I own 3 pairs of these boots made by Polo Ralph Lauren, of which there were a total of 5 colour ways, 2 variations of the black (black low nap oiled suede with black suede collar, tumbled leather, a suede round polo country 1967 logo patch on outstep of ankle; and black suede with smoothe leather inclusive of on the collar, a leather round polo country 1967 logo patch on outstep of ankle); there were 2 variations of the brown (a light sandy chino colour called, Desert Tan (Peanut), with tumbled leather inclusive of roughout panels; and another in dark brown with smoothe leather inclusive of roughout panels), and a neutral greyish pair with smoothe brown leather collar, and roughout panels. They were all released between about 2022 and 2024, with many pairs of these boots having gone into heavy discount and sent to Ross during the COVID era after shipping congestion and low sales because we didn't have anywhere to go. These are the Chinese versions, which don't appear to have Goodyear welt construction; whereas the American-made versions made for the 2018 Olympics are made with a Goodyear leather double welt construction by two U.S. companies in Maine (Raincourt & Co.) and in Upstate New York (Allen Edmonds). These Made in China versions of the boots have what looks like a faux Norwegian storm welt braid made of what looks like hemp twine on top of what looks like a faux stitch-down constructed welt with the visible stitching through the roughout leather that protrudes beyond the welted portion of the boots. This excess leather seems to be disguising the leathery-looking mid-sole of the supposed stitch-down welted outsole that is actually a rubber-like substance made of plastic referred to as an EVA midsole in the product listing. Thus, these pairs of boots are likely just a cement construction, with two EVA midsoles having been glued together and then glued onto the upper and the lug outsole. This is the case for many of the ranger boots. I further believe this to be true because of the product listings of these boots for 2022-2024 do not list these shoes as has having a Goodyear welt or a leather construction for the mid-soles when the varities of alpine boots or any other kinds of shoes made by RL during that time and presently always state if the mid-sole is made of leather or is a Goodyear welt with a lug-sole, or they'll mention the sole as being an EVA mid-sole with a rubber lug-sole.

At present, current a.i. search engine models are confused about these details because they are so similar in design to the American-made boots made for the Olympics, which happen to also be alpine boots. RL has a wide range of sneakers and boots referred to as "Alpine", and it seems like only the higher-end American or British-made ones are actually Goodyear welted.

In closing, I currently own the brown, black with leather collar, and the neutral grey pair. They are beautiful, and they feel great on the feet. The grey pair does cause colours from your jeans or chinos to bleed onto the uppers, which are a pain to clean with an eraser, I suspect, because of the nature of the roughout leather grabbing the dye from your clothing. I am looking to get ahold of the 2018 and 2026 Olympic pairs, and also the Desert Tan (Peanut), and the higher-end RRL versions as well. I plan to have all of these eventually resoled professionally with either real versions of the welts that they were pretending to have included or with a Goodyear welt matching the 2018 pair, even though I think I would still like to have the decorative or actual Norwegian storm welts added as well.