 G'day. Welcome to my channel, Bootlossophy. If we haven't met before, my name is Tech. Now, before we start, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands that I work and live on, the Wajip people of Nungabuja. Today, I'm going to pick some of the most comfortable boots in my collection to have a look at. So today, I'm going to pick some of the most comfortable boots in my collection that we want to take a look at, and I'd like to discuss. There'll be some surprises, and there'll probably be some disappointments. So we'll go and see how it is, and you can tell me what you think in the comments below. Now, to be fair, I'm going to try and break these into three categories of boots. So that'll be the low price end range up to US $300. Then I'll look at the US $300 to $500 range boots, and then I'll look at $500 and above, just to break them down so that we're comparing apples with apples when we can. I'll also leave the links to where you can buy them below. So let's start with the lower price range boots. That's a price range of around up to Aussie $450. Yeah, I know. That's the lower end in heritage boots, particularly the coming out of the US. That takes them up to about US $300. And yes, I know it sounds a lot, but trust me, that is at the lower end of the range, and I think you can get some reasonably good footwear there. So let me look at the three that I've chosen that I think are my three most comfortable boots in that range. So I've got the Tharagut Classic 6-inch Mokto, it's top of my list. Then I think I have a bit of a surprise, and this is the Thursday Boot Company Diplomat, which is also a Mokto. And indeed, it might look actually quite similar, but you can see that this is a more sleep-dump model than this sort of high-volume-toed work boot model. And then the third one I think might be a bit of a surprise. This is an Indonesian handmade boot from Fortis Boots. This is a collaboration boot that I made with them. I'm not sure if you can see that Fortis boot philosophy collab logo. It's in an Indonesian rough-out leather. It's on a Vibram 2021 sole. And yes, all three of them are wedge soles. And that might be coincidence, but it also I think might actually point to the fact that having a wedge sole with a reasonably flat bottom creates a reasonable form of support for your foot right throughout. So let's take each at a turn and then let's try and discuss why I like them. So I'll start with the Tharagut Classic 6-inch Mokto work boot. This is an American classic. It's got very soft oil tanned leather tumbled so that it becomes really soft, full-grain leather. It has, it's a Goodyear welter boot, 360 degrees Goodyear welter. But the welter is I think a rubber or a plastic welter. So perhaps may not perform as well in the long run. It's designed as a Mokto boot with this moccasin style stitch across the top of the van. Reasonable amount of volume in the profile. And then this Vibram Christi wedge sole, which is reasonably grippy on flat surfaces and is oil and moisture resistant. In fact, this is actually Tharagut's version of the Christi sole, which is meant to last about 20% longer. The comfort in this is born of the fact that it's a reasonably wide last except you have to size yourself quite carefully in this iPhone because with the Mokto stitching, I find that if I actually size them up to my normal boot size of an 8D, they can actually be quite painful across the toe. So these are in fact true to size at 8.5D. Once I dial the size in, the comfort factor is helped by the fact that there's a fairly solid footbed, flat sole, so there's plenty of arch support. There is a shank in there in the middle of the sole between the heel portion and the all of the foot portion. And they have their really quite very comfortable double density internal footbed, which is removable. And I find that just gives me really fantastic foot strike comfort when you're actually standing and walking around these. The reason I like these Thursday diplomats and by the way, do I have them here? Yes. It's a very close call between these and the Thursday captains as for comfort on foot. Now I chose the diplomats over the captains because I think the toe box is slightly wider and more anatomical. And the captain toe box is a little bit more almond shaped to be sleek and service boot like with a little less volume right at the toe. So I had actually quite a few problems breaking in the captain took me about two weeks because of the toe cap and the stitching across the toe cap that created a bit of a tighter sort of feel across that portion of my foot. Both of them, however, have amazing foot beds. They both use leather, cork, and then they have a poron midsole, which creates that softer effect. And the actual sock liner is also nice and soft. I find the last on these suits me really well because it just curves into my into my toes without necessarily causing any pain. The heel cup I find on these is also actually quite firm. So it keeps me trapped in there without a little bit of heel slippage that I get in the fellow goods. The third boot I have in this lower price category is this Fortis boot. It's a style that we call the strider. It's a collab with me. I designed this boot, put it on the 