A rant for your enjoyment....

[mike braden]

He's a jerkoff, but you'll get used to it.

I'm not sure if that is a or . .

Tod,

We already cleared this. Your the a-hole. I'm the J.O.

Actually, I don't think that you are either. It is just one of those funny things that I heard. I'm sure all of us at some point have been told that so and so is "alright" once you get to know him. For whatever reason, just popped into my head while reading the post.

I would probably send the boots back and request a refund. Three strikes only applies to baseball. You paid good money for the boots and to have to repeatedly question the craftsmanship and return because it was not built to your specifications even though you paid for it is unacceptable to me. Quality is what I paid for - Quality is what I expect

 

[Tom L]

Tod,

I'd suggest you take your return $$ and get in touch with Gary March. He is the CEO at White's Boots in Spokane. Among other things they make the original Smoke Jumper boots. I have a pair of boots he had made to order for me (Insulated Outdoorsman). Have had them for two seasons now and they are undoubtably the finest boots I have ever owned... and looking at the way they were made (to the options I picked and measurements they required me to send), possibly the last pair I'll ever need.

Gary even hounded me about making sure everything was OK, but from the moment I put them on to start breaking them in, they have been perfect - and I am someone who can rarely find shoes, boots, etc that are comfortable.

I have a pair of smokejumpers and I agree they are great,
most comfortable well made boots I have ever had

didn't know a member here was the ceo. just makes it better.

 

[tod osier]

When I was searching and talking with people I never heard a bad thing and they have many avid supporters out there. If I had normal size feet I would have opted for a commercial brand, there are many out there. But Russell custom makes boots to your feet and I don't think that is an easy process. The issues I had were taken care with a smile and were very easy to deal with. This a mom/pa company and I am sure like any small town they have issues with quality employees and will give them the benefit these are isolated incidents. My boots are very high quality, its get getting them to fit just the way I want them to and its ok in my book they didn't get it right the first try.

I thought ma and pa too - the people you talk to on the phone sound real down homey Wisconsin, but the only guy I actually saw working on a boot was speaking something other than english to at least one other person.

Yes, no question they work with you and work to fix their mistakes. That it is 8 months out and they haven't sent me the right order has gotten old and the fit on these boots is not good. I'm glad you got some good boots out of them!

 

[Ray]

plantar fasciitis......I've been dealing with that since my back and hip locked up when I was really fat in 2008 and decided to volunteer to do some heavy construction work like I was 20 again. Sciatica and then an inflammed piriformis muscle in the hip had my entire left leg locked up with fasciitis down to my toes. A half bottle of advil does nothing for that kind of pain, and neither did the chiropractor. Ended up seeing an osteopath and he had me fixed in three visits. I screamed like a rabbit being eaten alive each time he ran his thumb down a seam to loosen up the fasciitis, but it was well worth it.

I still have to stetch out the hip muscles when they tighten up, and getting into sheep hunting shape has helped with that. Ass to the grass deep squats and walking lunges have improved my hip mobility enough that I don't spend much time with the Williams stretches - maybe once a week now instead of daily.

So far the plantar fasciitis does not act up with any of my shoe/boot choices as long as I run a semi rigid insole like the power step. I do wear Merril barefoot shoes in the gym for not more than an hour and as slippers at home. No running in them, but they have trained me to step with a mid foot strike rather than a heel strike. They have a fairly high plastic arch on the sole that supports my foot enough. I am finding that my Lowa Tibets for sheep hunting with a power step insole are working out fine for hiking. I am planning on trying out some green super feet insoles since the backcountry crowd swears by them in Lowa boots. These semi mountaineering boots are really stiff and I had thought that they might cause an issue with the fasciitis in the left foot. Not yet for my short hikes. We will see what the summer brings for the real all day training hikes up the hills next to town.

Tod you better get your boot situation handled before you start hiking around on the tundra. Rocks covered in a foot of moss and willow roots is not a place to be trying out new boots. You will want a stiffer sole on that stuff.

 

[Gary March]

Hello Todd
I was trying to lurk as I know at times you come across just a tiny bit cranky. Hehe But I have to chime in a bit. The sad fact about boot and shoe manufactures is that there are only 3% left here in America. They have all left to pursue higher margins in Asia. How sad! Anyway, I am not here to promote Whites Boots. I am here to give you some feedback. I only have 41 yrs. here at Whites so I don't profess to know everything. You mention you have Planter Fascitas. The common name for this is fallen arches. It can be corrected over time and with proper footwear. our boots are overbuilt and heavy as anyone will tell you. But that is our secret. We cannot build a pr. of boots that will keep the arch in place where it should be over time with out using thick insoles and midsoles to suport the arch area for a long period of time. As one goes to soft leathers and cushioned midoles and insoles this compounds the problem over the long haul. They feel good to the foot , but there is more damage to the fallen arches. even when you put arch pads, arch supports, ect in the product. We don't allow our customers to use arch supports in our products as they have no need to raise or lift up that area of the foot. It is already done with the "last" that we use for our products. WE only build 50,000 pr. of handmade boots a year so we are very small in size. The larger brand names such as wolverine ,redwing ect. build that many pr. in a two day period. We have a core following, that believes in our boots and I am most thankful for that.

Please re think about what you wear on your feet as I know you are a very good upland hunter and you can extend your seasons for many years with the correct footwear. I look forward every year when you post your annual upland trips. Thank you for the time you put into those story's. Good luck in pursuing the perfect hunting boots.

