What other made to measure boots are there?

[Philip Glass]

The Kenetrek Safari for a factory boot for Africa.

Good option as well as their lightweight hiker.

 

[BeeMaa]

Now that Russell boots have gone to Hell, what other choices do I have for a quality, made to measure shoe/boot- reasonable price being somewhere less than $600.

I went to the Wesco website and built a pair of 8" Jobmaster boots in all brown leather with leather liner, wedge sole and lace to toe for under $600. And you can take your own measurements and send them for a true custom fit.

I'm thinking of ordering these for myself. Call it a Christmas gift to me!

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

How’s the quality of Kenetreks though? How do they hold up? Aren’t they made in China? I know there’s not much that isn’t nowadays but still…

 

[BeeMaa]

How’s the quality of Kenetreks though? How do they hold up? Aren’t they made in China? I know there’s not much that isn’t nowadays but still…

Kenetrek is an American company headquartered in Bozeman, Montana with a manufacturing plant in Italy. Not sure where they source raw materials from or if they have other manufacturing facilities.

 

[Doug3006]

Gokey makes very similar boots and will hand fit them. Located in Tipton Missouri where they do all of their work. They have a Safari boot that I’m thinking about ordering.

 

[375er]

Russell has new ownership and they have stopped all made-to-fit boots/shoes and are selling what inventory of readymade shoes/boots they have. At some point in the Spring/Summer 2023 they will resume made to fit shoes/boots with the starting price of $1500/pair. I'm not sure what happened to their staff of skilled shoemakers but I fear the worst.

$1500 dollars a pair???? That is ridiculous!!! You could get 2 pairs of boots suitable for climbing Mt. Everest for that amount. Seems they have priced themselves out of the game not to mention quality.

 

[WAB]

Kenetrek is an American company headquartered in Bozeman, Montana with a manufacturing plant in Italy. Not sure where they source raw materials from or if they have other manufacturing facilities.

Spot on, I just checked their safari boot. It is made in Italy. It looks like a quality boot, but appears to be more of a mountain boot design than a safari boot. Does anyone have experience with them on long tracking hunts in the bush?

 

[WAB]

Good option as well as their lightweight hiker.

Philip, have you used them on long tracking hunts? They look to be very good quality, I’m just wondering how they perform in the field. One thing that is amazing about the Courteney’s is how quiet that lug sole is.

 

[318AE]

What happened with Russell??

My very recent experience with Russell was quite disappointing. I placed my order for some bird shooters with the snake bite proof “turtle skin” at the beginning of January, ahead of the orders they would get from the shows. They already had my last/sizing from a previous order. I was told they were behind schedule and to expect them in July.
- I saw a few months later on their website they were running 6-8 weeks behind, and waited until early October to contact them - I was told they were almost done, only needing the sole attached, and would be shipped in two weeks
- I called three weeks later and was told the boots were midway through the production process, or basically not as far along (?)
- I contacted them about a month late and was told it would be another 6-8 weeks.
- They shipped a week later - just over 11 months from when I ordered them.

Russell has been purchased by another owner - that can often be turbulent. I’ve lost confidence they still know what is going on. If they raise prices to $1,500, well, at least lead times should be dramatically better!