So I finally got my Jim Green African Tropper Barefoot boots. I emailed them on 9/18 and asked if they could make them in a size 15 and they said they could and they arrived yesterday on 11/4. From my understanding this made them a custom order which caused the longer ship time. The company is based out of South Africa and really cool. They are making really good quality and customizable boots at quite a fair price. In fact it looks like they are making a moc toe the traditional way (i.e Russell Moccasin) that will drop next spring that I am VERY interested in…
I have bought into the minimalist footwear thing this year; specifically the benefits of a wide toe box and zero drop shoe. Ive been training my feet since summer by wearing a lot of “barefoot style” shoes and am slowly building up the muscles/tendons in my feet and calves and I wanted a boot I could wear hunting as I start to phase out of my heavy mountain boots.
First impression of these is the quality feels top notch. The leather and construction is really well done. The fit is also excellent on these right out of the box. Perfect volume and width for me with no heel slippage or pressure. I went with these as opposed to say the African Rangers because I really like a taller boot for hunting to keep debris and junk out of my shoes. I also went with Jim Green because I like the company , their willingness to customize, and apparent superior construction to say a Vivo or Lems. With this stitch down construction, I can easily replace the sole when this one wears out giving me a lot of life out of this boot. The leather really feels like it has the perfect thickness. Supple enough to be comfortable and hopefully conform to the shape of my foot with reinforcements in the toe and high wear areas that will give it some rigidity and longer life. We will see how the outsole preforms but it is a little of the softer side and has a little bit of a tacky feel. I expect the traction to be good but to wear a little faster. Luckily a new outsole isn't expensive but we will see how much life I get out of them.
These are not waterproof but that honestly does not bother me. Waterproof membranes always eventually break down and fail and I would rather have a treated full grain leather boot . I applied some Obenauf's LP last night and really like the way they look now.
My only gripe so far is the same with every barefoot boot/shoe and that’s that they resemble bowling shoes to some extent. These to me don’t look as bad as others but still have a little goofy quality to them but I can see that growing on me. And to be frank, I don’t really care anymore as long as they fit and preform.
I am planning on putting some miles on them here in the next few months including the rest of deer season here in the North Georgia mountains. Ill also be wearing them daily in between hunts to try to expedite the process.. Ill provide some periodic updates as they break in and I put them to the test. I just wanted to hop on here and give yall a look at them and my first impressions in case anyone was looking to order some before the holidays. Ill update this thread with my thoughts as they wear in.
All in all, I am pleased so far and will be looking at ordering one of their moc toes and their Romeo style boot for chores around the house.
I have bought into the minimalist footwear thing this year; specifically the benefits of a wide toe box and zero drop shoe. Ive been training my feet since summer by wearing a lot of “barefoot style” shoes and am slowly building up the muscles/tendons in my feet and calves and I wanted a boot I could wear hunting as I start to phase out of my heavy mountain boots.
First impression of these is the quality feels top notch. The leather and construction is really well done. The fit is also excellent on these right out of the box. Perfect volume and width for me with no heel slippage or pressure. I went with these as opposed to say the African Rangers because I really like a taller boot for hunting to keep debris and junk out of my shoes. I also went with Jim Green because I like the company , their willingness to customize, and apparent superior construction to say a Vivo or Lems. With this stitch down construction, I can easily replace the sole when this one wears out giving me a lot of life out of this boot. The leather really feels like it has the perfect thickness. Supple enough to be comfortable and hopefully conform to the shape of my foot with reinforcements in the toe and high wear areas that will give it some rigidity and longer life. We will see how the outsole preforms but it is a little of the softer side and has a little bit of a tacky feel. I expect the traction to be good but to wear a little faster. Luckily a new outsole isn't expensive but we will see how much life I get out of them.
These are not waterproof but that honestly does not bother me. Waterproof membranes always eventually break down and fail and I would rather have a treated full grain leather boot . I applied some Obenauf's LP last night and really like the way they look now.
My only gripe so far is the same with every barefoot boot/shoe and that’s that they resemble bowling shoes to some extent. These to me don’t look as bad as others but still have a little goofy quality to them but I can see that growing on me. And to be frank, I don’t really care anymore as long as they fit and preform.
I am planning on putting some miles on them here in the next few months including the rest of deer season here in the North Georgia mountains. Ill also be wearing them daily in between hunts to try to expedite the process.. Ill provide some periodic updates as they break in and I put them to the test. I just wanted to hop on here and give yall a look at them and my first impressions in case anyone was looking to order some before the holidays. Ill update this thread with my thoughts as they wear in.
All in all, I am pleased so far and will be looking at ordering one of their moc toes and their Romeo style boot for chores around the house.
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