Hey guys,

Sorry for the delay! I’ve been slammed at work recently, we’re doing our yearly audit and I haven’t had to time to get back to this yet. No worries though friends, we’re going to lock this in and submit our proposal (which we’ll keep within Luosjiet bounds, so the brand can grant us approval 💪)

First off, you guys came with a lot if great recommendations and had some really good points. I’d brought as many of them as I could to them for discussion, and they were grateful for our inputs. That being said, we’ve got to work together to finesse the options we have available to us, but that’s a good thing! We’ve got a lot to work with here guys, look at the waxed flesh service boots I just made—perfect example 👌 

Okay, so I want to break down a few possibilities for us, but first would like to say that I’ve given everyone’s ideas thought, and if I’m not presenting something as an option, it’s for good reason. 

Let’s take the Chelsea for example. A Chelsea would be a great, but the only pattern they offer is the RM Williams, and I’m pretty sure that won’t go over well with everyone. Anything else would require design & development, which is outside the scope of our current project. It’s still useful though, because they might consider it. 

The Monkey was also requested by some, but they’ve already got that, it’s just $499 🤷🏻‍♂️ I don’t think that would work for everyone either, and I’d like to achieve a happy medium if possible.

I’d rather have everyone 85% happy,

Vs a small handful at 100% and the rest at 0%! I’m sure most of you would agree, we’re a practical lot of men 💯

Alright, enough jabbering huh?

Let’s get down to the Boots 

1. Personally, I thought the upgraded Alden style would be cool, cheaper and better than Alden if we use the right leather. I could see a plain toe Indy boot, unstructured with a leather midsole, and a Thomas heel with a single leather lift (hopefully we can get that at a reasonable cost! Sanding the curved breast-side of the lift must be a bitch 😅). If not, we could stick with the block heel. That would be cool imo.

2. The Navy Variant Boondocker, which has a more tapered toe than the infantry M43’s Munson. We could get away with using their 2030 style on the service boot pattern with an unstructured toe and the right kind of roughout. All eyelets, leather midsole, V Bar hemp outsole, block heel. 

Have you guys seen the tan roughout they use on the Iron Ranger clone? It’s got a short nap and texture that looks appropriate. It’s too bad I can’t get my hands on it pre-construction, but the first pair of whatever we make will come to me anyway—and then we can decide together if we like it.

3. The Red Wing Custom. We DO have this option available to us guys, we COULD do a crazy RW mashup. They’ve got a lot of possibilities, including a moc style that we can jazz up… think 270 welts and block heels on the boots that come standard with a wedge. Consider what they’d look like in the available leathers.

4. Now this is one I think we’ve been sleeping on—The Fight Boots. Don’t look at them for what they are, but look at them for what they COULD be. Look at the pattern (the panels that make up the upper, the upper itself). Now imagine wrapping that pattern around a slimmer last, again let’s say the 2030 (it works) but with a 270 welt and tighter heel, and unstructured toe. Imagine how fire that can look over time, with the low medallion cap toe… yeah, that’s got potential right there.

There’s also the topic of leather, and which one we’ll deem appropriate for our build. I’m curious, has anyone tried the German Nubuck used on the Fight Boot and Indy? 🤔 it bumps the Indy price up by $100 or so, so I’d like to believe that it’s of better quality than their base leathers. I’m inclined towards a roughout, Nubuck, etc. because I know we won’t see any pullup across the vamp breaks, which can be prominent in the OTA Cowhides (I used to have the brief Indy).

Let’s get this one dialed in fellas! I’m stoked to get the concept built for us. Please remember to stay within the boundaries of Luosjiet, and let’s build something dope 😎

I think that fight boot in a slimmer last could be very attractive, especially with the rolled top. Let me know what you think, I appreciate your insights—you guys have been awesome 🤜🤛

Our Community Boots: Concluding our chat and building the concept.