Blah blah blah rapidly declining quality etc. For this price they're a good set of boots, and I've been looking out for this colour for a while. All sizes available in Saddle at time of posting.
Easy to create a burner account to use the new customer discount code. Spectacular deal if you're able to combine with the AMEX 22.5% / 17.5% cashback offer, in which case the net price will come down to ~$350 after cashback.
Credit to cameronjsb for posting the orignal coupon deal.
$20 off for the referee ($99 minimum spend), and $20 credit for the referrer.
Yes, this video is doing the rounds at the moment. You need to recoginse the reviewer paid USD $589 (~AUD $870!) for his pair. I'm sure his critcisims are valid at that price point, but these are available for half the price.
He's also not comparing the same leathers, so rattling on about thickness being lower in a newer aniline boot versus and older full grain yearling boot isn't exactly a fair comparison.
Rose Anvil is notoriously shit at what he does, but has a following for whatever reason. There may be valid points but I'd gladly argue a pair of RM's at this price is both a good price and a good pair of boots.
He's also complaining about features that are part of it being an entirely different model to the one that he reviewed earlier. It's one thing to have a go about declining quality (RMs QC is not what it once was), but to complain that the Comfort Craftsman doesn't have an all-leather sole construction when that's one of the main differences to the Craftsman he reviewed earlier…
@recitation: Yeah its a video with a few valid points but its apples and oranges. He needs to compare the same model.
Ive got no horse in this race as all of my RM's are pre-takeover but the shoes in this latest video may be thin but I reckon thats an attempt to keep the sock-like feel of the yearlings. I've got a pair of Aniline Nutmegs and theyre a lot stiffer after years of wear (and a resole) than yearling.
Not doubting RM has dropped in quality based on reliable cobblers but this video is the classic hyperbolic shit you'd expect from a Youtuber more interested in drama than objective content.
but to complain that the Comfort Craftsman doesn't have an all-leather sole construction when that's one of the main differences to the Craftsman he reviewed earlier…
He complains that the foam insole is glued to the sole. I'd be totally fine if it was removable like you get in cheap sneakers or even in many decent hiking boots because then you can replace it yourself. But it's glued in there, probably a deliberate design to make them seem closer to the non-Comfort models.
Why isn't it a fair comparison?
At the end of the day if they're using overall cheaper materials, even if it makes sense to do so outside of cost, then they shouldn't be charging as much. Other companies don't. This is especially true if the boot isn't going to last as long, which means they'd presumably get more sales over time. $444 isn't some bargain cheap price, not unless the boots are truly premium, and these aren't.
@Grazz989: Well because he's comparing a craftsman (what he reviewed previously) to a comfort craftsman… as others have pointed out the boots are designed for very different situations - not rocket science
@Duplicity: And yet, they're both boots, by the same company, by the price.
One is made with premium materials and lasts forever, the other is made with cheap synthetics and lasts for not very long and can't be easily repaired.
It's a reasonable comparison and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to understand why the review is right to criticise the price.
Their normal price point of $650 is highly inflated for the quality you get on their ‘Comfort’ range…
Not really, to be honest. The criticisms of the Comfort line in particular are coming from people that prefer a traditional construction which is mostly leather. That preference comes with a longer break-in period and potentially less comfort.
The Comfort sole is designed and built for people that want an RM Williams style chelsea without any break-in period at all - basically for people who prefer sneakers over a traditional leather boot.
The Dynamic Flex Comfort line is designed to go straight down the middle of the two.
There's nothing wrong with a preference for any of the three lines and there's clearly a market for each - about the only valid criticism of RMs on the construction is that they don't communicate the difference between their boot lines as clearly as they could.
What's going on with the Youtube video doing the rounds is a failure to understand or appreciate that from someone heavily invested in the traditional style of boot, to the point where they have multiple collaborations with a traditional bootmaker selling a competing product at that price point in the USA.
@recitation: It's not about whether one design paradigm is better than the other, it's about the fact that if it's cheaper to manufacture the modern 'comfort' model, and if it's going to last for a lot less time / be less repairable, then it's only fair to charge less for that model. If nothing else, they'll get more repeat customers buying the same thing again.
It's not about whether one design paradigm is better than the other, it's about the fact that if it's cheaper to manufacture the modern 'comfort' model
I don't think anyone's really proven that it's cheaper in any meaningful sense.
…if it's going to last for a lot less time / be less repairable…
Again, not really shown - you can send those boots to repair at RMW and they'll repair them for the same cost as the Craftsman.
…then it's only fair to charge less for that model.
I don't think you understand how fashion is priced, and RM Williams are fashion items these days - they're really for people that want to look like they're wearing a wholecut Chelsea with workwear and outback branding, but will only really put light wear on their boots, most likely in an office or travel context.
