Long time lurker, first post.
All sizes 7 to 12AU available at time of posting. 6% Cash Rewards available ($24.70). Bringing it down to $424.30.
Black chocolate - https://www.davidjones.com/product/rm-williams-comfort-craft…
Saddle - https://www.davidjones.com/product/rm-williams-comfort-craft…
Armadale Chelsea (ebony) - https://www.davidjones.com/product/rm-williams-armadale-chel…
Armadale Chelsea (hot fudge) - https://www.davidjones.com/product/rm-williams-armadale-chel…
Different colour mate. There’s another variant which is just Black
Black Chocolate is not the same as Black
racist.
How am I being racist? I have even linked it for you
Chestnut and black colours are the more popular choices and they are rarely discounted
im joking lol relax
You were trolling, not joking. At least apologise for being wrong.
u feeling ok? read the description, black is there
It is not.
Noob
Yes feeling great but thanks for asking.
Obviously you aren't aware that all of these are never the popular black or brown (normal) RMs that everyone wants.
curious, why do you say that?
No discount for H or G fits
Rossi recently came up with their wide fit.
how are rossi boots these days?
was kind of considering for years but then after they got bought out im not sure if its worth buying anymore now?
They don't clearly state where they are made. Only says Australian leather and tanned in Australia in the specifications for the Kidman. Booma says made in Indonesia.
Please please please Mid Brown or Chestnut Comfort Craftsman go on sale soon…
+1 I've had my eyes on mid brown for a while
Blundstones all the way. Miles ahead of RMs in terms of comfort
They are a great shoe, frequently overlooked as a viable alternative.
Blundstone Made in India and Thailand now, if that matters to you.
I'm not really fussed about the country of origin. India is a top 5 exporter of leather globally and I can vouch for Indian leather, I've had several leather jackets and custom made shoes that I've purchased over the years that have lasted forever.
blundstone 787 is a freaking dream - i cant remember who here put me onto them but holy shoot they are awesome and for me, so convenient also ticking the box for steel cap. I wish they did it in a chestnut too, id totally buy a pair.
Yeah I liked them, but I only get a year out of them before they start breaking down.
Yep I’ve almost got a year out of them. The toes are quite scuffed up but works fine. I’ll get another pair after year 2
As a concreter blundstone make the comfiest hardest wearing gumboots.
I usually wear size 8.5AU, should I go for size 8AU or 9AU?
Purchase either, then go into an RM Willams store and they'll swap out to a half-size free of charge, providing you haven't worn the new ones.
It is really worth going to a store and getting fitted as the sizes are very different for RMs. I am usually 9AU and my RMs are a 7.
Conversely RMW sizing works differently for me.. I usually wear 8AU and my RMs are size 8.5G, and they still feel a bit tight.
Not surprising. Even within the RM range you can be different sizes. Mainly depends on the inside of the sole and how your foot sits in the profile of the boot.
I recommend bringing your socks and getting them fitted in the store and walking around a bit with them.
Go up half a size at least.
Just curious, If I buy the G fit and not happy with it, can I exchange it for H fit for the same price?
I think that you can swap from G to H in an RM Williams store - just bring the shoe in unworn once purchased from David Jones. This definitely works for half-size up or down.
Would RM Williams store allow you to change to a different colour as well?
No only sizes and only of bought at RM i believe.
I have just chatted with them, it's not working that way unfortunately.
This is amazing if true.
Do you have any source of this being done successfully?
Primary source: I bought a pair of Chestnut HCF in 9.0 from David Jones in this deal, delivered. Brought the tax invoice and unworn shoes to RM Williams Doncaster, and they swapped them from 9.0 to 8.5 on the spot. I called beforehand to confirm they had the half-size in stock before arriving same day.
David Jones didn't let me refund or exchange in store after a recent online purchase. They said I have to send them back through the post when I was standing in the store and that I had to pay the postage and the only option I had was a refund not an exchange.
How odd. Their returns policy makes it sound like you can bring it back to the store for a refund and exchange (and that an exchange can only happen in-store)
It to stop stores having stock they would normally not sell, you buy RM online, return to a store that doesn't sell much if any RM, they are stuck with it or they need to send back to warehouse or larger store that sells lots of RM. It's cheaper for them that you send them back ….
This shit should be made illegal.
