Thursday Boot Company Captain Men’s Lace-up Boot

This was my second attempt at a pair of Thursdays. My first was the Dukes on the old RT3 last. These Captains came on the new Kingmaker, which is rounder. I don’t wear the Dukes because of too much pressure on the tops of the toe box, a problem which unfortunately seems to replicate itself here, despite having ordered a different boot, in a different size, made on a different last. But, I can’t fault the obviously high quality and build of this product. So I will speak to that first.

I loved the workmanship on the Captains. I ordered these in Arizona Adobe. The leather was beautiful, thick, and durable. I would agree with other recent reviewers that it was definitely more of a chocolate brown than the burnt orange that is pictured. Some folks have theorized that a certain batch of Arizona Adobe leather came in darker that others this time, and that this batch just needs to work its way through the product line. If you’re looking for something closer to the burnt orange pictured, try another color or wait until other folks (or the company itself) can attest to a batch that more closely matches the Arizona Adobe pictured. That all being said, I actually liked the chocolate brown these turned out to be, so your mileage may vary.

Regarding construction, there’s no question they would hold up to years of hard wear, the studded sole is tough and the leather remarkably scuff resistant. Laces felt strong and durable. Welt was clean and there were no errant stitches that I could find anywhere on the boot. The rubber studded sole was beautiful and high quality. The quarters seemed a little flimsy, I was expecting something similar to cowboy boot quarters which are often firmer leather or reinforced with plastic, but these felt more like dress shoe quarters to me. Obviously in a boot like this, and any shoe really, your heel doesn’t bend or flex or move much compared to your instep and forefoot, so the need for super tough heel quarters may be unnecessary, I only mention it because it felt strange given the heavier duty feeing about the rest of the boot. Apart from that, craftsmanship was truly punching above its weight class on these, and they represent a great value on construction quality alone.

The problem, and it’s why I returned them, is the shape and design of the last does not work for my feet for some reason. I’m a 10.5E on a Brannock device but I fit a 10D in most shoes and cowboy boots with a few exceptions depending on the boot maker. 10.5D in Vans. I followed Thursday’s recommendation of sizing a half size down and ordered a 10D. The resulting fit was appropriate for most of my foot. They fit well everywhere, perhaps even a little wide in the midfoot. Heel felt comfortably snug despite my reservations about the quarters. The issue is the toe box. I can feel the toe box with the tops of my toes and it exerts a mild to medium but constant pressure on them. I’ve had trouble with ingrown nails in the past and after a few days, my toes just hurt and I start to feel that if I keep wearing them, my ingrown nail issues will return. Maybe I have abnormally large Big Toes on both feet, but this issue is usually not a problem with other shoes in similar sizes, including multiple pairs of Dan Post and Capitan cowboy boots with R toes and cutter toes respectively. Never had a problem. Going a half size larger with these, (as I did with my other Thursdays Dukes) makes my foot swim in the boots, they are much too large. Half size down or wide size wouldn’t fix a toe box that isn’t tall enough.

The only thing I can chalk it down to is that the shape of the last just doesn’t work for my feet. Every bootmaker and shoe maker has different lasts around which they build their shoes to make a consistent product across multiple size and width configurations. I’m sure last development is very difficult, and based on the huge number of five star reviews on these things, Thursday has obviously created a great product that works well for a lot of people. I wish they had worked for me.

I suspect I might have more luck with the heavier duty models that come with lug soles and puff toes, but I find lug soles unfashionable for my sense of style. It may just be that I’m out of luck on Thursdays. I really wanted to like these and to have them work out, but for that reason I had to return them.

Tolle Verarbeitung und sehr bequem.

I waited a month to do the review.

*First thing to note, I wasn’t charged tax on the boots, so that was a nice surprise. *

I did a lot of research prior to buying. Thursday Boot Co obviously sent these boots to a ton of Youtubers to have them promote and review the product, so theres videos everywhere addressing various aspects and comparing them to well-established brands. I needed a new pair of boots and thought Id take a chance with these.

I won’t talk about the style, as what you see is what you get. You can decide if they are right for you. I do apologize for the inconsistent lighting in the pictures. The colour didn’t change throughout the month.

