Tricker's Legend boots in espresso

 

Tricker's is one of the great names in gentlemen's boots. They have been making boots since 1829, seven years before Queen Victoria came to the throne; and have been working out of the same Northampton factory since 1904. It is here that the company's skilled, and time-served, craftsmen and women still make Tricker's boots by hand.

 

Whichever leather is selected, it is cut or 'clicked' by hand around a set of dies that are particular to a given style. When all these pieces are cut out, they are passed to the ladies who sew the panels together. When that is done, the boot is formed over a last where it is pinned and left to mould into shape. After some days, the upper, is sewn to the welt, which is then attached to a cork-filled, mid-sole and the outer sole by means of a Goodyear welting machine. The boot will then be finished by hand to remove any imperfections. Finally, the boot is then 'mopped' and inspected before being boxed up. Each pair of boots will have had more than three hours of labour expended upon them.

 

The beauty of a pair of handmade Tricker's boots is that they can forever be repaired and resoled. All you need to do is to treat the leather with a modicum of care to ensure that it does not dry out. Do this, and there's every chance that you will still be wearing them at your final, retirement party!

 

All handmade shoes and boots are special, but there is something particularly distinctive about a pair of Tricker's boots; the knowledge that they have been made in the same way for nearly 200 years, and that they have been worn by so many prime ministers, presidents and kings; including of course King Charles who, back in 1989 as the Prince of Wales, first issued the company a Royal Warrant. 

 

Our boot is always based on a style from the Tricker's archives. This year, our boot is, in effect, a version of the company's famous Stow boot.

 

We always spend a lot of time at the factory going through all the fine detail. For this year's Legend boot, we went for a chunkier Commando sole. Of course, the gearchange panel across the toe has become somewhat of a trademark. It turns our gentlemen's boot into a motorcycle boot, without necessarily making it look like one. We always place an extra roundel of leather over the ankle bone although, in truth, this is more about aesthetics than any added level of protection. 

 

Of course, the hardest decision is choosing which leather to go for. Once again we went for a supple, MC leather. The colour we chose is known as Espresso. It's a leather that has been treated in the tanning process to imbue it with a certain degree of water repellency. This is not going to provide Gore-Tex levels of impermeability, but you will get several hours in the rain before your feet start to get wet.

 

The Legend boot is not, it has to be acknowledged, accredited under EN13634 as protective wear for motorcyclists. But what we can be clear about is that this boot is, in terms of its robustness and strength, as tough as pretty much any short motorcycle boot we have ever come across.

 

For protection, the Legend boot has an incredibly rigid counter in the heel, and the toughest toe box this side of a metal one. The Commando outer sole is hard-wearing and very grippy. And you get a wooden shank in the sole for added transverse rigidity.

 

So is this a proper motorcycle boot? Technically no. But is it strong enough to do the job? Heck yes; we're not sure that there's a stronger, short motorcycle boot out there. And certainly not one that's made to this quality.

 

The sizes we have are: 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11, 11.5, 12 and 12.5 but you should know that we have had just 30 pairs made. The boot, by the way, comes in a Tricker's 5 fitting. Now they call this a medium width; but we would consider the fitting of these boots to be quite wide.

 

You can order online, obviously, but to get the size right you might be better off visiting us. Just don't leave it too long.