Gary March

 

[tod osier]

Hello Todd
I was trying to lurk as I know at times you come across just a tiny bit cranky. Hehe But I have to chime in a bit. The sad fact about boot and shoe manufactures is that there are only 3% left here in America. They have all left to pursue higher margins in Asia. How sad! Anyway, I am not here to promote Whites Boots. I am here to give you some feedback. I only have 41 yrs. here at Whites so I don't profess to know everything. You mention you have Planter Fascitas. The common name for this is fallen arches. It can be corrected over time and with proper footwear. our boots are overbuilt and heavy as anyone will tell you. But that is our secret. We cannot build a pr. of boots that will keep the arch in place where it should be over time with out using thick insoles and midsoles to suport the arch area for a long period of time. As one goes to soft leathers and cushioned midoles and insoles this compounds the problem over the long haul. They feel good to the foot , but there is more damage to the fallen arches. even when you put arch pads, arch supports, ect in the product. We don't allow our customers to use arch supports in our products as they have no need to raise or lift up that area of the foot. It is already done with the "last" that we use for our products. WE only build 50,000 pr. of handmade boots a year so we are very small in size. The larger brand names such as wolverine ,redwing ect. build that many pr. in a two day period. We have a core following, that believes in our boots and I am most thankful for that.

Please re think about what you wear on your feet as I know you are a very good upland hunter and you can extend your seasons for many years with the correct footwear. I look forward every year when you post your annual upland trips. Thank you for the time you put into those story's. Good luck in pursuing the perfect hunting boots.

Gary March

Thanks Gary for checking in and for your thoughts. I know you don't often talk about your work here and it means a lot to me that you did - Thanks!

 

[tod osier]

plantar fasciitis......I've been dealing with that since my back and hip locked up when I was really fat in 2008 and decided to volunteer to do some heavy construction work like I was 20 again. Sciatica and then an inflammed piriformis muscle in the hip had my entire left leg locked up with fasciitis down to my toes. A half bottle of advil does nothing for that kind of pain, and neither did the chiropractor. Ended up seeing an osteopath and he had me fixed in three visits. I screamed like a rabbit being eaten alive each time he ran his thumb down a seam to loosen up the fasciitis, but it was well worth it.

I still have to stetch out the hip muscles when they tighten up, and getting into sheep hunting shape has helped with that. Ass to the grass deep squats and walking lunges have improved my hip mobility enough that I don't spend much time with the Williams stretches - maybe once a week now instead of daily.

So far the plantar fasciitis does not act up with any of my shoe/boot choices as long as I run a semi rigid insole like the power step. I do wear Merril barefoot shoes in the gym for not more than an hour and as slippers at home. No running in them, but they have trained me to step with a mid foot strike rather than a heel strike. They have a fairly high plastic arch on the sole that supports my foot enough. I am finding that my Lowa Tibets for sheep hunting with a power step insole are working out fine for hiking. I am planning on trying out some green super feet insoles since the backcountry crowd swears by them in Lowa boots. These semi mountaineering boots are really stiff and I had thought that they might cause an issue with the fasciitis in the left foot. Not yet for my short hikes. We will see what the summer brings for the real all day training hikes up the hills next to town.

Tod you better get your boot situation handled before you start hiking around on the tundra. Rocks covered in a foot of moss and willow roots is not a place to be trying out new boots. You will want a stiffer sole on that stuff.

Thanks Ray, to be clear, it doesn't bother me much. I go entire seasons without a problem, it is just something I keep an eye on. My worst problems were annually at the end of summers after running around in bare feet for 3 months. Once I got that figgured out, I've been pretty good. The green superfeet are what I use.

As far as boots, I've got them, just not fancy cs upland boots.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Tod

As I was reading your post, I found myself agreeing with everything thing you wrote. Then all of a sudden you started talking about boots.

 

[tod osier]

Tod

As I was reading your post, I found myself agreeing with everything thing you wrote. Then all of a sudden you started talking about boots.

Right back at ya bud!!! Very nice - appreciated.

T

 

[Andrew L.]

Quite a rare breed you are. I dont think I know anyone that would pay top dollar and wait nearly a full year now for a pair of boots.

With the worlds flattest feet ive come to realization that nothing will make me comfortable over long periods so I buy cheap and replace every 2 or 3 years.

 

[tod osier]

Quite a rare breed you are. I dont think I know anyone that would pay top dollar and wait nearly a full year now for a pair of boots.

With the worlds flattest feet ive come to realization that nothing will make me comfortable over long periods so I buy cheap and replace every 2 or 3 years.

Lucky you moved, otherwise I was gonna assign you to hang around Berlin and bother them until they got it right.

Hope things are going well for you. Do you have your FIB card yet?

 

[Ken Z]

Tod - However you resolve your boot dilemna, just a reminder: make sure your boots are not too "shiney" or they might scare off the ducks ! hehe

Ken

 

[Andrew L.]

Quite a rare breed you are. I dont think I know anyone that would pay top dollar and wait nearly a full year now for a pair of boots.

With the worlds flattest feet ive come to realization that nothing will make me comfortable over long periods so I buy cheap and replace every 2 or 3 years.

Lucky you moved, otherwise I was gonna assign you to hang around Berlin and bother them until they got it right.

Hope things are going well for you. Do you have your FIB card yet?

Well now I know why you're having so many problems, they from Berlin. Hillbillys.

Things are going great! I wish I had my card, hell I dont even have a place to live yet. Been hoteling it since January, Austin considers himself a genuine Gypsy at this point. Need to get a permanent address before I can even apply for a card.

 

[Tom Modin]

Tod I also had issues with plantar fasciitis after wearing no shoes or unsupported sport sandals in the summer. Last year I needed some beach shoes with support and even though they were goofy I bought some skelatoes. They felt good when I tried them on so I wore them home and for many days after that. Probably the best summer shoe I have owned and no foot problems. I work in an environment where for at least 12 hours I am on my feet so I have to take care of them.