Product Review
by
Roland Leong,
Managing Editor
Irish Setter Heritage
Irish Setter Pioneer
One of the major innovations in footwear manufacturing in recent
times was the development of gluing or bonding of the sole to
the
uppers. The technique is really not new, as it has been used in
the
making of canvas sneakers for some time. To those who are younger,
there was a time when basketball players wore canvas high top
sneakers. History lesson aside for the moment, the technique of
bonding a one-piece sole to the uppers, rather than having to
sew the
sole to the uppers reduced the cost of footwear manufacturing.
I look
at the footwear that my family has, and the vast majority of it
is a
one-piece bonded sole.
The traditional way of making footwear was sewing multiple layers
of
upper, mid-sole and sole together to some form be it a shoe or
boot.
Labor intensive and costly. It is hard to find a traditionally
manufactured shoe or boot these days. One advantage is that the
sole
can be replaced when worn. Not much of a selling point to many
in a
throw-away society.
One bootmaker still makes footwear the old fashioned way is Irish
Setter. They make a boot called the Heritage and another called
the
Pioneer. These boots would be fine upland hunting boots. The main
difference is in the height of the boot. The Heritage is 9" high
and
the Pioneer is 6" high. I had a chance to wear the Pioneer from
Spring to the Summer. I found it to be a rugged, supportive boot
for
the warmer three seasons, well suited when walking on irregular
terrain.
These boots are un-insulated and do not have a waterproof membrane
like Gore-Tex. This is the combination I prefer in the warm seasons.
The desire to no have insulation is obvious. I personally feel
that
any water-proof membrane, no matter how efficient at allowing
perspiration to pass through, has to make a boot feel warmer and
wetter than no membrane at all. The boot is still waterproof.
The
leather is treated with a special oil treatment that repels water.
I
can’t/don’t recommend standing in water with them but I have garden
hosed them for five minutes by the clock and I didn’t notice my
socks
getting wet.
The boots have durable brass eyelets and stud hooks for the laces,
a
leather gusset tongue to keep out water and debris and they have
a
comfort flex notch at the ankle to allow for easier forward flexion
when walking. A canoe moc toe design gives ample toe room and
there
is an additional leather layer at the toe, extending back to the
heel
to give long-term durability from abrasion. The uppers are connected
to the exclusive Vibram® PawTrac lightweight rubber sole through
a
traditional Goodyear welt construction by no less than two lines
of
stitching. An example of overbuilding. I have never seen double
stitching at the welt except on these boots. The benefit of the
Goodyear welt construction is that these boots can be re-soled.
Don’t
worry, you’ll want to keep these boots. The Vibram® soles have
shallow lugs and a beveled heel. The shallow lugs pick up less
mud
and muck , so the boots stay lighter and the wearer get less tired
through the day. The beveled heel makes downhill walking a bit
easier.
My socks got slightly discolored after wearing the boot. Nothing
that
couldn’t be washed out, but it was a slight annoyance.
Last but not least, the steel shank gives the boot rigidity so
you
can walk over rocks without feeling each rock and without twisting
an
ankle.
One last thing. These boots elicited numerous favorable comments
from
my colleagues. Everytime I wore them, someone noticed and the
comments
can be summed by the statement, "Those are nice boots." I couldn’t
have put it better.
Irish Setter Heritage 9" high, 4 lbs. 6 ozs/pair $199
Irish Setter Pioneer 6" high, 3 lbs. 14 oz./pair $189
Irish Setter Boots can be found at: <www.irishsetterboots.com>