2021 wedge, used local Indonesian rough out leather. I can tell you it looks large. It looks wide and the volume looks quite high. But when you put them on, they really fit really well because the manufacturers get you to measure your feet in several places. And then they adjust the last to fit your foot. And if they forgot to forget to do that when you when you mention them, when you talk to them, make sure you ask them about the volume and whether there's any, you know, different shapes to your foot. I find these comfortable because they're quite light, despite the eight inch height. The leather is not particularly thick, even though it's very sturdy, being a rough out. It has a double layer, a vegetarian leather sole, but that doesn't make it heavy. It has a steel shank inside as well. And I forgot to mention that sort of the diplomats. The last fits my feet perfectly. It might look a little round to you, but it's certainly not chunky and sort of to work booty. It's light. The 2021 sole from Vibram outsole is nice and soft, so it cushions the effect really nicely. Okay, so let me turn to mid-range price boots. And I'm going to introduce this one might be a surprise in terms of my choosing it for comfort. This is the Bordon Tucano. It's from Bordon, Colombia, which is a Colombian bootmaker. Reasonably new started in 2020. They make group MTOs as their model for purchase. This is built on their own last. It's a stitch down construction. So you can see that the front of the boot has the uppers flared out and then stitched down through the midsole and the outsole double stitching. It's quite a firm waxed suede leather. So it's not really soft, which you might think doesn't lead to comfort, but actually with the full boot lining, grips your feet so that you feel quite snug and comfortable being held snugly. The width of the last is really nice. It suits the ball of my feet. The round toe also helps. This is, of course, a service boot, jumper boot, style boot. And the fact that it's got a Vibramontania sole, it's got a Vegtan leather sole, and it's got some slight foam padding in the sock liner on the inside. One of the reasons, in fact, the main reason why I like these is a really comfortable boot, particularly for outdoor hiking, is the snugness of that really firm leather providing support for your feet, as well as the thickness of the Vibram sole and all that cork and leather on the inside with a steel shank. The next one in this mid-price range, I'm choosing an RM Williams Gardener. It costs about $650 Australian. It's an RM Williams Chelsea boot, but unlike their comfort craftsman or their craftsman has a round toe, so you're much more comfortable in the boot itself. It fits my foot really well. It's very snug. You can see the curve of the heel so that your heel locks in and it keeps your ankles reasonably tight with these goring panels. On the inside, it's quite a firm leather footbed, but it's that classic leather cork leather and then rubber outsole combination. The outsole is a thick... It looks like a Vibram outsole, and I think that in fact might be a Vibram outsole branded for RM Williams because this looks very much like the V700 Vibram outsole. That combination of rubber and snugness and the round toe of the last makes this a really comfortable slip-on-slip-off boot. So the third one is going to be interesting. It's a Grant Stone diesel boot. Now, I have quite a few pairs of diesel boots. They're not all the most comfortable. And I have to say, although I do like their leather sole boots, those are probably the least comfortable because they have the leather outsole, they have a leather midsole, and despite all the cork and leather on the inside, it's actually quite hard to break the sole in so that you can actually walk in a flexible fashion. These, in their day-night mock-up outsole, break in really well. The leather is a Halloween Essex leather, and it's soft enough even with that full lining on the inside and making it a reasonably thick boot. Despite all that, it grips the foot really well across the ankle, across the instep, around the ball of the feet, and the traditional leather cork, leather rubber sole construction means that you can stand in these all day. Perhaps not as good arch support as the RM Williams gardener boot, which is constructed in such a way that this little cantilever here provides a little bit of arch support. This doesn't tuck in as much, but the arch support on the inside, caused by the slope of the sock filler on the inside, kind of makes up for that. So, one of my most comfortable boots that I like to pull on every now and then. Okay, so what about expensive boots? Well, when it goes to boots that are in the above US $500 price range, I've chosen only two. The first one is my Grail boot, the White's MP boot. This is an overbuilt beauty. Super thick sole, quite hard to break in, but also, on the contrary, gives you a firm flex when you're walking in it. Solid heel cup. A reasonable last. It grips your feet, maybe a little long if you're taking this modified berry MP last. A little bit long, but snug on the sides. Super thick leather, Chrome XL Natural. Stack leather heels. Everything inside is leather. There is no steel shank. It's actually a