SM Wholesale Roughout Boots
Review Date: 2/17/2012
Author: Chris Guska
Introduction:
I had the opportunity at the January Ft. Indiantown GAP event to check out some products in detail. I was surprised to see that SM Wholesale has continued to invest in improving their Roughout boots that have been a perennial contender.
Observations:
There were some subtle changes that I noticed in the boots on display, which prompted a fairly lengthy conversation with one of the SMW employees. The gentleman I talked with was very knowledgeable and cared about his products.
I was fortunate enough to take some photos to show the updates and details - after assuring SMW that I was not one of their competitors.
One of the new features was that the leather is apparently "pre-dubbed", such that the leather is impregnated with a waterproofing compound prior to assembly. The leather was supple and slightly darker than the other products out there on the market. Despite being "pre-dubbed", I would most certainly use Sno-Seal and some brown polish as i have with all my other boots.
The boots are now being made on a D width last, rather than the EE width they had been previously made on. This was a major gripe of mine, as the EE was simply too wide for me. This is a major plus to me.
Sole pattern is still the familiar Biltrite pattern. The heels are a new pattern that I haven't previously seen, but still period styled.
The boots are goodyear welted, although it looks to me like the welting machine wasn't adjusted properly, as the welting is set very deeply into the rubber outsole.
The welting from the top looks good and tight. The midsole appears to be of leather rather than an inferior material.
The toe is un reinforced and shaped properly.
The usual construction details are there, eyelets well set, and vamp rivet holding things together.
The boots feature a period style contractor marking. This is a nice finishing touch.
Conclusions:
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the new offerings from SM Wholesale on their GI boots. Many of the prior issues I've had with their boots have been resolved. Based on the details as well as track record of reasonably good quality / durability of the SM Wholesale (mexican made) boots, if I was unable to buy the US made Cove/Corcoran roughouts, I would buy these boots from SM.
These appear to be accurate, well made boots. There are several generations of SM Wholesale boots on the market. I've reviewed the older generations here on the site. With the new generation of boots, these are a serious contender against US made boots. Just be sure of what exactly you are getting when you order - as the older boots aren't as well detailed as the latest generation.
