I’ve been wearing Timberland Pro 8-inch leather work boots for a few years, and they’ve served me well. Here’s what you need to know before you buy them.
Timberland Pro: Top Line Review
- Awesome ruggedness
- Comfortable
- Simple, excellent design
- Value: Extreme
- No frills to wear out, peel off
- Heavy duty, but light enough to move
- Waterproof
- Laces that last
Detailed Review
The Timberland Pro 8-inch leather work boots are virtually un-wear-outable. They are, to date, my favorite work boots. Ever.
What other work boots have I tried?
I’ve tried various hikers and hiker/work boot hybrids, I’ve tried sneakers, and I’ve tried cheap-o knock offs that looked like work boots but felt like I was wearing Wonder bread bags on my feet.
And I have tried beefier brands with their own stores and homegrown pedigrees. However, the price tags and/or fit just didn’t work for me, so I’ve never been in a pair of boots that cost North of $200.
Hikers
I know plenty who like hikers, and they kind of worked, but then not really. There are so many industrially-designed overmolds and sole-to-upper glue connections that they didn’t stand a fighting chance after 6 months or so.
Hybrids
The hybrids–half hiker, half work boot–fared much better and I was certainly pleased with how they held up. But there were hooks on the upper laces instead of eyelets and they could mar a floor if I wasn’t careful kneeling down.
They were tread-less which was a problem in deep mud and snow. And they needed to be laced and unlaced and wearing them untied to run out to the truck in the morning to get something was impossible.
Timberland Pro
Lo and behold, I spotted the Timberland Pro 8-inch leather work boots for a mere $100–soft toe, thank you–and I was smitten.
But the proof is in the pudding.
Are the work boots tough?
Short story long, I’ve worn two pairs over the last year or so doing everything I do: deck building, snow removal, interior trim, sheds, demolition, dump runs, fences, tree work, flood recovery and umpteen client meetings and slipping them on to run out to the truck or take out the trash and they’ve been game-on from top to bottom. I even built a pole barn in 3 inches of North Carolina clay-mud-slurry with nary a drop of the incessant water or mud inside the boot.
They’re so sturdy, it’s ridiculous. There’s no rubber to peel off of anything. There are no exposed stitches to abrade and unstitch. The oil-tanned leather upper is virtually impenetrable and is equally waterproof (no Wonder bread effect…awesome!)
The sole is ¾-inch thick and virtually un-wear-downable, yet it’s flexible and the whole unit is “hiker-like”–I don’t feel like I’m wearing a boot.
If I have to run wheelbarrows to move tons of stone from the drop zone to where I needed it (see pole barn above) I can run like I’m wearing a hiker or tough sneaker. It’s not exact, but they’re not concrete galoshes either.
Are the boots comfortable?
The Timberland Pro boots are comfortable. Unlike hikers, they’re not built like a ruggedized running shoe. They’re a boot. With a heel. They kathunk on the floor.
Having been a runner for most of my life, I know when the cushioning goes in a running shoe or hiker and it hurts. (My body is particularly sensitive to this; I’ve seen guys wearing shoes that’d have me in traction if I wore them). But for the Timberlands, there’s enough meat in the sole, last, and upper that my sensitive feet feel supported.
The only part that does “wear out”–I doubt many others would be bothered by this–is that the uppers get a little looser over time and my foot sloshes around a little. I tie them tighter, but eventually, I need a more snug capture of my foot. If this doesn’t bother you, this boot’s half life is somewhere around eternity.
The first pair developed a small hole in the toe of one boot maybe 6 months in. It seemed like my legs were hurting, like when a running shoe gives up the ghost. So I got a new pair. However, I’m on the second pair and I’m at least 6 months in and there’s no hole. Hardly any wear on the soles. I’ve worked them as hard or harder than the first pair.
What’s the real value and where are the work boots made?
I’d love for these Timberland Pros to be made in America. However, they are near-sourced in the Dominican Republic, which seems pretty cool.
At around $125, they’re an extreme value to me and serve me from trim work to digging post holes to running my tractor through 24-inches of snow. My feet feel good, dry, and there’s zero peeling plastic.
Have you tried the Timberland Pro work boots?
We’d love to know your take on the Timberland Pro 8-inch leather work boots. Have you tried them? How long did they last?
Or is there a work boot that you think it way better? Share in the comments below.
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