Reddit reviews Original Chippewa Collection Men's 6-Inch Service Utility Boot

These in cordovan for daily/frequent fall use

It's a method of fixing the sole of a shoe to the upper. It allows you to resole the shoe repeatedly, with relative ease, using a machine. Most shoe repair shops will have the necessary materials and tools to do this, and will often order the specific soles needed for your shoe as well.

Most shoes these days are built without a welt- the sole simply being glued to the upper. In the long run this basically means your ability to resole them is pretty shit. I suppose you could glue a new sole on to the upper but it wouldn't be very effective or durable.

You can extend the life of a well-made shoe by several years through a resoling. Some popular shoes with a "goodyear welt" include Chippewa Boots, Redwings, Allen Edmonds, and Clark's Desert Boot.

Goodyear welted shoes are not BIFL, but this is because no footwear is BIFL. Despite the bad information people on this sub parrot, you can only resole a shoe a finite amount of times before it becomes irreparable. That said, they are still more durable and will last longer than regular shoes, but you are paying a much higher pricepoint than usual. ($200 at minimum, maybe lower if you shoot for a less popular style or a factory second, or buy Clark's which are not meant to be a sturdy shoe.)

Another potential benefit is the ability to resole a shoe with a DIFFERENT sole than before. You can see some examples of that here, here, and here.

I bought the "Cognac" version of these from little Burgundy a few weeks back for the same price. The actual colour was the Tan Renegade that you can see on the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.ca/Original-Chippewa-Collection-Service-Utility/dp/B00FLO6KUE

I believe this Bordeaux colour is the same as the Cordovan colour. Little Burgundy seems to like changing the name and colour names of shoes on their website. Free shipping.

Get some Iron Rangers factory seconds. They go on sale from time to time down to $160. Great, great boot. I got some of the Red Wing insoles for around $25 that made a world of a difference as far as heat is concerned. Size .5-1 size down. If you have wide feet, don't size down to .5 size down, depending on your foot size.

You also have the Chippewa Service Boot. I got my brother some for Christmas and they are actually really nice. The "Cordovan" option looks lovely and is a lot more versatile than one might think as it's a more burgundy color. But it really works in occasions where you would wear this sort of thing.

The Thorogoods Moc Toe is a great boot as well for a different look. These can't be dressed up as easily IMO, but good boots the same. Red Wing has a similar boot if you'd prefer the look of it. It's also a good boot.

For all of these, get some nice wool socks. Darn Tough makes some good ones but I don't like the looks. Anonymousism also makes some good stuff provided you like the colors, but IMO are a bit overpriced. My favorite wool socks came from J. Crew last season. They are thick, warm, look good, and were reasonable priced.

If you have any other questions, let me know!

what proof do you want?

No "source" is going to come out and say they're made by Chippewa. Obviously there is some kind of clause preventing JB from divulging them as a client, Aldo won't reveal their suppliers, or maybe there was an additional middleman in between.

Just think about it, what US based manufacturer would use horween leather, and make a product that is virtually identical to Chippewa's in every way? Just by deductive reasoning- it should be the most likely and reasonable conclusion that these are made by Chippewa/Justin Brands- no "source" should have to confirm that for you.

The best proof I have- aside from all the other comparative evidence- is the unique and distinct way Chippewa labels their sizing on the inside of the tongue- using some glue or something and then printing on top of it.

See this picture- my Aldo's on the right, this review's Chippewa's on the left

AFAIK no other manufacturer does this, the same labeling style is clearly found on the inside of the Aldo boots.

Also, the interior construction, and overall construction is basically identical based on that picture and many others.

To be clear, these are NOT the regular old chippewa boot you may be thinking of .

They are this model or the "renegade" on their website

Either there is some unknown US manufacturer that went to extreme lengths to copy those Chippewa's, or, as seen in many cases already- Chippewa/JB made a product for another company....

If that doesn't convince you, I don't think anything will.

When I bought these they didn't cost as much either, makes me think that was a limited run

here is the same boot but without the wedge

if these are like chippewa service boots, llbean katahdin, jc crew chips, they're vibram rubber/cork v-bar lugs:
http://www.amazon.com/Original-Chippewa-Collection-Service-Utility/dp/B00FLO6KUE

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/78205?feat=Katahdin%20Boots-SR0&page=katahdin-iron-works-engineer-boots-plain-toe

https://www.jcrew.com/mens_category/shoes/ruggedboots/PRDOVR~05712/05712.jsp?srcCode=AFFI00001&siteId=AysPbYF8vuM-pDOPXio%2FXiPS4AGg9r9hjQ

You could wait for a deal on some Chippewa Service Boots. They may have a good price in your size on Amazon, but you can often find them for a little over $100 USD.

Chippewa service in Cordovan

Low end Bullboxer

Could be Chippewas, [Iron Rangers] (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Wing-Heritage-Iron-Ranger/dp/B001IOETP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1451716163&sr=1-1&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=iron+ranger), [1000 Miles] (http://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-1000-Morley-Ankle-Boots/dp/B00DQ9HVOU/ref=pd_sim_309_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41KL2eC5FJL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=05WDDYF0TZEDRW5YRQ08), [Dayton Service boot] (http://www.daytonboots.com/products/service-boot?variant=2743521601) or something custom.

The price isn't that great for those. I'm seen them down around $100 somewhat frequently. Also think brown is a much more versatile color.

Chippewa makes a much more expensive Service Boot that goes a lot better with chinos. Right now Aldo is selling a rebranded version of the boot for $142 but they're selling out fast. It's the same boot except the insole says Aldo, there's no Chippewa stamp on the leather, and it has speedhooks like the J Crew version. Free shipping and returns. 15% off if you sign up for their newsletter before purchasing. If they don't have your size you can keep checking every day b/c the sizes are updated as returns come in. The shoes run big so there are a lot of returns.