I have owned these for a couple of years. The leather gets like butter. The sole is wearing like iron. Great boot. Breaki in was about 5 wears. All I use to clean in a brush and 3 or 4 times a year I use Cadillac leather cream. Keeps that leather soft but not oily feeling

I have owned a pair in rough leather for eight years. I hit the sweet spot in fit on the first order from LL Bean. These boots wear like iron and are as comfortable as carpet slippers. Just ordered another pair in smooth leather. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Go to the Bean website. They are imported-made in Vietnam. The quality of Bean's products is in slow decline.

Thank you for your excellent review. I own these LL Bean Katahdin Iron Works Engineer Boots, Plain Toe in both Cordovan and the now discontinued Odessa Black. I did find them a little bit stiff to break in, so I recommend that you consider using Army lacing for the first month. The insole is acceptable in a pass/fail sense, but I purchased some Chippewa gel inserts that are definitely an improvement. The biggest surprise for me is how versatile these boots are. They look great with a pair of jeans or with a shirt, tie and nice pair of slacks. I do not roll around on the garage floor changing tractor blades and scuffing them up on the cement. Mine are for fashionable situations, and I am very pleased. I wear mine in the spring, summer and fall, but not the winter. Supposedly they are waterproof oiled-leather, but I have no inclination to test them out in heavy rain nor snow drifts. LL Bean's return policy is excellent, and I do not see why someone who complains about quality would have a problem either getting their money refunded or obtaining a new replacement pair. I own nine total pairs of Chippewa boots, including five from LL Bean Katahdin Iron Works models, plus the Super Logger and the Classic Service Boot that you have previously reviewed on Boot Guy. Thank you also for those reviews because they helped persuade me to purchase those particular boots that I was not previously aware of. I have had no quality issues with any of my Chippewa boots. I wear the same size as measured in this particular model. Chippewa makes the Sta-Tied laces in 54, 63 and 72" for black, brown and gold. If you want to do a special lacing of a spider's web, for instance, you can change over to gold to make it stand out more, and you can always change from the 54" to the 63" if you need more length. This is an outstanding boot that I value having in my boot collection, and it is a credit to your site to introduce others to it.

My wife got me a pair this last December when we where on vacation in Virginia Beach at first paying 238.00 was bit much for my taste but after breaking them in I love the boots , for a daily boot there good , I would not hike them , and only issue I have bit slippery when on wet surface other than that money well spent

Good review. Very knowledgeable. You try hard to be helpful and it's greatly appreciated. Thank you, sir.

I have a vintage pair of these. Love them. Mine have the Chippewa Indian head logo on the sole. I use LL Bean boot dressing.

I’ve owned these boots for 3+ years and love them! Very comfortable and they look good with jeans or colored jeans or khakis. I get a lot of compliments and they look better with time, the leather changes colors a little bit with break-in! They are comfortable out of the box and took no time to break in and they get even more comfortable as they mold to your feet. I I highly recommend these boots!

Had these for at least two years as well. These and my AE Higgins Mill are my favorite boots. Wearing like iron. Yup, tough sole. Hard. If I'll be walking for long periods I don't wear these. I do wear them to the office on occasion. They go great with a pair of khakis or my carharts when in the woodshop. They come in a wide size as well, one of the many reasons I chose them.

I have the Katahdin Iron Engineer captoe boot in Apache Leather. I treat it like it's suede and brush it with suede brushes and that maintains the velvety knapp. The break in was the most brutal of any boot I've owned. The leather was super stiff and was murder on my Achilles tendon. I resorted to moleskin over the sorest spots and my thickest socks to get through it. I also slathered it in Huberd's shoe grease in hopes of softening the leather but it darkened the leather a lot in a way I didn't like. The Huberd's does fade out over time, though and the suede brushing brought the light chocolate color back. They are super comfy now and I can wear them all day walking around and they will probably outlast me.

I have the same pair but made not L.L. Bean branded and it has speed hooks in the same colour. I have to agree with you to go with your regular shoe size especially if you wear thick wool socks and an added insole. This is definitely a shoe to wear with thick wool socks during break in period, but after the break in period, I could wear thin dress socks with an added supportive insole if you plan to wear it mostly in the office. In my opinion, one should not size down if you're planning to use it during the winter. I wear size 12 too and I almost find it on the snug side with the thick wool socks with the insoles. Lastly, I recommend using Nikwax Waterproofing wax for leather for these boots for ultimate waterproof protection even in the deepest wet snow slush conditions!!!!! This boot has amazing waterproof properties if you protect it correctly!!!

I have had these boots since 2015 and they are still in great condition! I have the capped toe version and it took me about a week to break em in (a couple hours a night) with some mink oil applied and brushed in the first night I had em. I use some form of leather product and clean, condition and brush them once a year and they have held up very well (still waterproof). The insole is very impressive as I normally need new insoles for shoes but these are great and create a perfectly comfortable footbed to go along with the structure of the boot, so long periods with these on my feet is enjoyable and not tiring.(ps: I am 11 in Nike but I bought 10 in these)

I would love to see you review a pair of custom made Peter Limmer boots made in Intervale, New Hampshire. Peter Limmer’s father emigrated from Austria where he made boots for many years.

Beautiful boots! I recommend!

Beautiful. These have a nice classic look. I've had hard heeled boots and I always enjoyed wearing them.