If you buy something online then they can also dispatch it from the store, everything in the stores is available as stock for online sales
RM wouldn't swap to a H from a G fit when bought from another store (eg. The Iconic)
I want to buy quality boots however don't know if I can justify the price. Eventually all shoes need to be resoled and it seems like the cost of a repair will cost the same (or nearly) as a brand new approx $200 boot. RM Williams repair cost on thier website is $165. Seem like quality is dropping too - youtube review.
U can’t justify the price until you pull the trigger and actually buy a pair. You will understand why they are worth it.
But not the comfort version as per the poor quality reviews for the amount of money paid
get the all leather, pay to get resoled when they need it …. you aren't buying these as cheap footwear, you want cheap there are alternatives which are cheaper …. like buying masserati and complaining about cost of an oil filter …..
What is so good about them?
Is it the comfort? or are they so much better in quality than other brands.
It's partly brand snobbery. I'd rather pick a pair of $60 Chelsea's on sale than spend nearly 8 times the amount. But it's fine to indulge if you can afford it.
Will you get 8 times the level of durability, comfort and enjoyment? Only you can make that call. Don't go without eating just to buy these
@0 0 0: the price of these boots is like half a month of food for me lol.
Will definitely take the food at this point haha
if the leather soled cratsman once you break them in you can get resoled so no need to break-in another pair … like my Lloyd leather soled shoes made in Germany or Churchill leather soled , unlike my Florsheim rubber sole which are a bin job once sole is work out.
Have had 3 pairs and a few other goodyear welted boots.
No they are not worth it at all and anyone who says they have either never tried other reputable boot brands or have not bought one in the last 3ish years because their quality has definitely gone down hill.
Outside of the brand, quality wise it's closer to a 300$ shoe and even then you might as well get a meermin or Allen Edmunds which has much more durable leather, the AE regularly has sales in the 250-300aud range though you really need to know your size.
For the same price I'd probably lean towards the Thursday boots with a thick rubber outsole for longevity and ability to walk on practically any surface without worry. Thin rubber or leather outsoles only last 1-3 years as a daily shoe to the office (in my experience) and better kept for special occasions like dinner dates, parties or weddings.
are you giving yourself advice?
I've ordered a pair of Thursday boots last week (not on a Thursday, unfortunately) I went for Arizona Adobe flavour in the Captains.
I was looking at RM's for a while, tried some on and they felt great.. however, I feel like they are overdone.
I want to buy quality boots
then buy some
however don't know if I can justify the price
then don't buy some
No one can justify this, purely paying for the brand. Most of these fanboys have cheap ill-fitted suits but suddenly think they're fashion experts because they own RMs lol. Yes they are comfy and fit well, but as would any decent $200 boot with good leather. Anyone who thinks a $200 pair wouldn't last for years need to show me how they walk. A resole every 2-3 years and you're good to go. The only pair that I've thrown out are my beater Hush Puppies which lasted ~3 years and they cost me $80.
The idea that big 4 accountants NEED good year welted boots to walk around wynard is boarderline psychotic.
Can confirm the cheap ill-fitted suit part. I owned several RMs and pair them with suits from Sportscraft and pants from Uniqlo - I also grabbed these when they were on sale!
Which big 4 do you work at?
@Overcomerak: Reading through the comments while wearing Hush Puppies Norris, great quality boot for the price.
after that review went out in recent past, I would not even bother looking at these overpriced stuff…. ymmv if you have a taken a liking to them and get lot of use out of them.
Regardless of how the boots are at the moment, that is not a good review of the boots imo.
He has been cutting up boots/shoes for years now and still makes so many baseless statements, and makes conclusions that fit his predetermined outcome.
Including things he marks as negatives in the video which are known are usage/design decisions made specifically for the boots he cut up.
He is also reviewing them as a US$600 boot, which is not correct for Australia pricing, especially when on sale for ~AU$450.
There has already been a couple of threads going over it on reddit in boot subreddits as well as australianmfa.
Ah yes but how else would contrarians on the internet get their sense of superiority over the only possible wearers of RMs according to Ozbargainers… big 4 bankers?
Thanks to this completely objective and trustworthy source, a random YouTuber who is totally not incentivized for generating clicks and controversy, for outing this iconic Aussie brand.
I'm not even a fan of RMs and don't own any, but you just know his "review" is going to be brought up on every RMs post here from now on by people who wouldn't ever be a customer anyway.
RM Williams repair cost on thier website is $165
Any cobbler can also do it for you and they will be cheaper than RM Williams
… my tips for wearing RMs economically
0) get the right fit. Don’t settle for too big or too small, too narrow or too wide.