Anyone that's wearing a $600-700 Chelsea boot to do yard work in isn't really concerned about price.
@recitation: The materials themselves are simply cheaper. Synthetics vs. real, high quality leather? Of course the former is cheaper.
If you watched the vid, you'd see that, under the taped in piece of foam (taped?!) is the foam and fake leather insole, which is nailed in. You can't really replace it, and it won't last nearly as long. I suppose they could send you an entirely new pair, but would they do that just because e.g. you claim the foam is uncomfortable years later? Doubt it. The fact that you would have to pay for it, too? Eh.
It doesn't matter if they're priced for high fashion if other brands are offering boots that look just as good but at a lower price / with more expensive materials. At this point you're just paying for the brand name, and at that point discussion of value becomes entirely moot.
Edit: I forgot the other point from the vid - You can buy a traditional construction boot and slap in a synthetic insole on top, that'll give you most if not all of the same comfort but it's easily and cheaply replaceable. Meanwhile the boot itself will last muuuuuch longer.
The materials themselves are simply cheaper. Synthetics vs. real, high quality leather? Of course the former is cheaper.
We are talking a tiny, tiny amount of cost difference, and the motivation is how the boot feels on the foot. If you don't like how the Comfort Craftsman feels, you can spend exactly the same amount and go to the Craftsman, which is the straight leather boot that you're talking about. If you want a 50/50, go to the Dynamic Flex model.
It's not like the work time component changes at all, and labour costs are way higher in Australia than even the USA.
If you watched the vid, you'd see that, under the taped in piece of foam (taped?!) is the foam and fake leather insole, which is nailed in. You can't really replace it, and it won't last nearly as long. I suppose they could send you an entirely new pair, but would they do that just because e.g. you claim the foam is uncomfortable years later? Doubt it. The fact that you would have to pay for it, too? Eh.
There's a whole industry where you pay for people to repair shoes that you've worn out, from any manufacturer. It's called 'shoe repair'.
If you choose to use RM Williams for this their prices are here - https://www.rmwilliams.com.au/footwear/boot-repair-service.h… - they take the uppers off, and replace the entire sole.
There's even a cartoon showing what they're doing, it's not some kind of mystical process.
I forgot the other point from the vid - You can buy a traditional construction boot and slap in a synthetic insole on top, that'll give you most if not all of the same comfort but it's easily and cheaply replaceable. Meanwhile the boot itself will last muuuuuch longer.
The video's talking points are coming from someone who has an interest in selling you boots of a certain construction because he pairs with a manufacturer that's using his brand on their product. The reviewer also has a very strong preference for incredibly heavy, traditionally constructed boots - there's nothing wrong with that, but that choice isn't for everyone because of weight, break-in time, and the utter inconvenience.
He's also not reliable, because he's presenting the feature differences between two different models of boot as evidence of a manufacturing decline.
There's genuinely things that you can bag on RM Williams for - their QC standards have slipped to the extent that boots that should be tagged seconds are making it to their retail floor, the pricing on their Gardener models with commando soles is laughable, the removal of the Stockyard line, Twiggy's business practices - but the reviewer misses every single one of these to go off on a tangent about the differences between the Comfort Craftsman and the Craftsman, dressed up as 'these are bad'.
There's a whole industry where you pay for people to repair shoes that you've worn out, from any manufacturer. It's called 'shoe repair'.
That does remind me- I've taken old RMs into a couple of quite serious repair places including RM and both times their verdict was "ripping apart the entire sole and repairing it is simply going to be unecomonic or run too high a risk of destroying the entire boot"
Maybe the whole "it's repairable!" thing isn't quite as clearcut as they'd like you to believe. I do know someone else with the same boots who had the same story.
So I've kept the boots without having them rebuilt. One pair is still running strong after 20 years. But in part that's because they're not made of glued foam.
@Grazz989: The vast majority of the cost is labour - these boots are built exactly the same in the factory, so there's only a little bit less (if any) in manufacturing the materials.
What's going on with the Youtube video doing the rounds is a failure to understand or appreciate that from someone heavily invested in the traditional style of boot, to the point where they have multiple collaborations with a traditional bootmaker selling a competing product at that price point in the USA.
I don't think that RMs are a serious competitor in the US market- the only people who would wear them would be an tiny, tiny fraction of Aussie expats, probably concentrated around NYC or SFO. Same in the UK, where there is a longer established industry for bootmaking. So ascribing ulterior financial motives to the Youtuber are far fetched. If there's an ulterior motive, it would be to create contentious videos that get lots of views.
The RRP for the Comfort Craftsman, when it's sold on the older image of the RM range, is a total piss-take. Sure, there's nothing wrong with a consumer preference for shorter break in boots, but I do think that it's wrong for the manufacturer to sell them as essentially the same product in terms of quality and longevity as the older line… at the same price.
I don't think that RMs are a serious competitor in the US market…
You'd actually be fairly surprised about the market for Chelsea boots generally speaking in North America - a lot of the market is captured by Blundstone though. The UK - a Northampton-made wholecut Chelsea from someone like Crockett and Jones is around the 600GBP/1160AUD point, so RMs are pretty cheaper.
So ascribing ulterior financial motives to the Youtuber are far fetched. If there's an ulterior motive, it would be to create contentious videos that get lots of views.
He's got his brand of 'traditional leather craftsmanship' and clearly is thinking about his brand, or he wouldn't be going on and on about his 'patented camera strap' that a movie costumer 'stole' from him for the cinematic masterpiece Twisters, where 'stole' means 'bought it from our shop'. Similarly, he's not going to go 'yeah, look, this kind of construction has its merits' when he's selling heavy boots in collaboration with Whites, and either doesn't realise that he's not looking at the same model he previously reviewed or has chosen to not disclose that.
The RRP for the Comfort Craftsman, when it's sold on the older image of the RM range…
The Comfort Craftsman has been sold at the same price point as the Craftsman for as long as I can remember, and was introduced in 1966.
The differences in the RM Williams soles are clearly shown on the RM Williams website.
As I've said elsewhere, there's plenty of things you can bag RMW for, but this isn't it.
Blundstone have some nice shoes
Agree, had a pair Blundstone for more than 4 years and they are still going strong.
As well as Rossi not being made locally, it is owned by Gina Rinehart.
The kiss of death
The Rossis are quite cheap. Made in Indonesia though … Can they be decent quality? Looking at the 301 Enduras …
Why do people keep recommending Blundstones? They aren't a suitable replacement for RM Chelseas. Blundstones lack the sleek, dressy profile of RMs, not to mention the single piece leather construction.
Never the wide fit
*rarely
Another one bites the dust 🎶🎶🎶🎵
Gross colour
Not a good colour. I would pay extra for a better colour. Gives off that synthetic leather look
Just buy the chestnut colour polish and apply generously.
Thanks!
Hoping the AMEX tracks. You need to use the ICONIC APP to get the max % discount. Was tricky as when I clicked the link on my phone it would open the webpage in firefox (I was browsing in chrome). I force closed all browsers and then the link opened straight into the iconic app, fingers crossed.
People whinge about them but ive just finished spending a week with my partner trying on as many boots as humanly possible trying to find the right pair of chelseas for him that will last, and none compared to RMs in fit and comfort. I've had my pair of RMs for a few years now and they still look like the day I bought them, and I wear them daily in the winter as my go-to boot. For this price thats excellent.
Purchases made using any voucher, promotion, discount, loyalty or shipping codes, other than those supplied directly by MyAmexShop, may not be eligible for credit.
Amex offer may not stack..
Every time these deals come up I kick myself for not going into store to get sized up. I just don’t trust the conversion charts enough to buy online going in raw
The Iconic’s returns process is pretty seamless in my experience. Just YOLO it and swap for a size up or down if necessary ¯_(ツ)_/¯
What size sneaker do you usually wear?
Solidly a reliable 8 in Nike sneakers, Dunks, etc. solid reliable 8 in Reebok etc too.
Pending foot shape you'd almost definitely be a 7G (if the 8 is US sizing). Would recommend sizing up instore though.
@japes: Much appreciated - All the charts suggest the same just something about a Chelsea potentially being loose or ill fitting makes me less certain! Foot shape relatively standard honestly. Maybe skews ever so slightly wide in the bridge when it comes to narrow shoes like Nike Blazers or chucks, but always manageable.
@wazman67: You will be G width for sure. I find 10G just tolerable, in the same way i just tolerate chucks. H is excessively wide through the mid, creating unsightly ripples.
Bought a pair of comfort craftsman in November last year. The leather is starting to 'peel' in both boots at the areas where it creases i.e. can see lighter colour underneath. Is this normal?
if you're talking about Leather patina? Yes it should and is actually desired as it brings character and you're don't look exactly like everyone else.
Leather peeling?? No should not be peeling at at all.
This really needs a decent close up photo for anyone to give feedback on.
Thabks, will provide one after work.
I was going to post a deal on the Singleton wallet in Caramel at Iconic to go with these, but alas they are now sold out. Paid $87.40 on Wednesday.
My Amex tracked as $116.82 credit, which means it was calculated before the $75 off voucher! Still shows as 'processing', hopefully it clears, RMs for 330 would be great!
Give RM’s a miss. They’ve dropped in quality significantly. https://youtu.be/N5QX2_5jvtY
Blundstone or even Rossi (which isn’t made locally anymore) are worth a look