Whites boots

[Siskiyou Blues]

are new whites as good as the ones from years ago? I have heard mixed reviews about the quality of leather. It is hard to know if I should take these things with a grain of salt.
I am trying to decide to drop my hard earned coin on either a pair of wesco's, white's or nicks. At the moment I am leaning towards the nicks.

 

[hammerlogging]

IN that case I'd say you're looking more at fit than brand choice, all quality.

Of course, when i went to cut for these new guys, the faller (now gone) tried to start some pro Husky anti stihl battle with me, when I didn't play along I think it broke his heart, which is to say, brand loyalty doesn't hold too much ground with me.

 

[HILLBILLYREDNEC]

Boots

Nicks,Whites,Wesco,These boot brands can be custom made to you the buyer feet and any sole you want I have one pair of Whites that are 50 years old and have been rebuilt who knows how many times still good to wear,Yard sale find.

 

[Cedarkerf]

are new whites as good as the ones from years ago? I have heard mixed reviews about the quality of leather. It is hard to know if I should take these things with a grain of salt.
I am trying to decide to drop my hard earned coin on either a pair of wesco's, white's or nicks. At the moment I am leaning towards the nicks.

Nicks rebuilds to orignal quality, whites resoles arnt done to original standard from what ive been told.

 

[Jacob J.]

Nicks rebuilds to orignal quality, whites resoles arnt done to original standard from what ive been told.

My last new pair of Whites I bought in 1994 and I've just been having three or so pairs re-soled or rebuilt ever since. I can tell you in the last ten years or so, the soles are not lasting nearly as long as when I either first bought the boots or had them rebuilt/re-soled in the mid-late 90's.

 

[RandyMac]

I bought my last set of Whites in '86, one set of heels and soles replaced so far, about to need replaced again. Not wearing them to fires makes them last longer.

 

[Jacob J.]

I bought my last set of Whites in '86, one set of heels and soles replaced so far, about to need replaced again. Not wearing them to fires makes them last longer.

That was back when Whites were really good boots, about the best made.

 

[Gologit]

That was back when Whites were really good boots, about the best made.

Man, you guys are ooooooold.

 

[slowp]

Hmmph. I got a season and a half out of my Whites back when they were good. Then it was time for a rebuild, then another season and a half and they were shot. That seemed to be true for others on the crew too. We were marking timber from May to When The Snow Got Too Deep. We were on very steep and rocky ground. They are good boots-- I think we just would have worn any boot out.

When I moved over to the wet side, the White's were replaced by Kuliens. The Whites were declared to be Eastside Sheepherder Boots.

 

[altec876]

ive had whites best out of the box comfort boots ive had but i like wescos best there a good stiff boot comfortable and last me twice as long as my whites, havent wore the smoke jumpers mine are linemans model....been wearn wesco for 12yrs now

 

[Rudedog]

I bought my first pair of Wesco's a couple of weeks ago. They were Jobmasters. They were also seconds that were set up just how I wanted them custom so I saved about $90.00. I have only worn them four days but I really like them.

 

[zogger]

easy fix

I've tried rocky, wolverine, ariat, georgia boot, justin, chippewa, and red wings. The red wings are the only ones that hold up decent and don't hurt my feet. I was just hoping to find something that will last a little better and be comfortable.

Get the brand you like the best, the red wings, just one full size larger and wear an extra pair of heavy cushioned socks all the time. One pair of your regular socks, then the heavy comfy socks over that. You get used to it fast, even in the summer.

I started doing that years ago working tradeshows on concrete floors all the time..man, what a difference that extra pair of socks make. A friend of mine suggested that to me and I was so desperate from having near crippled feet from that constant all day every day concrete walking all the time, I went and did it, bought a one size larger pair of boots with the extra socks.

Instant from day one relief, never looked back, been doing that with work boots since the late 80s now.

 

[Humptulips]

Ordered a new pair of Kuliens today. $873 ouch. Where's that crying icon.

 

[slowp]

Ordered a new pair of Kuliens today. $873 ouch. Where's that crying icon.

How long of a wait?

Mine need fixing. The soles cracked. I had them made for the replacement calks, against the wishes of the makers. But they still feel very light and fit well compared to the "other brands" of boots.

 

[Joe46]

Ordered a new pair of Kuliens today. $873 ouch. Where's that crying icon.

Ouch is right. Gold corks? here ya go

 

[Humptulips]

How long of a wait?

Mine need fixing. The soles cracked. I had them made for the replacement calks, against the wishes of the makers. But they still feel very light and fit well compared to the "other brands" of boots.

Didn't ask. I assumed 6 months.
I bet you take them back they might fix them for you for free.
I asked them to lighten them up as much as possible. Only went with 8 inch uppers to save weight.
Drive caulks for me. I don't like those replaceable caulks.
They did a minor fix on my shop shoes while I was there.

 

[2dogs]

are new whites as good as the ones from years ago? I have heard mixed reviews about the quality of leather. It is hard to know if I should take these things with a grain of salt.
I am trying to decide to drop my hard earned coin on either a pair of wesco's, white's or nicks. At the moment I am leaning towards the nicks.

The tannery that supplied the leather for White's and Wesco (Salz) was here in Santa Cruz for 100 years of so. They closed up shop a few years ago and sold the formulas to the Communist Chinese because there were do few shoe manufactureers here in the USA. The two sons of the owner lived on my street and we went to high school together. The youngest son was in sales and now is a leather broker.

I talked with him yesterday (he had been in Communist China the past 3 weeks) about White's. They still buy American leather and their boots and rebuilding have not changed. Still top notch. I forgot to ask about Wesco but I would guess they are the same way.

He also said that since Communist China is seeing a huge increase in wages, nearly on par with the USA, that they are modernizing their tanneries to allow more automation. He said the quality of the leather is becoming some of the best in the world. They Commies also make cheap leather when the customer wants it. China is just now starting to build a new $50,000,000 tannery. I wonder when the last tannery was built in the USA? Most of the hides come from here and Australia ( though far fewer than in the past), France and South Korea.

When Salz closed the doors their average wage for tannery workers was $18.00/hour and at that time Communist China was paying $0.28/hour (28 cents/hour) the week was 66 hours and room and board were taken out of their pay. There were no rules regarding pollution and some tannery sites were so bad that the entire property was razed and a layer of fill was used to cover the old site. Then the tannery moved a few miles away to another river valley.

 

[mdavlee]

I measured my feet finally this weekend. I guess it explains why I have such a hard time with normal on the shelf boots. I need a 10.5 EEEEE. My feet are wider than a EEE for a size 16. I guess I might need to have some boots made for me. I guess is it worth it for wesco over hoffmans? I like the lower heel of the hoffman smoke chaser in the 8".

 

[Rudedog]

I measured my feet finally this weekend. I guess it explains why I have such a hard time with normal on the shelf boots. I need a 10.5 EEEEE. My feet are wider than a EEE for a size 16. I guess I might need to have some boots made for me. I guess is it worth it for wesco over hoffmans? I like the lower heel of the hoffman smoke chaser in the 8".

You must be a Giant.

 

[mdavlee]

Not really. I'm 6' and 270. I guess my wide feet are made for walking on the steep side hills around home. Is the wescos worth the $500 for a pair of custom?