1) have two on rotation - it’ll extend the life of the soles and allow for proper aeration between wears. I have one black and one chestnut.
2) get shoe trees. The cheap $30 one from amazon work a treat.
3) change out of your RMs when driving. This is the biggest killer of my heels, and I swap to uggs / crocsin my car when I’m driving to and from work.
The heel is the only thing I’ve replaced on my RMs (n=2 heel replacements + 1 sole replacement in the 5 years since new on my black pair)
My black pair I cover 8k steps a day as a teacher, and the chestnut pair I picked up in January covers the same. This year in rotation + not driving in them I reckon I’ll get to the end of 2025 before needing to address the heels.
Has anyone here actually purchased R.M. Williams before?
I am looking to buy some new boots, but am struggling to justify the insane price tag. Are they really that much better than other brands?
This was the regular price when I bough my first pair 10 years ago. Within a year I had bought 3 more pairs, admittedly 2 of them were at a clearance sale for $225 each.
All are still going strong and I alternate the black/chestnut pairs daily in the office.
I believe many Ozbargainers own a pair of RM. I pulled the trigger a while ago. It fits like a glove, which I have never experienced with other brands. I recommend going to the store and trying them on; their sizing is unlike others.
it’s because they also have wide fittings, some brands don’t so if you have wide feet it’s hard to get a good fit or you need to go a size up and them they are too long. Nothing magic about the fit except they have wide fittings as a size.
Yes, everyone in my office got at least one pairs. I used to wear different brands everyday, but since I bought the Dynamic Flex one, I wear them almost EVERYDAY. They are super comfy compared to others. You need to go to the store to try them first. Don't buy just because it's on sales.
Unfortunately, my experience with Dynamic Flex is not that great :(
Same. I bought dynamic flex from qantas because they looked cooler and sounded like they were better. Blisters on top of toes. Pushed through many km of pain. Then gave up, would only wear them if I knew I wasn't walking much. Took them into a RM shop to say these suck. They were like do you need orthotics, do you need arch support. Tried on comfort craftsman and it's night and day. They recommended some normal thin inner soles for the flex. I can wear them now without pain!
@demod: Thanks for the info; I should look into changing my inner soles. The included one does not do the job for me.
I own 7 pairs but I'm also a boot enthusiast. Mixed reports currently but yes, good boots on sale.
I have two pairs. First I bought in about 2004. Have been resoled 3 times. Stupid me didn’t condition the leather much in the last few years, and the leather has gone a bit brittle, so while I got them resoled earlier this year, theyre probably end of life now.
When I got them, I got measured up at an RM store, and had them custom made… one foot half a size bigger. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (They don’t do this anymore… 😕)
After wearing them for a while they just felt too big, so took them back, and the store sent them back to Adelaide to get them re-lasted down a size. They resoled and came back like new boots. Cost $0.
Look after them though and they’ll last. At least the older ones did, seems quality has fallen away a little.
Has anyone here actually purchased R.M. Williams before?
No. Literally no one here has actually purchased R.M Williams before.
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?
looks totally normal, you will need to apply black polish to them.
Even though the colour of the boot is chestnut? I've conditioned and polished them with saphir 2 times since owning them.
Apologies, I thought they were black. Use chestnut polish. I recommend condition them every 2-3 months and polish them every half a year or more frequent if there are scratches.
mines got acutal paint peel on the toe edge of the boot (like stone chips on a car bonnet) same thing where i can see the lighter colour on chestnut.
taking mine instore to ask and potentially get a replacement as I think its defective. Have conditioned and polished multiple times and cannot remove the colour difference.
Let me know how it goes!
Hey everyone. My sister has older RM Williams and they last and last. Been resoled of course.
FYI - (no opinion either way) but be aware Rose Anvil on youtube did a round up of their latest comfort fit by slicing in half. Entertaining, but noted reduced build standards and thinner leather when compared to older boots.
His conclusions were all over the place and I would not recommend using his video as a good review.
Also keep in mind that he was reviewing the boots as a US$600+ boot whereas we're looking at a deal for pretty much half that price at ~AU$450.
Rose Anvil is a he?
Rose Anvil is the name of the channel and store. The bloke doing the reviews is Weston Kay.
No women's sale? :(
womens always on sale and cheaper
After watching Rose Anvil's review, I'm not so sure I'd be spending this much on a pair of RM's anymore.
Never chestnuts or black.