 Chelsea boots are hard to design and make the last has to be just right because the boot has to be snug around the heel waist and the ankle but open enough to get your foot in Unlike a taller cowboy boot whose tall shaft can keep your foot in unless everything is just snug You won't just get heel slip the boots gonna fly off as soon as you try to run Let's see how this has shaped up Good day. How you going? My name is tech and welcome to my channel boot loss a fee I Acknowledged the traditional custodians of the lands and waters that I live on the Wajik people of the Nongar nation Today, I'm taking another look at this pair of Fernando boots from new ish bootmaker Christian Daniel I've had them for seven or eight months now and while it's true I haven't worn them every day. They have seen their fair share of use in my crazy rotation I have to say though that most of the wear has been on carpet indoors Whether at work or you know going out to friends and restaurants and the like What's this review with that in mind this style is called a Chelsea boot invented by Queen Victoria's bootmaker Joseph Sparks Hall and patented by him in 1851 Largely because of Queen Victoria it became a fashionable riding boot in London amongst the rich Chelsea set who lived in the Royal Borough But that isn't where they got their name though for decades They were known only as elastic-sided boots or gusset boots And it wasn't until the swinging 60s started in Chelsea And they were worn by pop groups such as the Beatles that they became a fashionable Wear anywhere item and got to be known as Chelsea boots Chelsies are recognized for being lace-less pull-on boots with elastic goring panels that allow the throat to be pulled open to slip them on The Fernando is is a lower Chelsea boot It's only five inches in the shaft from the top of the heel where for example the RM Williams Are over five inches nearly six and others even more That leads to a dressier line, but also an issue with the pull loop which I'll talk about later Now this is a chunky casual Chelsea not a dressy one despite the smooth full-grain black uppers It has a contrast color storm welt and the outsole is a thick dr. Soul half soul Before I go on with the construction. Let me talk a little about the brand Christian Daniel It's a new brand based in San Diego, California started in I think 2021 or 2022 When the founder Christian Ramos started looking at making boots He launched his Kickstarter campaign in August 2022 with the Fernando boot Available in this black leather or a reddish tan color called maple The Kickstarter campaign was successful and Christian started making the boots in a partner workshop in Leon, Mexico And then started shipping them in early 2023 After some production setbacks Not that Christian was unused to setbacks. He has had a troubled youth, but he pulled himself out of it His focus has been the influence his father Daniel was in his life, especially his father's love of boots There is a lot of boot making DNA in his family because his aunt made boots in Guadalajara in Mexico After the Kickstarter campaign Christian started the process of making the boots in Leon Production was delayed because of the delays in actually receiving his dr. Soul outsole being shipped up from Taiwan These were the days just after the pandemic don't forget and boot brands like Parkhurst were finding it very difficult to obtain raw materials And even brands like Mark Albert went out of business Nevertheless the brand persevered and eventually they were made and shipped as I record this Christian Daniel's second batch of boots is being made Which I have ordered of course and they'll be expected before Christmas. I think Okay, so now let's look at their construction as usual. I'll start from the bottom and work my way up At the bottom as I said there is a rubber dr. Soul Super grip half-soul and at the heel a thick dr. Soul matching top lift The boot bottoms are connected to the uppers using the Goodyear welt construction method Check out this video up there for a deep dive into what Goodyear welt construction involves Basically a thin strip of leather called the welt is sewn on the inside to the insole and the uppers on the outside The welt is sewn through to the midsole and then the outsole in this way There are two stitches through the sole construction and since neither go all the way from outside to inside This is considered pretty water resistant It is also recraftable and the outsole can be replaced when they wear out because you can just Unpick one do the separate outside stitch Just going back to the outsole for a moment It's six millimeters thick then is glued on the leather midsole Which is itself just under five millimeters thick before it's actually stitched And then underneath the edge of the outsole where it might lift is also tacked with brass nails The heel top lift is over 10 millimeters thick and it's glued on to a leather heel stack Which I think is also nailed down from the inside and the rubber top lift is nailed down as well The welt it's about three and a half millimeters thick and it's a storm welt a Storm welt is where the leather welt is actually carved so that in the middle of it on the top face There's a raised lip as the welt is stitched to the uppers and the sole The lip is pushed up against the uppers to create an additional water barrier There are some issues with the construction of the welt in my boots Firstly the lip of the storm welt is not fully pushed up against the uppers There is a discernible gap between the lip and the uppers There should be enough of the welt under the uppers I think and and in time the leather of the welt may actually swell But that's certainly a potential weak point for water resistance Another issue something that I don't really understand on both my boots on the inside or medial side of both There seems to be two welt ends If you think about it a welt being a strip of leather going around the edge of the boot has a beginning and an end So there should be a place where they meet The best boot makers will skyfall they thin the ends and then join them So that in the best boots you can hardly see where the joint is on this pair. They seem to be Two parts on each boot where the welt ends and starts It's almost as if the welt was cut deliberately short and then the gap extended It is odd Moving on up though inside the boot is a leather insole And on top of that at the heel part is a leather half liner to provide comfort on the heel as well as protect it from nail heads the heel I think is the counter is salastic And I think the toe puff is also salastic Between the insole and the midsole in the cavity caused by the welt going around the edge of the boot is caught filling Now this is expected in heritage built boots and welcomed when you put them on because of the comfort Inserted in that court layer is a steel shack placed between the heel and the ball of the foot Which provides arch support and stops this gap from collapsing and it also gives you torsional stability over rough ground Moving on up the uppers are built around a last or a boot shaped mole that I think Christian designed himself I think there's only one last and his new lace-up boots. I think will also be built on the same last Now this last is called the 11 slash 18 last in honor of his son's birthday the 18th of November So in the way Christian incorporated his father's name Daniel in the brand he incorporated his son's birthday in the last And indeed Fernando is the name of Christians good friend who passed away age 29 You know, I really like these personal touches in a boot brand's journey. It makes it feel personal The last is a good last for a Chelsea It is snug in the heel and the instep but broader in the forefoot The toe box is rounded but ends in an almond-shaped toe This allows the boot to stay snug on your foot but gives comfort to wriggle your toes As I said at the beginning this type of fit is critical in the design of a Chelsea And some people with very high volume insteps may not suit wearing this boot The uppers leather now is from La Farbe tannery in Mexico a very famous Mexican tannery This is their Albratos leather, which is chrome tanned and then mixed re-tanned it's a medium gloss full-grain leather and while you can't see it in this dyed through black Does have a pull-up effect in the lighter colors Because of the drum wax tumbling and the wax finishing It feels soft and supple The boot is fully leather line on the inside with a soft thin leather At the top of the shaft at the back is a single pull tab in the same leather Because it's a slightly shorter than normal Chelsea and because it's a thick leather pull tab It can be annoying because the back of your pants get caught on it all the time You know, honestly, I much prefer cloth pull tabs, and I don't know maybe these will eventually break down and soften As for how it has worn in the last few months, I can report improvements I didn't feel as if I had to break them in when I first put them on In fact, if you look at my unboxing and first impressions video up here You'll see that I said that I didn't think it needed much of a break in Well, actually I was wrong as Comfortable as they felt straight out of the box I didn't realize until I warned them a couple of months that they actually did need some sort of breaking in As I wore them the uppers stretch enough that my feet didn't feel squeezed especially at the outside edge of my feet Which they initially did and the flexibility of the sole improved and made walking in them more comfortable It wasn't exactly a hard break in no But whatever it was it did improve comfort and fit after breaking in One of the things that breaking in affected was the odd gate. I felt when I first put them on While the line of the heel to the ball was in a perfectly straight line Nevertheless, I felt as if my walk was in three parts My heel landed then I would bumpily transfer to the front of the heel and then another bumpy transfer to kind of slap the ball of the foot down I didn't roll Well, the gate is good now It rolls from heel to the ball to the toe in a smooth rolling action after break in I'm pretty sure that it wasn't caused by misalignment of heel to ball But rather by a stiff midsole which has softened as that flexed and in breaking the roll really started to happen Today I've worn it regularly, but not frequently. I don't know. Maybe one or two hundred kilometers say Be that as it may almost all of it would have been indoors They are now pretty comfortable and while they can still be a little too snug at the ball of my right foot I can wear them throughout the day without having to rip them off in the evening as you would if it was an uncomfortable boot As for sizing Christian Daniel recommends going true to your Brannock size and I concur My US Brannock size is eight and a half in D width I usually buy US heritage boots in 8d, but these are eight and a half D And there is no way I could have sized down The Christian Daniels site used to give a really good sizing guide because Christian listed all the different brands of Shoes boots and sneakers that he wore and what size he took in these so that you could compare And make a comparison between the other shoes and this one I can't seem to find that information now But he has partnered with a boot sizing guide website called grail.com. That's g r a y l e dot com I've found caring for this Albratos leather really easy Brush to keep them clean wipe them down if they've been in the rain and develop spots of dirt Let them dry and then condition them with Venetian shoe cream Maybe every three or four months depending on use Because they're a mid gloss. I don't bother with shoe cream to polish them. I find the waxy Venetian is good enough But I have once given them a light coat of wax polish theoretically for protection But really to know discernible effect one way or the other so I really wouldn't bother Because the leather midsole is exposed in the gap between the heel and the forefoot I'd make sure to condition it and then wax it along with waxing the welt and the edges to try and retain water proofness if that's a word water proofness Christian Daniel is now producing lace-up boots. So I don't know if he intends to bring back the Fernando I got these from his Kickstarter campaign for US $360 his current lace-up boots on a group MTO which has closed now were 475 us with wicked and craig leather If the Fernando came back in this exact makeup, I suspect they'll be more like 360 Compare them with grout stones Chelsea boot at us 380 Compare them with Parkhurst Elmwood Chelsea at us 398 They're in the price range of comparable boots of comparable brands, but the Grant stone quality is well and above I'd say that apart from the welt the quality is very similar to Parkhurst. So value-wise. It's just about right It's taken me a while to go from unboxing to first review I usually do a review a couple of months after I get the boots and then a long-term review after a few more months Or even up to a year, but I forgot So consider this an early long-term review If you like this review, let me remind you to help me out and click on the like button down there And of course if you haven't already, please click on subscribe Until the next time look after yourselves and I'll see you soon