Horween Waxed Flesh, Roughout, and Reverse Chamois
The three Horween leathers with such resilience that they will accompany you to even the world’s end: waxed flesh, roughout, and reverse chamois. These leathers won’t need any conditioning for a long time. The wax makes the roughout very resilient to rain, scuffs, and other elements.
I did, however, decide to apply 100% Pure Neatsfoot Oil to my pair of Aldens in Reverse Hunting Green Chamois. Neatsfoot oil is a yellowish oil made from the shin bones of cows and is typically used to soften leather such as breaking in a baseball glove. The color of the boots out of the box seemed a bit too light for my liking. Neatsfoot is known to darken leather and it definitely darkened it to a deep forest green. The reverse chamois leather feels “damp” and cold to the touch, and surprisingly, it’s really, really supple compared to a roughout leather.
Reverse Hunting Green Chamois before applying Neatsfoot OilPost Neatsfoot Oil and a couple of days of drying
The brown and black waxed flesh arrived with their nap completely waxed (brand new black waxed flesh pic below). Waxed flesh when new feels both smooth and rough. You can see in pictures now that some parts of the boots still remain smooth.
My Viberg x Palmer Trading Co “Bad Seed” Waxed Flesh Service Boots brand new before wearing in 2015.
What happens over time is that the wax comes off with wear, kicking objects, or even computer chairs rubbing against the heels. The brown pair (which started off a very dark brown) has areas lightened up to a medium brown with the nap/texture revealing itself. The black waxed flesh has revealed shades of grey underneath.
Roughout and waxed flesh are turned “inside out”
Water Resistance
To test out the water resistance of every pair, I poured water on all of them. I wasn’t too thorough in scientifically testing them because in hindsight I would have weighed each boot before and after pouring an equal amount of water on them. That way, I’d be able to figure out which boot absorbed the most and which repelled the most.
From observation, the reverse chamois had the greatest water resistance. But it was likely because that boot was recently oiled. If all the boots were brand new, I’d say the order would go from Waxed Flesh > Reverse Chamois > Roughout in water resistance. Of course, all these leathers innately have high water resilience so the difference is negligible.
I wouldn’t hesitate to bring any of these pairs in rain, snow, or slush. Just be sure to dry them thoroughly afterwards!
Close Up Shots
Close up view of a Viberg Brown Waxed Flesh pair of boots
The left three boots have a structured toe box. The differences in toe boxes are minimal with the Vibergs (middle 4) as the 2030 Last is very sleek.
In this post, I will try to explain the difference in construction of a structured toe box versus an unstructured toe box accompanied with some pics! The brands included in the following pics are: Meermin, Viberg, Alden, Wolverine, Red Wings, Crockett & Jones, and Common Projects.
Viberg Natural CXL (structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (unstructured). Slight collapsing of the left.Collapsed unstructured toe boxes
Shoes typically fall within one of three categories: an unstructured toe box, a partially structured toe box, and a fully structured toe box. It’s probably best to compare within a brand because of the varying lasts (mold/shape) between different brands.
Wolverine 1K Mile Addison (Structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (Unstructured)
3 footwear with unstructured toe boxes. Alden footwear is typically structured with the exception of their unlined pairs like this Alden 1493 Snuff Suede Chukka.
Structured toe boxes typically have a Celastic material, a plastic fabric that is suitable for toe puff material because it is easily shaped during construction, but inflexible once set. Imagine a ping pong ball that you squeeze, but then returns to its original shape. Other common materials used for toe puffs include leather and canvas. The material is placed between the inner lining and the outside material to help maintain its structure. The fine line between between partially structured and fully structured is the rigidity of the toe box material.
Alden Indy 403 (structured) vs Viberg Color 8 CXL (unstructured)
The recent trend towards slimmer fits in denim and boots has been quite prominent in the recent years. I myself prefer unstructured toe boxes because I tend to wear my denim with a slimmer opening. However, all toe boxes will compress over time with wear, and the major difference is just how the boots look from the side initially. In addition, shoes with “captoes” have an additional layer of material which also may minimize the shoe creasing.
3 structured toe boxes – Red Wing Iron Ranger, Viberg Black Waxed Flesh Service Boot, and Viberg Natural CXL Service Boot. Even structured toes will collapse over time.
With some companies such as Viberg, Dayton, and Truman Boot Company offering different toe types, it’s hard to make a choice. If you have a sedentary job such as working indoors in an office, your boots may keep their structure fine over many many years. However, if you work outdoors in harsher environments, you may want a structured toe or even a steel toe. Unstructured toes tend to appear more casual than structured ones.
C&J Islay, Wolverine 1K Mile, Alden x Jcrew Captoe, Alden 403 Indy, Viberg Color 8 CXL, Viberg Brown Waxed Flesh
Some think that a structured toe leads to a “bulbous, clunky toe”. Red Wings one of the boot companies most notorious for this aesthetic has decided to produce a “Flatbox” model in FW2017 very recently (within the last few months) for the Japanese and Singapore markets.
Bulbous structured toe on Red Wing Iron Rangers compared with an unstructured Viberg Boondocker Boot.
Some companies even have a relatively a slim structured toebox like the Alden Indy Boot, but regardless, everything will flatten with time. Even my Viberg Natural Chromexcel Service Boots from Mr. Porter with a partially structured toe has flattened out a bit (seen in the first picture).
Common Projects Derby Shine vs Common Projects Achilles
Top view of the Alden 1493 Snuff Suede Chukka vs Viberg Black Waxed Flesh Service Boot laying on their sides.Top view of the Red Wing 8085 Iron Ranger vs Viberg Olive Chromepak Service Boots laying on their sides.
Top view of the Viberg Boondocker vs Viberg Natural CXL Service Boot laying on their sides.
My advice is that you should buy footwear because you love exactly how they are, not because of what you expect to happen to them in 1, 5, or 10 years. Just wear them; the story is told later on when as the boot ages. I adore the look of all my boots as its part of the process of wearing stuff in!
Here are my shoe sizes including some not pictured that I no longer own. I recommend to measure first using a Brannock Device. The order of shoe sizes listed below is very similar to the order I purchased them in with the oldest starting from the top.
My brannock size is 9.5E
Nike Flyknit Chukka/Racer/Trainer: 10
Red Wing Beckman/Iron Ranger: 9D
Alden 403 Indy Boot (Trubalance Last): 9D
Wolverine 1K Mile Addison Boot: 9D
Common Projects Achilles and Derby Shine: Size 42
Alden x Jcrew Shell Cordovan Captoe Boot (Barrie Last): 9D
Oak Street Bootmakers Trench Boot: 9.5D
Viberg 2030 Last: 9
Viberg 2040 Last: 9
Crockett & Jones Islay (365 Last): 8.5UK
Meermin Hiro Last: 8.5UK
Crockett & Jones Islay, Wolverine 1K Mile Addison, Alden x Jcrew Captoe, Viberg Color 8 CXL, Viberg Brown Waxed Flesh, Meermin Mallorca Rapello Suede