QUALITY: I wore these throughout December, while there wasn’t a ton of snow this year, I did wear them through salty streets and snowy sidewalks quite a bit. The picture from 1 week of use was taken immediately after wearing them outside in the snow. All i’ve done for treating them is wipe the salt marks off after wearing them. They held up to the snow and salt quite well. They kept my feet comfortable, the leather is thick enough to keep your feet warm. My electronic calibres show the thickness as 3mm. They did crease quite a lot within a few hours of wear. I never wore them to work or on hikes, just out to run errands or go to events.

SIZE: for my sizing, I am normally a 10.5 for a tighter fit running shoe and an 11 for a casual or dress shoe. I went with THURSDAY BOOT CO recommendation of a 10 and was very happy. At worst, I knew I could return them to Amazon for free and adjust my size based on fit, but 10 was perfect for me. I can wear these with a thin dress sock or a warmer wool sock for the colder days and they feel great in both. The waxes are waxed and I haven’t felt the need to change them. The only downside I found when it comes to quality is the insole. Its a thin layer of leather on top of cork. The cork is really nice and moulds to your foot, but the leather on the insole is really cheap. It’s not the same quality they used for the rest of the boot. Its too thin and soft, it doesn’t do much for comfort. I see this being the first thing to wear out on the boots. On day one when I inspected the boots, I wished this had been a nicer piece of leather that would hold up over time.

WEAR: Like I mentioned before, the creasing is quite prevalent right off the bat. I don’t mind much as I wear them as an everyday boot, but I don’t think I’d be happy with them if I bought it for solely a dress boot. The boot moulded to my foot after 24-48 hours of wear. They are extremely comfortable right off the bat and it only gets better with time. The toe cap has scuffed/scratched up a lot more than I expected, as I don’t wear them during vigorous activities. The bottom tread doesn’t show signs of wear and should hold up nicely for the next few years. A side note for Canadians, the tread is fine in the snow and better than I thought for on ice. I thought the little circles as grip would be a death wish in Canadian Winters, it’s fine. I don’t slide or slip as much as I feared. Still, it’s not ideal for wearing out on snow/ice.

CONS: Easily scratched leather, creased within first 24 hours of wear. (could be a PRO if you’re after an everyday worn in look). The largest complaint of all is the leather sole. I’d say this pulls the boots down to a 9/10 for quality and value. I look forward to picking up a pair of there “VANGUARD – MADE IS USA” boots which are valued at $60 USD higher and seeing if these address any of the concerns I have.

I won’t make a PRO list, as its really everything asides from the cons I’ve listed. What stood out most to me is the feel of the leather, stitching and overall comfort compared to other boots.

Why is this not a normal boot?

Well, if you are a shoe person at all, I’ll tell you in a second. If you just want to slap these on and roll, know that Thursday and their products are awesome. Also, know that their “half size down” sizing was accurate for me.. I tried several, and stuck with this original recommendation.

Now for some juicy details (which I’m only able to bring to you because a guy on YouTube cut one in half) *go check it out, very cool*. First off, pros:

– Quality, supple leather uppers
– Relatively short break-in time
– Goodyear welt construction (superior to Blake stiching for water resistance and reworkabiility *resole friendly*
– Leather soles with proprietary grips
– STACKED LEATHER heel block, good for longevity and comfort, made of lesser materials (like compressed cardboard) from other companies.
– long, sturdy laces
– cork filling
– classy look/silhouette
– sturdy hooks/hardware
– great return/exchange policy, which is great for ordering online.

The cons:
– the leather creases fairly quickly, because it is so supple. I’d invest in boot trees (the pair from Stratton fit perfect)
– it’s not a “true” cap toe, they mill down one layer to seamlessly blend in with the next, unlike a traditional cap toe being two full layers.
– the black oils on this pair were laid on thick enough that they’ll stained my fingers after putting them on and feeling the leather. Might stain light colored pants.
– sizing was a little inconsistent from boot to boot. Tried my size in a different color before this one, left boot was more snug than the right, then that reversed when I got the second pair.

Other info:
– These are made in Mexico, but they do have a Made in USA line on their website for less than a third of the price more.
– they are “designed to fit snug, but not uncomfortably tight”.. mine felt tight walking around for the first few wears, then they got exponentially more comfortable.

These have quickly become my favorite shoes to wear, they get more comfortable after every outing. They look great, they feel great, and at this price, you get some premium options that even some $400 shoes don’t have.