Thursday Boot Company

[eelhc]

Soooo....

I took a chance and ordered a couple of pairs of the Thursday Boot Co. dress shoes during their name your price promotion. For $80/pair... I ordered a pair of cap toes (Executive) and a pair of wing tips (Aviator).

My background shoe/boot collection... Not a large collection but as the years have gone by... I've gone from quantity to quality.

• Business dress shoes are all Allen Edmonds with the exception of a couple of pairs of Bostonians from 20+ years ago (I think their construction was better back then) that I put in the rotation once in a while. For casual shoes, I have a pair of Allen Edmonds loafers, as well as severel pairs of walking shoes from ecco, born, etc.
• For boots... I have a pair of Iron Rangers and I have asked for a pair of custom fit Nicks Roberts for my birthday this year... we'll see. Other boots are I own are Macy's type brands not really worth mentioning. Just something to wear to work when I don't want to get my dress shoes wet. I also have Danners for actually working in work boots.

So.... I just received both pairs of Thursday Boot Co. shoes and my initial reaction is positive.

The box is just a standard box (not fancy) but each pair comes with a shoe bag and looks like a fresh coat of polish was applied at the factory.

Sizing is spot on. While their shoes do not come in different widths, I am an exact 9.5D on the Brannock Device for both feet and wear 9.5D athletic shoes. Both pairs, ordered 0.5 size down per their recommendation), fit perfect for new dress shoes - snug but not tight.

I'm not sure which supplier they sourced the leather from it's good quality on an initial look. The stitching looks consistent and I've found 1 minor defect (untrimmed tail on a stitch).

Time will tell how these will wear... but if they do wear well and the final pricing is under $200, I would be impressed.

That all said... AEs on sale can be had for ~$200 and their resole/re-craft services are among the best in the industry so I'm not about to switch.... Still, it is impressive what these guys have managed to do in a few short years.

I did order a pair of their captains boots for my son. We'll see how those compare to my Iron Rangers.

 

[FarmerTan]

Thanks for the information.

 

[shave/brush]

I have 2 pairs of Thursday's Boots. I've had them awhile. I still like them. Mine cost $200. for one pair and $240. for the other. Nice boots.

 

[ajkel64]

Thanks for the review.

 

[eelhc]

Received The Captain boots from Thursday yesterday.

With a quick comparison side/side to my Iron Rangers, I would say...

• Iron Rangers are constructed of a much heavier and substantial leather.
• Iron Rangers workmanship is definitely better. The stitching is more consistent and has no defects I can see whereas the Thursday boots have a couple of areas where the stitching is inconsistent.
• Thursday Boots have a couple of additional features... The heel is stacked leather and the inside is lined with glove leather. These are for my son so I didn't try them on but I could tell that it would be ore comfortable. Even with the lining (2 layers of leather), the boot is not as substantial as the Iron Rangers.

Iron Rangers started off as a work boot but these days they're more of a fashion boot. I suppose one could still wear them for work but really... a modern work boot is more suited for actual work. However... being a heritage boot, it's kept the design and construction details that made it a work boot and therefore is heavier weight and more substantial.

The Thursdays are essentially a fashion boot. The leather weight and glove leather lining indicates this is what the designers had in mind. The shape of the toe box is more pointy and has a dress shoe look to it. So while not as substantial as the Iron Rangers, I don't think that's what they were going for.

I suspect that the Iron Rangers will wear better and last longer. Also, Red Wing has a resole/repair service. While Thursday boots look like they can be resoled (full Goodyear welt), their factory is in Mexico and they do not offer any sort of repair/resole service. But... there are still cobblers around in my parts (don't know for how much longer though).

So my net is while they look similar, they are very different boots. But if you're comparing them... are the Red Wings worth $120 more (possibly less on rare occasions when you can find a discount on them) than the Thursdays? For me, absolutely.. the workmanship, combined with the aftercare service from a trusted, made in the US manufacturer is worth the extra. The Thursdays... purchased for my son who may grow ~0.5 to full size still, worn primarily as a casual dress boot, makes sense.

That all said... I'm getting a pair of Nick's Boots Roberts.

