=== ADDITIONAL & NEW INFO, FROM 2021-10-15 === The newest 3 pictures were added with this text today, as I have ordered & just received a new pair of these boots. I was able to wear my old pair of these boots through 3 full winters. It is nearly 3 years since I first purchased them to the DAY (2018-10-21 vs 2021-10-15) and I continue to be very pleased with their construction. These boots easily surpassed my expectations for longevity, and have without a single doubt become my favorite winter/work boot. If your shoes fall apart really fast because you drop stuff on your feet at work all the time, consider that may be the fault of your work environment, and not your boots. If your shoes fall apart after a season because the leather has dried and cracks apart, consider that you should be maintaining them. They have 100% leather uppers, being subjected to moisture, pressure, and friction a daily basis — they'll dry, crack, and wear out if you don't take at least SOME care of them!! I gave these boots what I would consider the bare minimum of upkeep. I brushed off street salt when there was so much that I could see it built up. I applied leather lotion at the beginning of winter-weather season, when I start wearing these every single day, and also at the end of winter-weather season, before they get put on my shoe rack for use on rainy days only. I've walked almost certainly well over a thousand miles in my old pair, and I'm certain I'll get that sort of longevity out of the new ones. Heck, the old boots' leather uppers are still pliable and watertight — the worn-out sole is the only reason I need new boots, and the soles of all shoes wear out, that's just a fact of life. I will say, fresh out of the box, I think the new boots' leather may be a bit dry. I'll be putting leather lotion on them and that should knock that problem out. Overall verdict: These are great boots. They're so great that if it wasn't for how hot the summers get where I am, I'd wear them for the summers, too. I'd absolutely buy them again — and in fact, I literally just did. === ORIGINAL REVIEW TEXT, FROM 2021-03-09 === I'm now past two years of owning these boots (bought them 2018-10-21, it is now 2021-03-09). I bought a half-size down from my size in athletic sneakers and they fit great. I've got feet that tend to be flat and end up aching without good arch support, so I replaced the insoles with some Dr. Scholl's extra-arch-support inserts. If you have flatter feet, I'd highly recommend doing the same. I'll say I don't work in a warehouse environment and don't drop heavy stuff on my feet literally every day, but they seem great to me, and have stood up to their fair share of occasional drops and the harsh weather treatment. Especially compared to the single-winter's lifespan I got out of other work boots I've bought before, which had their soles peel off, not even damage to the upper body construction of the boots. My commute to work includes a mile of walking at a minimum, depending on if I bum rides home from my buddies, frequently including more walking around the campus I work on. I also often stand at my desk at work. These have proven, with the arch-support insert I added anyway, to be quite comfortable, and the fact that I still wear them over two years later is a testament to a durable construction. A far sight more durable than some of the reviews I see where they somehow fall apart in short order. I don't know what sort of work you'd have to be doing in these to have them fail in a matter of months. Considering how I've mostly neglected regular care for these boots while I've had them, I can only describe these boots failing in a matter of months as a sign of far-harsher-than-average use, or a bad-luck-of-the-draw defective pair. If you don't tend to burn through shoes like your fallen branches and leaves at a campfire, I think you'll find these are wonderfully durable, especially for the price. I wear mine daily as soon as shorts weather ends, all winter long, as well as on particularly rainy days during the rest of the year. I've recently had to replace the laces since I tie my boots really tight and they were starting to wear out, but other than that, applying leather lotion twice a year, towards the end and beginning of winter, has kept these in great shape for me. That, and the occasional brushing off of the salt accumulation, when there's absolute tons of it caked on the sides of the boots. The treatment these boots get in the winter is pretty harsh considering they're leather, getting road and sidewalk salt on them, walking through snow and mush (since being able to do that was the whole point of buying waterproof slip resistant boots..), walking over sheets of ice, etc. They've done a great job of keeping my feet dry, and my rear off the ground. Assuming Wolverine hasn't completely changed how they're constructing these boots, and there aren't counterfeits of them floating around (you'd be surprised what some Amazon sellers and suppliers try to get away with), I'd buy these again with absolute confidence. They've now carried me through two full years. I paid $90 after tax for them back in 2018, and I'd pay that for them again if I were needing a new pair now. It looks like they're cheaper than that now, though, and I'd highly recommend them for the price.
