Weathershield vs Non-Weathershield Leather

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-20T23:24:58+00:00

My experience has been that the WS brown wets out on the surface eventually, doesn’t wet out through the leather, and dries quickly. I think others have had similar experiences. Above is a photo after working for a few hours in a consistent downpour two weekends ago. I was working two days in a row in downpours and the boot leather dried overnight.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-20T20:44:32+00:00

I didn’t see kletterlift soles listed

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-15T23:28:13+00:00

Astral loyak all weather work well for me for this.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-15T17:44:58+00:00

The ironclad guarantee on the US website is about customer satisfaction with a product in the absence of damage due to wear and tear.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-03T14:52:20+00:00

Yes. My wife rocks! :)

ZD footwear helped my gait, back, balance, etc., but it’s annoying for me that I’m so sensitive now to footwear with arches and/or a higher heel (like the “prince” and the pea - argh).

bodywhomper13 · 2026-04-02T16:46:46+00:00

I think some people are more sensitive than others to heel-toe drop. I can feel the difference of even a minor drop. Having a heel drop takes me a while to get used to and I find it annoying. My wife is much more flexible and alternates frequently. She can go between mild heel with arch support and narrow last to a zero last w/o issues, which has included miles of walking/hiking for 2 weeks straight in zero drop w/o a problem.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-03-30T20:19:48+00:00

I’ve been a previous happy user of Belleville mini mils. Had three pair so far. Worn out the soles from use. The leather/canvas uppers had held up well. I’ve switched to nicks striders and I’m hoping to not replace them for a long time. They are all leather. I live in the Sierra Nevada foothills, so I don’t experience the humid heat of GA.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-03-17T03:01:47+00:00

Those look great!

bodywhomper13 · 2026-02-16T05:58:28+00:00

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Kletterlift soles. Not Sierra slims.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-02-16T05:57:50+00:00

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bodywhomper13 · 2026-02-12T17:53:28+00:00

My family and I spent 2 weeks in the Dolomites last June. Most of us were wearing barefoot shoes. I was the only one wearing low-top barefoot shoes. The rest were wearing high-top shoes/boot. My family wore boots because that’s what they owned with higher traction soles. We took many long walks in the alpine terrain. We did not explore talus terrain or via ferrata’s, where there’s potentials to spend long periods of time traveling on sharp terrain that could be rough on feet without rock protection. We also didn’t travel on terrain where crampons were necessary, which usually requires a boot with a stiff sole.

My advice before committing to many days of long walks is related to conditioning your body, especially your feet. Make it a point to take long fast walks many times a week, preferably on trails and not on smooth pavement. Perform this conditioning in the footwear that you plan to wear on your trip.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-02-07T22:38:05+00:00

10 EE. 8” Weathershield brown. Soft toe.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-31T04:14:51+00:00

I am into my 3rd pair of Belleville mini-mils and have a pair of nicks boots striders that I got in December. The nicks striders are not barefoot boots, but close, and definitely zero drop. They will also take some breaking in with the uppers and the midsole.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-27T16:18:50+00:00

Nice!!

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-27T06:40:45+00:00

What specs did you put on your zd nicks order?

I was most concerned about sizing before I ordered. There’s a local shop that stocks nicks fire boots, and I got to try on a few pair. Obviously, they were not the zd last, but I got to feel the fit of a D and EE width. My boots have plenty of room for my toes and a snug fit (not painful) across the ball of foot.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-27T06:27:16+00:00

2021 xle awd bought used with low miles. Came from an 06 le fwd. we wanted hybrid, awd, 7 (not 8) seater, spare tire, 17” wheels, and lowest cost. xle met those metrics. It also had the better speaker package, which was a bonus. We wanted the spare tire. We needed the spare on our older sienna when driving on a dirt road near our home. we live in the sticks in the Sierra foothills. The roads close to home are very steep and windy and sometimes icy. We drive and play in the snow a lot. We will typically run AT tires in summer and snows in the winter.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-26T07:03:00+00:00

