27December 2021
today I'm cutting open Thursday's mock toe the
diplomat and thanks to Built Bar for sponsoring this video so I want to do a mini winter boot
series through November at least like the first part of November and I'm definitely going to do
the L.L.Bean boot but I'm not sure what else to do so let me know which boots you want me to do
in that series I'll probably do five videos like the top five winter boots so let me know in the
comments which one you want me to do and we just released a new mouse pad it's a little bit bigger
than the ones we had before and it's made out of the same leather we make the harnesses out of
it's a 9 to 10 ounce horween leather or Wickett and Craig so check that out if you're in need of
a holiday gift or a new mouse pad now let's go over the information on these boots so the brand
is Thursday the model or the style is diplomat the color I got is burnt copper and harvest and
I wanted to show you guys both of them so we're going to cut open the harvest and I'm going to
wear the copper ones because they have kind of a unique leather it's a really oily leather
that has some kind of unique characteristics that I'll probably show you in future videos
as I as I wear them the price of these are $199 they weigh one pound nine and a half ounces and
I don't know where they're made so I'm gonna send them an email tonight and put it into the video
so you know where they're made so now let's go over the information and what we can gather what
we can gather before we actually cut these in half starting with the outsole so this is Vibram's
Christy outsole and it's a really popular outsole for work because it's so soft and squishy but it
does wear out pretty quick as I've talked about in all these moc toe videos it's 360 goodyear welted
so that means this weld stitch goes all the way around the heel most some of these other boots
they don't have the weld the stitch that goes all the way around some people like having the weld
stitch because of how it looks some people don't I don't think there's really an advantage either
way some people say it's easier to resell but I haven't really heard an argument either way that
makes me think one better than the other more than anything I think it's more preference and then to
the upper leather so this is a little bit thinner leather it's about 1.6 to 1.8 ounces it's a full
grain chrome tanned leather but they call it oil tanned that basically just means there's tons tons
of oils infused into this and then their harvest leather is oil tanned as well it's just more it's
more dry leather it's more like a traditional um boot leather like if you'd see like a more
dressier boot and this leather's tanned by the Lefarc tannery group they tan a lot of the
leathers for like Timberland, uh Tony Llama, Wolverine, and Area, and a bunch of other brands
I'll put a little picture here of everyone all the people they make leather for and this leather is
kind of unique leather because it's kind of matte but I shined up one side so you kind of see that
as you wear this boot your pants and whatever you're wearing is going to start shining the high
spots of the leather and then the low spots are going to still remain kind of uh matte and so
you get kind of a unique looking boot even after the first few times you wear it and even like
scratches if you scratch it with your fingernail you can just rub it out because there's so much
oil in this leather next to the lining leather so most of the other boots we've seen don't have
a full liner this is a full leather liner it's 1.2 millimeters thick we'll kind of go through
more of the information on the pros and cons of that later in the video and then to the insert so
this is a permanent insert that's a 1.5 millimeter foam latex topped with leather and it just gives
you a little bit of comfort while you're breaking in whatever's on the inside versus if you've
ever broken in a pair of red wings you know how hard that leather is at first until you
get broken in next to the eyelets so these are a reinforced eyelet most of the eyelets we've seen
are the type that kind of splay out as they're set these are a two-part rivet that Thursday says is
a custom design that basically adds a little extra strength but they are a little bit sharp on the
inside so especially on the the speed hooks are pretty sharp and they kind of beat up the leather
a little bit maybe it's just this pair of boots but um the lower eyelets aren't as sharp but
especially these top ones are sharper than I would expect which isn't too big of a deal because these
laces are kind of a cool lace because they're 20% Kevlar 80% polyester so they are going to be more
wear resistant and then if you look at the edges here they're all rolled which is a really nice
touch and kind of sets the entire theme for this boot it's more of a casual boot than work boot in
every way you know it's got the thinner leather the rolled edges and just a slimmer profile and
now the last thing to talk about before we cut them in half is my initial wear impression
and just the overall look of these boots because I wore these ones around for a couple
days and I was really surprised at how comfortable they were right off the bat there's really no
break-in period because of how leather this how thin this leather is and more than anything
what surprised me most was these boots are really deceptively um roomy you know because they this
toe box is so flat compared to the red wings and because this rib on top is it's a little bit
brought in it looks like it's a really narrow boot so when I saw these on the internet I was like I
don't know they're going to be probably going to be pretty uncomfortable because they look really
narrow but they have way more room than Red Wings and so they really do a really good job of
deceiving your eye and kind of giving you an optical illusion to make them look more of that
dressy pointy style but still having plenty of room and the thing is a lot of people stay away
from moc toes because they're notoriously high notoriously high toe box that people associate
with that clown look I don't mind it personally I like the look of the Red Wings but for people
who hate that this is a really good option because of how slim and flat this toe box is and how
well they pull it off so now let's cut them in half and kind of see why these are so comfortable
and kind of what else is going on inside of here but first let's talk about Built Bar so
this might be a little bit longer of an ad read but I wanted to talk about me maintaining
integrity not only when it comes to reviewing boot companies when they sponsor video but
just the general integrated sponsorships for individual videos like Built Bar because I never
want to push anything or advertise anything on my channel I don't actually believe in that I don't
enjoy and so when it came to the built bar when they were interested in sponsoring this video I
was a little bit hesitant because I was like I don't know I don't like the taste of protein bars
but I do like the fact that while I'm editing or while I'm recording I can have a quick snack to
tide me over the next few hours until my next meal so they they told me we'll ship you some try them
out if you don't like them they'll harm no foul but if you do like them let's talk so they sent me
this package and I tried one and they're delicious and I made the mistake of leaving them out on the
front counter and over the next few days everyone in the shop Shmoxd and everyone else slowly was
picking at these and now there's only five of these left so that's about as good of a testimony
as I can ever give the fact that everyone including me in the shop loves these bars and
keeps sneaking them eating them so i don't have any left and the big question with any protein bar
that tastes really good is how good is it for me and so instead of trying to explain it all I'll
just put their information right here so you can look through it and compare it to the other
ones and while you're looking at that I'll show you these other two things they sent so they
also sent me the built go squeeze packs it's just like a protein energy squeeze and they also
sent me the immunity boost drink additives you pour in your water or drink mix it up and drink
it they're all super good so if you're sick of your old protein bar you just want a little uh
bar to tie you over to the next meal like I do check out built bar they're really really tasty
and you can save 20% by using the code roseanvil20 at checkout and use the link in my description
so thanks to built bar for sponsoring this video okay I got a cut in half let's see what's inside
so I think I figured out why I think or why I like to fill these more than some of the other
ones because if you look here we've got two big chunks of the compressed cardboard kind of
like what we saw in the Italian made sneakers that give a little bit of extra height at the
heel so as your foot goes down to the ball of your foot you got the extra arch support from
that height and that was really surprising and I think that's why when i put my foot in the shoe
I was like I like that it feels good because it's got that extra arch support and I'm a big fan
of arch support I don't like flat shoes as much so um let's go through the layers identify what
they are so starting with the outsole working our way up we got that Vibram Christie outsole and
then a full leather midsole then we got a nice cork filling that fills that void between that
rib of the goodyear welt and then we got a a steel shank in there and it's kind of a different
shape than what I've seen before because this isn't riveted it's actually got a little
hook on each side of the shank that goes up into that compressed cardboard to hold it in
place and then we got that those few layers of compressed cardboard and then the fiber board
above that we can see that foam layer with the leather on top for the permanent insert and
then we move up to the lining leather we get a little bit better view of that and one thing I
didn't notice was until I cut them in half is how deep this tongue is cut most of the boots we've
seen are gusseted at least halfway up if not all the way up on like the Nicks and stuff but these
don't have that gusset there's some pros and cons associated with it this won't be as leather
proof but it'll break in faster it's gonna be more comfortable a little bit more breathable
but you're not gonna have quite as much water resistance as you would with a gusseted tongue um
but then we moved to the counter so the counter is kind of an interesting one because the founder
of Nick's has really strong beliefs when it comes to counter materials I prefer the leather ones
because it's more traditional so it's a harder wearing material but it does take forever to wear
in and break into your heel if it breaks in at all some people have a really hard time with like the
red wings because they don't ever break into their heel he, the founder, loves these heat activated
counters because they break into your foot within the first few times wearing them and they're
really custom form fit to your heel so it's kind of a trade-off either way you get a really
fast form fit that's going to last a long time versus a heavy-duty leather counter and you know
if this was a work boot I would say this isn't good because you want something more durable but
this is more of a casual boot kind of like what we talked about earlier with like the rolled edges
and the general profile of it so I I think I like that counter he's kind of getting me converted
to that that heat activated counter especially after the sneakers that have that same counter so
really interesting construction I didn't expect it to be this different I really thought it was
going to be almost identical to the Thorogood's but we got that extra bit of compressed
cardboard in there that's going to make this heel actually a little bit taller like if we take
a measurement of that about 40 millimeters tall versus the Thorogood's 35-ish without the insert
and then red wings might as well do them while we're here about 35 as well so you get a little
extra hide out of that as well for some people like me like that extra arch support and extra
dip for the ball of your foot and the fiberboard insole is pretty common for what we've seen in
this price range if this was a 300 boot I would I would wish that it was leather and like the
compressed cardboard was leather but for $200 it's fine and there are some pros and cons for leather
versus fiberboard you know if you've broken in a pair of of the red wings you know they're hard at
first it takes a long time to get that footprint into your boot versus fiberboard you know within
a few times of wearing it it's going to be a lot more comfortable but it's not going to last as
long so it's kind of a pro and con both ways and I was really impressed that they have an entire
full grain leather midsole for this price range that was that was surprising to see I thought that
maybe the welt was just leather and that there was like rubber for the midsole but that's another
layer that will potentially break in over time you know because even the red wings they have a
rubber midsole but there are some things I don't like about this boot like the eyelets being a
little bit sharper than some of the other ones we've seen and the lining I'm not a fan of lined
boots just it's more of a personal preference than anything I feel like it's less breathable
and I'd rather have a thicker single piece of leather than two thinner pieces but that being
said this is a this is a decently thick leather you know it's the same thickness as the danner's
upper and it's not lined up up the shaft of the boot but the one issue I do have with it is the
way that it's constructed the seam goes right up the hill so most boots you'll see that you've got
a counter cover that's flesh out that helps grab your heel as you're wearing it and there's no seam
up the middle near the heel but with this one it doesn't have that counter cover and you got that
seam right there and so as your heel slips and as it wears you have the potential of wearing that
seam out first before the leather even wears out and causing some failure there and that's maybe
where this counter material comes in handy because this will form to your heel a lot faster so you're
going to have less slip for less of a time period so I don't think you wear it as fast but you know
to be nitpicky that's the one issue with the liner I really don't like but overall I think
this is a really good boot for the price I'm super impressed you know I was coming into
this review a little bit hesitant because it looks like a really narrow and a more dressy
boot but it's built really really well it's really deceptive in the way that it's it's comfortable
at the toe it's not super narrow and it's got that extra arch support that you don't expect from the
outside it's a I'm pleasantly surprised with this boot very well engineered to make to make that
almost like an optical illusion where it looks like a really uh more casual dress inspired boot
but have the same shape that's even wider than the red wings and for $200 it fixes a lot of the
issues that we saw in the similar similarly priced Thorogood's you know with the leather welt the
leather midsole they're definitely not a work boot like the throw goods are but for a casual
boot I'm pleasantly surprised let me know what you guys think if you've had these let me know in
the comment section what your experiences are with them your likes and dislikes pros and cons because
I really like reading through the comments to see people who've actually worn these their
opinions because that's super valuable to me with videos moving forward and and next up we
got white's moc toe and I'm really anxious to see what kind of moc toe they built because it's
one of their I think it's their very first boot under $300 it's their very first moc toe and
uh as far as I know no one really knows what's going on inside of that boot because they just
came out and no one's really dissected them yet so that'll be out on Sunday and then the finale
after that so if you haven't subscribed consider subscribing trying to get to that 300,000
subscriber mark by the end of the year so we can get out all these things and uh
thanks for everything you guys do see ya!