Nicks BuilderPro™ Boots
It is a lot of money for a boot but they say you get what you pay for.
PROS
Fit
Look
Durability
Might be the last boots you ever need
CONS
Price
Weight
Wait time
Break-in time
Measurement process can be tedious
Fresh out of the box. Only had to wait 5.5 months
I have wanted a pair of Northwest style boots for a few years now. There are a few options out there and they are all similar…for a reason. Whites started a long time ago (pre-Civil War). From what I understand, some folks didn’t like the direction Whites was going in so they started Nicks. Some other people who worked for Nicks felt the same way so they started Franks. They are all based in Spokane, Washington and, if you didn’t care about boots, you wouldn’t notice the differences. I do care about boots and they all have their merits but I liked the Nicks style the most.
There are a few ways to get fitted for a pair of Nicks. You can guess your size (not recommended), have them ship you boots to try if you live in the US (which adds many months to the process) or go to Spokane and get fitted in person. Last August, I was in Seattle for my stepdaughter’s birthday. Since I was in the same state and significantly closer to Spokane than usual, I decided to drive the 4.5 hours and get fitted at their office/factory. I’m glad I did. Normally, I wear 12.5/13 extra wide or 4E. It all depends on the shoe or boot manufacturer but that’s where I usually land. I was surprised to learn that I am 11.5F for these boots in their moderate arch last. I’m only 10.5F in the classic arch last. The fitter said I bordered between F and FF but I chose F and didn’t want to chance the boots being too loose once broken in.
After being correctly measured, I was confident the boots would fit so I placed an order while at the store. These boots in particular were the standard BuilderPro™ model with a reduced 8” boot height in Walnut with smooth over roughout and Vibram honey outsole. The total came to $600.49 with tax. The gentleman who placed the order for me said the lead time was around 20 weeks and I’d be lucky if I got them by Christmas.
Side note: Mrs. Bald Rider, her sister and brother-in-law accompanied me to Spokane. They knew I was driving nine hours roundtrip but I don’t think they realized how much time that was. Nobody else bought anything at Nicks but we did stop by Whites and the brother-in-law purchased a pair of boots from them. He received his first but he also purchased a non-handmade model. Also, as we were driving to Spokane, I smelled something familiar. Potatoes. Eastern Washington smells like potatoes and it was familiar because I used to live in Idaho.
Fast forward 163 days or 23.25 weeks. My boots finally arrived in all their glory. I laced them up (Nicks recommends 2-1-3 pattern) and started wearing them around the house. Mrs. Bald Rider has a strict “no shoes in the house” rule so this was my only chance to wear them inside before they were worn outside and banned from the house forever. There are horror stories all over the internet about how terrible the break-in on these boots are. Wearing them around the house, I didn’t know what all the drama was about. Of course, I was wearing them while working in my home office, sitting at my desk with the routine trip to the coffee maker to freshen up my mug. Once I wore them outside and actually started walking around in them or riding a motorcycle, I began to understand.
I think these boots could have been used as medieval torture devices back in the day.
I don’t work outside on my feet all day. Break-in was limited to walking/hiking, outside chores and riding motorcycles. They would always feel fine for the first 10-15 minutes after slipping them on but then the pain would start. Pain wasn’t isolated to any one spot. Maybe it was but it was bad enough that I couldn’t tell. It just felt like my whole foot was screaming at me from every point at once. After a while, that initial 10-15 minutes extended to greater lengths. It wasn’t until May while helping my dad erect a carport that I looked down at my feet and realized the boots were broken in. Aside from the weight, I couldn’t even tell I was wearing them since I received them in January.
Post-break in, they feel like heavy slippers. This is as far as they’re allowed in the house now.
If you see me outside these days, I’ll either be wearing these boots or a pair of Crocs 95% of the time. The Crocs are there for when I don’t feel like lacing up boots which is entirely dependent on how long I will be outside. I wear these boots for every activity outside of the house except shoveling snow (duck boots) and maybe weddings but I don’t get invited to many of those. I am such a big fan of these boots that I catch myself on their website looking at their other styles and thinking I need another pair. I know my size now so its only a matter of some clicking and the order will go in their queue. The only things that are stopping me are the thoughts of breaking in another pair and explaining why I needed another pair of $600 boots to Mrs. Bald Rider.
This might be a bit of a stretch to have the second review on a new site dedicated to motorcycles to review something not specifically made for motorcycles but I bought these specifically to wear while riding so these are my “motorcycle boots.” As they are not armored motorcycle boots, wearing them may not satisfy those with a strict ATGATT policy. I used to wear Tourmaster and Spidi boots but they all run too narrow for me and are a pain to walk in even when they do fit. You can also buy boots marketed as motorcycle-specific but their armor is essentially nonexistent in many cases and arguably overpriced just because they are marketed towards motorcyclists.
If you want to buy a pair of of these boots or one of their other styles, you can visit www.nicksboots.com. Nicks also has a YouTube channel if you’re interested in seeing how their boots are made.
Disclaimer: I purchased the boots directly from Nicks as stated in the review. I have no association with Nicks Handmade Boots and am not sponsored in any way by anyone.
