Combat Boots 8" (Vintage Brown) Goodyear Welted

let's start with the positives: full grain leather on everything directly surrounding the foot. it's tough to find an 8" boot with a unit lugsole and 100% full-grain leather upper (including heel counter) and midsole. i know next to nothing about leather and tanning, but full grain leather, regardless of tannery, isn't going to crumble into dust after just 2 years with proper care. i trust these boots will fare similarly. the particular finishing process will show wear (creases, scuffs) quite quickly. but it's a combat boot; it should look worn.

sizing for me was spot on by following C&G's instructions against my actual foot measurments of length and ball width. no hotspots trying them on right out of the box.

overall, specifically for non-US customers, this boot is a really good value for the feature set.

now onto my nitpicks, which are mostly about "product presentation" rather than the product itself:

1) it's a bit of a black box how these boots are constructed. there is a welt all the way around the boot, but visible stitching only for 270°. reviewer "bootlosophy" on youtube suspects the rear of the outsole is held on with nails that can be seen from the interior of the boot. none are visible on mine. an in-depth "how our boots are made" social media educational video would certainly help to build confidence that these are constructed with the same time-tested techniques of other bootmakers.

2) the "4mm veg tan insole." it's 2mm thick, if i'm being generous. save your money, and trim your own from full grain leather stock, or get some made from your local cobbler.

3) this is the big one for me. the gussetted tongue is cut, or interrupted, where the tongue meets the vamp (photo attached). i don't know enough about bootmaking to guess why this was designed as such. but if you step into water depth greater than the first lace hole, the interior of the boot is immediately soaked. this seems like an out-of-place design choice for a ruggedly styled boot like this. C&G should either commit to a fully gussetted, uninterupted tongue construction, even if that means a shorter overall gusset height. now i have a tongue with extra weight and leather that i have to fold over, which functionall adds nothing in the way of water protection.

in closing, if you're not affected by certain tariff policies, these boots are a really good value that is quite competitive against similar offerings. but do be aware of the above points to set expectations appropriately.

I recently purchased the legendary Gurkha.
It's raw appeal and toughness impressed me as I put them through the grind. It's my go to riding companion and my standard motorcycle boots have been idling after the Gurkha came in.
It's unique,classy and tough as an oak.
Thank you C&G.

This is my third purchase from this brand absolutely genuine products really liked the combat boots