 

[FarmerTan]

Thanks for the update! Your son should be glad you are his dad.

 

[D1dad]

Nice review. I’ve sniffed around their stuff and like the prices. I too have iron rangers, the quality is fantastic but just way to heavy.

 

[eelhc]

Nice review. I’ve sniffed around their stuff and like the prices. I too have iron rangers, the quality is fantastic but just way to heavy.

I think heavy is somewhat relative... The Thursdays in the size 8 are 3.5oz lighter than Iron Rangers in 8.5. I weighed 1lb 10.5 oz vs 1lb 7 oz. If a boot/shoe is supports well and comfortable, the weight is not as noticeable.

The reason why I am going for the custom made Nick's is that although I love the look of my Iron Rangers... they are not the boots that I want to walk around all day in. I've done it.. but they're definitely not as good as modern walking boots/shoes that borrow from athletic shoe construction. With a custom boot, you get the best of both worlds.

 

[eelhc]

Thanks for the update! Your son should be glad you are his dad.

At first glance... $200 boots for a teenager seems a bit out of whack... But he can polish them to dress them up with a suit or dress them down with jeans. Also they are much lower key than fancy $200 sneakers. He looks neat and put together without being flashy. I'm grooming him for future B&B membership. He's already got a DE setup and raids my soap collection.

 

[FarmerTan]

At first glance... $200 boots for a teenager seems a bit out of whack... But he can polish them to dress them up with a suit or dress them down with jeans. Also they are much lower key than fancy $200 sneakers. He looks neat and put together without being flashy. I'm grooming him for future B&B membership. He's already got a DE setup and raids my soap collection.

Awesome. My son is 18 now. Gillette sent him some 18 bladed monstrosity for the occasion a few weeks back. I set him up with a Butterfly type Razorock and he loves it. He's an only child, so tho I'm not made of money, I wouldn't hesitate to drop 200 bucks on boots for him, as he appreciates it. I was a know it all brat at his age, with terrible habits and even worse friends. I'm blessed beyond measure to be his dad.

 

[FarmerTan]

Awesome. My son is 18 now. Gillette sent him some 18 bladed monstrosity for the occasion a few weeks back. I set him up with a Butterfly type Razorock and he loves it. He's an only child, so tho I'm not made of money, I wouldn't hesitate to drop 200 bucks on boots for him, as he appreciates it. I was a know it all brat at his age, with terrible habits and even worse friends. I'm blessed beyond measure to be his dad.

That 18 bladed monstrosity sits unopened, by the way, lol.

 

[BigJ]

Thanks for the review! Very balanced.

 

[Doc4]

Iron Rangers started off as a work boot but these days they're more of a fashion boot. I suppose one could still wear them for work but really... a modern work boot is more suited for actual work. However... being a heritage boot, it's kept the design and construction details that made it a work boot and therefore is heavier weight and more substantial.

The Thursdays are essentially a fashion boot. The leather weight and glove leather lining indicates this is what the designers had in mind. The shape of the toe box is more pointy and has a dress shoe look to it. So while not as substantial as the Iron Rangers, I don't think that's what they were going for.

I agree with you that the Iron Ranger is unlikely to be used in an actual "heavy labour" situation nowadays, guys opting for modern work boots with steel toe and safety ratings ... and the IR saved for wandering down to Starbucks for a latte and then wandering about the shopping mall looking for the latest iPhone or whatever.

My hesitancy is around the broad use of the term "fashion boot", though. I think we need to draw a strong distinction between a "dress boot" and a "casual boot", with the IR falling definitely in the second category. Not saying that Thursday got an unfair shake from your review, just that we shouldn't look for a dress boot to have the same features/nature as a casual boot ... kind of like comparing a Trans-Am and a Jeep, to see which will be more rugged off-road: the quality of the Trans-Am shows up in other areas.

Still, thank you for taking the time to do an in-depth and thoughtful review of the boot in question!

That 18 bladed monstrosity ...

Thanks for the review! Very balanced.

I know you didn't mean it that way, but that was my first instinct and I got a chuckle out of it.

 

[eelhc]

Trenton and Heath did a teardown this week: