wear if you don't go for a swim after your boat capsizes I doubt you see a great difference just walking in the rain In this case, this is a 270 degree good year welt at boot That means the welt goes three quarters of the way from one side around the arch to the other side The heel is grouped direct to the uppers and the insole construction This produces that nice line from ankle to heel that I talked about earlier. In any case the welt is Incredibly narrow you can hardly see the stitching because it seems to be really tucked in right near the uppers The stitch goes through the outsole in a cut channel which produces which protects the stitch from wear The sole here is an oil resistant rubber that's molded with a kind of Pimply feel to the bottom for grip. It's flat no lugs. No studs. No wavy lines Yet perfectly grippy in any situation I've ever been in from beer spilt pub floors to slippery supermarket tiles to wet grass To mud and to sand If there is a leather midsole, I can't see it between the rubber outsole and the welt Inside is a cork filling and then in this comfort version There's a foam insole filler then a leather insole and a leather padded heel pad Inside the cork filling is a fiberglass shank a shank is a piece of hard material in an ice lolly stick shape That bridges the gap between heel and ball of the foot. It provides arch support and torsional stability when you're on rough ground The fiberglass shank is airport friendly. It doesn't set off metal detectors, which is a good thing The heels and toes are lightly structured to keep your shape and in the case of the heel to keep your heels snug in there The one thing about Chelsea boots is that you have to get the fit right so that they don't keep sliding off your feet every time You take a step which I'll talk about next and this heel cup helps you keep it there The leather is a full grain yearling leather in this case That means the calf is killed before it reaches one year old It's very soft and supple yet tough and shows the grain very attractively through this chestnut brown reddish dye this color is definitely not brown and Chestnut describes it well because it has hints of reddishness and even in sunlight a little browny burgundy Now these boots are over 10 years old So you can see how it creases or in fact doesn't crease for that amount of time. I have worn this hard To me the creasing is less than I'd expect for what I've thrown these into boat cruises included at the top of the shaft Are two pull tabs? I've been asked by American friends why there are two pull tabs I found that one pull tab you still struggle with using it to pull your boots on With two pull tabs you can open the neck of the boot to slip your feet in and then pull them up a much smoother operation in my opinion Anyway, most Australian Chelsea's these Blunt stones red backs. They all have two pull tabs The gawring is cut in a knife shape Which distinguishes it from some of the other styles and it's quite firm. It takes a bit to wear the elastic out and get it flabby That's important because the gawring is what will snap back on your ankles to keep them snug inside Because that's the one thing about Chelsea's that you must get right the fit around your ankles heels and instep Because you can't cinch up any laces to tighten the boot on your foot Your heels need to be held snugly the instep has to be snug around the top of your foot and Your ankles from the arch to at least the ankle bone needs to be held in the boot It's okay to have a roomy rounded toe box But if the fit around your ankles is flabby you find the boot slipping off every time you take a step I only have one pair of cowboy boots and the fit principle is really the same You want to pull them on with some resistance and then hear that satisfying plop when your foot slips in In the case of RM Williams Somehow they seem to have a last that fits most people's feet around the ankles if you buy the right size So let's talk about fit and sizing RM Williams uses UK sizing numbers now just for US viewers UK and therefore RM Williams size numbers are one number down from US My UK true size is seven and a half G which translates to US eight and a half D as my true US size But here I'll stick to the UK numbers So about 30 years ago when I bought my first pair of RM Williams I measured 7g on the brannock But as I got older and the more I moved into my 50s and now into my 60s The bones in my feet splayed out as you do Today, I'm just over seven and a half and RM Williams sizing on the brannock device But more importantly, I'm now a smidge over average width I find that RM Williams have a very slim last and with my brannock being a little over seven and a half in length and A little over G in width. I find I have to size up to an 8g a half up from brannock That's a US 9d when I normally take an 8d US in American heritage boots half down from true I bought these when I was still experimenting with my RM Williams sizes. These are Seven and a half in H width. I can just wear a seven and a half in length But because of the chisel toe even with these wider fits my little toes feel squashed In RM Williams sizing. I'm definitely an 8g. So just be a bit careful when you're sizing at the very least stay true to size Now apart from the squeezy toes in these in seven and a half H That's my bad. There was no real break and required The leather is soft and flexible the rubber saw with I guess no thick leather midsole didn't need any break in The rubber block heel and the padded leather heel pad inside means it absorbs shock when you're walking or running or swimming Before I talk about cost I'll mention leather care Up until a couple of years ago, RM Williams sourced their leather from Australian, US, New Zealand and French tanneries Since then they have refocused an Australian source leather Nodding I guess to supply chain issues during the pandemic. We have a very healthy cattle and sheep industry. So supplies and the problem I don't actually know how they tan this yearling leather But it is full grain and quite waxy smooth on the surface Very smooth and polished even after a soaking they drive with that finish intact. So I think it's a pretty tough leather RM Williams make their own conditioners and polishes and I'll link to them in the description below Just keep scrolling down to the bottom There are videos on their website say to condition every four to six weeks I'm inclined to think that conditioning them that frequently may be over caring for them And maybe it's just marketing to get you to use more of their product That said, I really don't think you have to stress about caring for them Just rehydrate them with a good smooth leather conditioner when they feel they need it and otherwise keep them clean If you take me as a guide I wear these all the time in urban and country situations and I conditioned them about three or four times a year Not counting any special cleaning if they've been in the mud or in a river I have Aboriginal friends who live in the bush and who work in pastoral stations who clean and condition them once a year if that and that's despite them complaining to me about how expensive they've become You can polish them if you want if you do want to polish them I recommend a cream polish rather than a wax polish just so that you don't leave a coat of wax on the leather And you keep that leather clean and breathable. I have mirror shine the toes and heels of my black craftsman But that's because I wear those mainly with a suit Now let's talk about price and value. Not always the same thing. I First bought RM Williams boots when they were only $300 Aussie. They're now 595 Australian That's a lot of money in the Australian boot scene Okay, we don't make that many boots in Australia And if you're looking at RM Williams, you need to discount the sort of rough TPU sort work boots like red back and blunt stones That's a whole different class of boots So for a price comparison, you need to look at imported boots Red-winged Chelsea sell for around 500 Aussie dollars. You can order miem in Chelsea's for about 400 dollars Cheaper dress Chelsea's from high street or mall shops are up to couple hundred Aussie dollars So rms are at the top of the price food chain RM Williams make their boots in South Australia Now they have outsourced some of their production of clothing and bags and accessories overseas But the boots are still made here Which goes some way to explaining the cost because labour is not cheap in Australia, especially skilled labour And you have to say QC is very high Having owned six pairs of RM Williams boots over the years I can honestly say I've never never found a fault or an imperfection on any of them Whether from new or after decades of wear nothing goes wrong with them And you have to say the choice of letters is outstanding from car after yearling And yes, you can get kangaroo or chinchilla, but you pay more But I have to say in the back of my mind I wonder what extra costing is put on because of the name and the reputation of these boots In marketing there is a thing called value pricing where you price a product Not only on what it costs you to make but also on the perceived value Think of ladies Gucci handbags So are these worth it? When I bought this particular pair they were under $400 Today, same boot Another couple of hundred dollars You know as much as I love RM's I'm probably not getting another one except when they're on sale All right, I think the government's about to take it with my passport so I need to stop now And there you have it That's what I think of the RM Williams comfort craftsman in chestnut yearling I hope you enjoyed the review If you did I have plenty more reviews to bring to you So do me a favor click on the like and subscribe buttons and help me grow my channel Until the next boot I bring to you take care and I'll see you soon