I enjoy mine. Use them for my pleasure travel. I live in Oregon, and I like to walk to wild places. But they look great on a dinner date. Costco merino wool trail hiking socks are perfect match. I use Bickmore conditioner and a little kiwi. I love cordavan. The bad news LLBean went to a china boot. I would buy direct from chippewa. I own other chippewa boots. The are all well made.

I have the cordovan service boot, which is basically the same thing. 1 year in a love them. I would say broke in after 30 wears. Use Otter Wax products. I have the same boot in black, plus the cordovan homestead and cordovan moc toe all from Chippewa

Great advice on the socks. Wool is the way to go in my book. Danner, smart wool and Filson are what I have but there are good wool socks by others. Allen Edmonds makes a great wool sock that is a bit thinner and a bit dressier but work great as work socks.

My God😮! That’s beautiful!

You can not go wrong with a pair of these boots 1901 Chippewa tribe

I bought these after watching this video. They felt great from the first wear. I can’t even say that I feel like I’ve had to even break them in. I added some green and gold hiking laces which really contrast the burgundy nicely! Like others, I do wish it had a tab at the back to help put them on, but a shoe horn usually isn’ too far away. I’ve done a couple of coats of mink oil and ‘kneaded’ the boots before I wore them so that helped loosen them up. Great boots for the price and I always get compliments on them. Thank you for the video!

I wear a wool sock in the summer time with a wool sock liner. Feet feel fine.

I read recent comments on LL Bean that say they are no longer made by Chippewa and the quality has suffered. Imported now.

I love the look of these boots a lot but the break-in time has been longer for me than some of the other testimonials here have said. Still find them to be a tad stiff... perhaps I don't wear them a lot because I want to keep them looking so great.

The word "Heritage" is thrown around a lot when describing certain apparel (outerwear, boots, shoes). What makes a boot (in this case the Katahdini boot) a "heritage" boot?. Would you please explain this definition for me? Thanks very much. I appreciate the education.

Not sure about the cardboard but I like them

Good video . I need to think about my socks . For all my boots . Thanks .

Great pair of boots

I would give ANYTHING if this boot had a better heal. There is zero cushioning ang my knees hurt in an hour of putting them on!

Yes! Great info but like another viewer, could you address socks? I want to wear my boots in the summer in Paris with hours of walking in the day and transition into restaurants in the evening.

I'm hearing these are no longer made by Chippewa? It might be time for a more current review with this years model. I think they are on sale right now...?

I'm kind of torn between ordering these or the Wolverine 1000 Mile in the same no. 8 cordovan color. I tried the Wolverine's in my regular size 12 but had to send them back to size down since they are a 3E. I'm normally a regular E, but too wide for a D. If the 11.5EEE in Wolverine fits I may keep it. But I might give these a try in 12EE. I prefer a more lugged sole than the Wolverine's come in. All of my other boots have grippy soles so it would be tough getting used to a leather sole with no grip.

How water resistance are these boots? I live in Oregon.

So good

Awesome video , as always. Question? What brand of sock you recommend for summer ?

Hey man can you do a review of some w.m moorby boots? Im interested in buying some and your reviews are really informative. Big fan btw man

Sadly Bean no longer sources these through Chippewa and now makes them in the third world. Reviews on their website seem to show a decrease in quality over the Chippewa boots. I’ve personally resoled my pair with a more aggressive tread after about 6 years of use as the original tread is basically useless for winter conditions or outdoors activities. Great boots though.

Red Wings are way better quality control than Chippewa’s. Spend the extra bucks and get a pair of Blacksmith’s which are pretty similar.

They have changed these a lot. I bought a pair about 9 years ago and they were a bit different. Older ones have inferior leather and only 270 welt. Cap toe as well.

Just give me a link to buy and check out the boot.

LL bean is my jelly bean

too bad there's no stores in Canada to try them on......it's even hard to find Red Wings where I am

Nice job!

So these are the secret cheaper version of the service boots? Like that's the exact same boot

Chips are the best!

I love these boots -- but as for "made in America" -- mine are clearly labeled "Made in Vietnam".

How much grip would these boots offer on icy sidewalks?

Those are beautiful boots. Whats the website address?

💯

Nice shirt, whats that?

So there is a bit of cork?

is there any difference between this and the second version?

Where can you order these online? Are they discontinued?

Anyone know where the leather is sourced from?

Do they still sell these boots ? I can’t find them

Уже из коробки у моих ботинок отклеивается каблук.

Katahdin? Are these made from Katahdin sheepskin??

Just got these love em but there stiff af

I own these but mine r way nicer they have rugged brass eyelets and hooks and dark rich chocolate color

Looks like everyone is trying to Copy Red Wing and Wolverine 🤦🏼‍♂️

Every pair of Chippewa’s I’ve gotten I had to return cause QC issues.

That footboard breaks. I had these and the foot bed broke in half on both of my boots. It’s not a great boot. There are a lot better heritage boots out there.

Can you throw a timberlands pro insole in those things I’m a heavyweight and my heritage boots kill my feet

Bought a pair of these in black a couple years ago and they're good boots but they don't have "swag". Ruggedly good boot, quite comfortable but nothing more...kinda boring-looking as with most Chippewas. Not a slight against them really just something I've noticed. Once I bought a pair of Red Wing 8114s, I've relegated my Katahdins to beater status and haven't looked back. RW just puts together a better quality boot plus they exude style AND swag on top of great construction . I get plenty of compliments in those. It's worth the extra $$$ IMO. Really nice review however.