Well, its been 9 months and I still love these shoes. Considering buying 'er indoors a pair now too, she will be the acid test on durability. They seem to be wearing very well, and I'm expecting to get years of use out of them.
Here's a review of sorts. It should be noted that I generally buy good quality and look after it. I have been called "particular" (and other names) on more than one occasion.
Wear I'm certainly not abusing these, but I'm not actively being careful either. I wore them nearly every night and weekend from when i got them till about October when it got too hot.
They are showing no signs of wear. They almost look new.
Experience They have performed exactly as everything said they would.
Initially they are fairly tight, but in a week or two they had relaxed nicely. I was concerned that they would keep loosening, but that didn't happen.
They shed a lot in the first month. The instructions said they would, but it was still worrying when you are pulling out big clumps of wool every day or two. I started to wonder if I was going to have a $200 pile of fluff, but again it didn't happen.
They're warm. So very warm.
Smell... They smell like wool. After 5(ish) months of wear they still smelled like wool. This is amazing considering you don't wear socks with them.
I have now washed them as per the instructions (yet another thing I was worried about), and they came out fantastic. You put them through the washing machine, put them on wet and have a walk around to sort out the shape, then let them dry.
I have the leather soled version and it picks up grease from the kitchen floor like you wouldn't believe, you don't realise just how filthy the kitchen floor is until you have a pair of these. Frying is the main culprit. The result is a smooth black sole instead of natural suede. The up side is that it's not too hard to clean. I mostly get a small brush and some soap and scrub the sole clean. It takes a bit of work, but they do come up like new. The alternative is to chuck them through the wash, which works well, but you don't have them to wear for a day or two.
The leather sole also soaks up water pretty fast and can become slippery. But, it doesn't soak right through and seams to dry fairly fast.
Thoughts The leather sole is a grease magnet, and absorbs water, but I'd choose it again. The grease seems to do nothing other than make the soles black, and if there are puddles outside or I need firewood, I put gumboots on Instead. I think I'd wear out a synthetic sole a lot faster.
They don't seem to get smelly, and if they did, a spin in the washing machine would have them smelling like new.
IMO, they're worth the money you pay. When these ones are eventually shagged, I'll buy another pair.
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