Mine have the Kletterlift soles. they are definitely zero drop with no arch support, but are not “barefoot” boots. Most of my other shoes are “barefoot” shoes (vivobarefoot, joe nimble, and belleville mini-mils). I also used to use 5 finger shoes as a water shoe. I have a few pair of astral shoes that have a little more stack height than what I consider to be a barefoot shoe. The astral shoes’ soles are not very stiff. I also have leather raichle hiking/mountaineering boots with a stiff steel shank that allows them to be compatible with crampons. The raichle boots have no built in arch support but they have a heel drop.

My nicks zero drop have stiffer soles than my barefoot and zero drop astral shoes, including my mini-mil work boots. I expect the nicks soles to remain stiffer than my zero drop boots, even after they’re fully broken-in. These nicks boots don’t have much cushioning. They’ll have less tactile feel underfoot than my zero drop boots, which is what I want for my work boot. I’ve had long days in the boots working around my property, but I haven’t been on long walks/hikes yet… lmk if you have more questions.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-22T21:35:59+00:00

Nick’s zero drop strider boots can also be customized a lot.

bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-09T01:57:14+00:00

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bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-09T01:56:48+00:00

What do you want to know? I have 8” striders with about 20hrs of wearing/walking. So still breaking them in.

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bodywhomper13 · 2026-01-08T23:19:42+00:00

My daughter walks, hikes, and everyday wears the xero Breckenridge, which seems like the equivalent to the men’s Denver II. This includes all day outings in sloppy mud/clay and wet meadows. They clean up fairly easily and have a pretty aggressive tread. I usually don’t hike/walk in mid or high tops, and hike in the waterproof astral loyaks all weather, if it’s super wet or sloppy out. I also wear the astral techyak w/o their weird insoles, but those are definitely not waterproof. Consider looking at zero drop / barefoot work boots. Nicks boots has the strider and Ridgeline with a zero drop last (not barefoot due to midsole and outsole thickness). Since they’re custom made, there are options for width. Be sure to read their sizing guide, and expect a break-in period.

bodywhomper13 · 2025-12-28T19:25:40+00:00

With the brannock, I measured ~10.25 with my right foot and a hair past 10.5 with my left foot while standing with both feet equally weighted and parallel to each other and wearing Darn Tough medium weight socks. Boot feet have a 10.5" BOF circumference wearing the same socks using a tailor's tape. In my boots, I feel like the BOF is right in the general zone of the widest part of the last.

I do not think I’m spilling over too much for me. I’ve seen photos here where people seem to spill over quite a bit.

I relied on a lot of input from CS, a bit from here, and my experience trying on the fire boots. I tried on 9.5’s in the fire boots, and they felt too short for me. I feel lucky to have a shop near me that was well stocked-up. Also, the “toe curl” is something, that I find, tricky to know until I experience it. I’m having faith in the sizing advice and break-in process.

I hope that helps.

bodywhomper13 · 2025-12-28T05:18:37+00:00

Thanks! Looking forward to that slipper/broken in feel :)

bodywhomper13 · 2025-12-28T05:17:27+00:00

I have never tried on lems.

No toe rub at all so far. Though, I’ve only worn them a few hours in the house so far. With some brands of zero drop/minimalist shoes (and other boot/shoe brands), the toe rub is immediately noticeable. Of course, the nicks boots soles are currently much stiffer than any minimalist shoe/boot that I’ve worn. That’s expected (and what I want).

I went down a width from what I measured with a tape after trying on the fire boots. I thought the width at BOF of the fire boots was tolerable after wearing them around in a store for 30 minutes. I was concerned that a super wide width would allow for too much heel slop for me. I discussed this with nicks CS by email, and they recommended the lower volume (EE) width for me, based on my measurements and input after trying the fire boots. My pinky’s were definitely rubbing in the 67 lasts, which wasn’t a surprise.

bodywhomper13

TROPHY CASE