Post by midwestwhips on Jul 26, 2009 17:44:35 GMT -5
Here is my long overdue review of the AB Aldens.
In a nutshell, they are incredibly AWESOME!!!
When they showed up on my door we had just gotten a new digital SLR camera about a week or so before. I ended up taking over 200 pictures of them, and had a bit of fun taking some artsy pictures. Here they are right out of the box:
The green Alden box and custom boot cloth bags that come with the boots are an excellent added touch!
When I first put them on, they had a similar feel to my regular 405's, but the AB's felt much sturdier and slightly more solid, and it wasn't until I compared them more closely that I realized that the leather itself is thicker than on the regular 405 model (which Marc kindly confirmed). And after having put about 30+ miles of walking on them, just the entire boot overall seems like it could last forever!
The leather lining on the inside of the tongue is a huge benefit as well. Not only is it comfortable and it looks good, but it also completely fixes the problem of the tongue shifting (which I, like many others, have had a lot of problems with on the standard 405's). With the AB boots, I have not once had to move the tongue back into place - it completely stays put!!!
Add to all this the fact that they are made EXACTLY as they were made almost 30 years ago, even down to the old-school Alden logo design stamped on the inside heel pad!!!
While I was taking pictures, I also decided to take the opportunity to compare the colors of the AB's with my over a year old standard 405's as I was conditioning both pairs with Pecards:
Here is a shot of both Pairs ungreased:
Here is a shot of the AB's ungreased and the standard 405's greased:
Side View Comparison
And here is a shot of both pairs greased:
As I said at the beginning, the AB boots are INCREDIBLE, and well worth every penny!!! Great work Marc, and I can't wait for my next pair to come in!!!!!!!
Regards,
Paul Nolan
www.MidWestWhips.com
In a nutshell, they are incredibly AWESOME!!!
When they showed up on my door we had just gotten a new digital SLR camera about a week or so before. I ended up taking over 200 pictures of them, and had a bit of fun taking some artsy pictures. Here they are right out of the box:
The green Alden box and custom boot cloth bags that come with the boots are an excellent added touch!
When I first put them on, they had a similar feel to my regular 405's, but the AB's felt much sturdier and slightly more solid, and it wasn't until I compared them more closely that I realized that the leather itself is thicker than on the regular 405 model (which Marc kindly confirmed). And after having put about 30+ miles of walking on them, just the entire boot overall seems like it could last forever!
The leather lining on the inside of the tongue is a huge benefit as well. Not only is it comfortable and it looks good, but it also completely fixes the problem of the tongue shifting (which I, like many others, have had a lot of problems with on the standard 405's). With the AB boots, I have not once had to move the tongue back into place - it completely stays put!!!
Add to all this the fact that they are made EXACTLY as they were made almost 30 years ago, even down to the old-school Alden logo design stamped on the inside heel pad!!!
While I was taking pictures, I also decided to take the opportunity to compare the colors of the AB's with my over a year old standard 405's as I was conditioning both pairs with Pecards:
Here is a shot of both Pairs ungreased:
Here is a shot of the AB's ungreased and the standard 405's greased:
Side View Comparison
And here is a shot of both pairs greased:
As I said at the beginning, the AB boots are INCREDIBLE, and well worth every penny!!! Great work Marc, and I can't wait for my next pair to come in!!!!!!!
Regards,
Paul Nolan
www.MidWestWhips.com