These Wolverine Courtlands offer style and ruggedness in a boot package which is often reserved for logging and dropping heavy things on your feet. For the sharp dressed man or woman with a penchant for the rugged yet subtle style and more protective functionality of a boot, this is a worthy option. Here are a few initial thoughts on this boot after exercising it for a month in a wide variety of situations. Of course, a full exhaustive review will be forthcoming.
classy boots!
This is a classy boot which works with a large variety of styles. You can dress it up with some polish, wear it casual, or dress it down for this new style of leaving your boots untied in a careless hipster manner (which I do not understand, “I am so cool I don’t even tie my shoes!”). You can wear it with a nice pair of jeans or chinos and look sharp. The Chromexcel leather from Horween presents and wears well shined or unshined thanks to it’s wax impregnated texture. Chromexecel is expensive leather, consequently it also contributes to the higher price of the Courtlands. It is an ideal wearable leather for this application.
good comfort
Some of the cheaper leather boots lack a decent cushion or arch support for your well used feet. Not so here. You get a thick goodyear welt (which provides good waterproofing) and a cork sole. After a month of heavy use, walks exceeding four miles, and plenty of on and off road trekking I still find the Courtlands impressively comfortable.
leather soles vs rubber pads
This is my second pair of 1000 Mile Boots from Wolverine. The first pair had leather soles that I later regretted buying because of their limited traction and extra wear when exposed to water. Here in the pacific northwest hiking up a mountain in the rain is not uncommon and the restraint on use was annoying. Not to mention they needed a new sole much quicker than I expected because of the water I did expose them to. These rubber soled Courtlands are a good spring and summer boot here in the NW, not so much a winter boot. Traction on ice is still dicey with the Vibram rubber pad.
These boots have a pad of textured rubber instead of an all leather sole and this provides some benefits over the leather sole. They are quieter, they have better (but still not as good as a full sole) traction, they have better longevity. However, the rubber pad is still held on with a heavy thread and glue that can wear out with use in water so it is not entirely an all weather boot, it is a most-weather boot. Overall, very nice boots and quite suitable for frequent use if you mind the limitations on water exposure and traction.
More to come!