leather shank and that you can see causes this bow here as they build up layers of leather to fit into your arch. Why is it so comfortable? Number one, it fits. The last is great. Number two, it's firm. It keeps your foot secure so that you're not moving around in it, which is one of the things that can make your foot tired across the day. All those layers of leather on the inside, once you break these in, they're like custom made for you. And all that leather inside shaped on the inside to create that push into your arch just gives you a hell of a lot of arch support. Fantastic for walking all day, indoors or outdoors. Fantastic for arch support if you're just standing around lecturing or facilitating meetings, which I've done both of. Super grippy outsole. And also, you know, it's not a hard commander's sole, but it's not soft either. So that's a good shock absorbing outsole. And alongside that is the Weiberg service boot. This is in the 2030 last. Some people don't like the 2030 last because it may be a bit too almond toe for them and they prefer a sort of rounded one with maybe more of a toe spring to allow them to fit into the boot. I find the 2030 last suits me really nicely. It's, again, another snug boot, so it grips your feet very nicely. It doesn't feel as overbuilt as the White's MP where you pick that up and it's definitely heavier and you wonder why the heaviness, because it doesn't look very different. And the sole construction. This is less so, but don't let that fool you because, again, it's all leather on the inside. It doesn't have that bow created by the leather arch support because all that arch support is on the inside. I can't explain it. There's a lot less construction in the sole of these boots, but they are at least as good as, if not better, in comfort than the White's MP boot. Now, I want to give an honourable mention to the Alden Indies. Recently, much maligned for its materials, I understand that there is a reason for every piece of material that Alden uses in it in technical terms. It may not suit lovers of leather because it's not all leather on the inside, but I understand that Alden actually have a reason for using the materials that they use. The reason that this is an honourable mention, this is on an expensive side boot, by the way, the reason this is an honourable mention is, this is one of the first expensive boots I bought. And when I put them on, it was a revelation. I had lots of the lower end mid-range boots, everything from Grant Stone to Parkhurst, many different styles, Helm boots, Thursdays, all sorts of boots, Chipperwears and so on, Redwing. But when I put these on, it was a revelation. This is what a boot should feel like, I thought, on the very last. The Thomas Heal has this little funny cut-out which provides extra support to the arch, apart from the shank. And one of the secrets, I think, is the way this cantilevers outwards so that it pushes in into your arch system so that the leather itself cradles under your arch. It's a design wonder. So in summary, those were the most comfortable boots I have in my collection, at least for my feet. You'd have heard me talking about sizing and lasts all the way through, and particularly that toe shape, which I like, the round toe, you can also get reasonably comfortable boots that are more almond shaped, like I think you remember the R&W gardener, might have a round toe, but it was quite almond shaped up until the actual roundness of the toe. So you'd have heard me talk about lasts and sizing and the quality of the materials, and I think that's what makes the boot comfortable. The design of the boot, in terms of how that last shapes under your arch, getting the right size so you're not slopping around or it's too tight, but it needs to be snug, ensuring that the last suits your feet. I mean, if you have a feet that start off with a narrow heel and go out wide, no point getting a Crockett & Jones style sharply sleek kind of last to put on your feet. What I look for is to make sure that you get the right sizing. Make sure that you have a look at the last and compare it with other boots that you have in a similar shape last to see that suits your feet. Take a look at the materials that's particularly under your feet. There is, of course, a kind of balance between instant comfort, like in the Thursday boots, where with the poron and the foam, they're instantly comfortable, like the wipes and pee, where you have to fight a bit to get your feet molded into the boot and then it's forever comfortable. But the materials will help in either of those two scenarios, whichever is the one you want. I would recommend that you get your sizing right, you check your last is correct, and then you make sure that you understand what's under your feet in the boots that you want to buy if you're looking for excellent comfort. So there you go. I hope you like that soiree into what makes comfortable boots and what I find comfortable in my boots. If you liked it, don't forget to click on like, and if you're not subscribed, why don't you? It's over there. If you subscribe, I have lots more boot videos coming that you might find interesting and will at least be entertaining. So until then, you take care, and I'll see you soon.