Description
Made to order, please allow 20 working weeks for delivery.
As standard, the Mark V specification is:
Leather: Caramelo brown full grain
Collar: No collar, one-piece full height leather counter loop
Tongue/Overlay: Full bellows tongue for maximum resistance against water ingress
Thread: Tan
Eyelets: 4 Antique brass eyelets, 6 speed hooks and rivet detail at the quarter/vamp seam
Toe: Polycarbonate reinforced toe-box
Last: Army semi-sprung
Shank/Counter: Wooden shank, polycarbonate counter for extra rigidity at the heel
Sole finish: Leather to resin throughsole with heavy duty Vibram rubber unit, screwed at toe & heel
Laces: Brown leather
A Canadian Sapper –
I’m glad to say that the boots pictured here are ones that I had specifically made for myself. May very well be the ones I wear daily.
I wear these as an active duty Combat Engineer with the Corps or Royal Canadian Military Engineers. They’ve been through sand, swamp, lakes, rivers and snow. I have scuffed them, burned them, spilled bleaches and acids on them. I once wore them for 72 hours straight in the rain only stopping to change socks.
As a garrison boot they are unparalleled in fit comfort. Of course, following an arduous break in period of about 40-60 hours. Standard with any well tailored leather boot; It takes time to soften and contour to your feet. Everyone stops to ask me where I got them and how to get some and I always direct them here and to Libs. Four soldiers I work with have purchased them. Non-com and Officers. I own three pairs and plan for more.
As a field boot/marching boot: They are heavy. Modern combat boots weigh in at several hundred grams a pair. These weigh in at about double that. A boot.
What you give up in weight you gain in ankle support, comfort, sole, just-for-you luxury. These are Black(brown) Cadillacs. Are designed to take you somewhere in style and comfort at the cost of gas and maintenance. These aren’t for your Nijmegen March or your Iron Warrior race. They’re for dismounting in style.
While these are leather, that only gets you so far with water. Without a proper coat of oil and treatment, you have about 15 minutes of standing in calf deep water before they soak through. You’ll want to try them off properly and slowly after that or risk damaging them. That said, I have treated one pair with some thick Mink oil that has given these a fatty, matte and dark finish. Perfect for winter and the insole wore through to the screws before the vibram did. Though I think that has to do with my treatment of them rather than manufacture.
A friend of mine stacked on over 9000km of marching before badly needing a resole. Mine gave way at 5000km.
Solid boot, solid company with solid employees and workmanship. Really find your proper size and wear these in. Get them in a colour you like and care for them. The CAF gives me $380 a year to buy boots. I intend to make every pair purchased from William Lennon with that money last a lifetime with these.
Christopher Kavanaugh (verified owner) –
I am a field archaeologist
and hiking-bushcrafter in
California. I need three season boots for environment s from redwood forests ,desert
coastal beach and hard
chaparral . These are superbly made.
I have two minor comments. There is NO
W L maker’s Mark! In a industry of swooshes and monograms I have to tell people who made these.
The leather laces are excellent and hold a knot.
If you tie a double lace at the eyelet- speed hook for different tension, a double wrap at the boot top they are to short. A minor point.
FIT: I bought U.K. 11
My US size is a 11.5EEE and European 45.
With merino liner socks
( Finnish MO5 issue) the fit is perfect; .5” beyond toes in the box and the ankle allows for flexing. The last is very comfortable. The US Army Munson last used in WW2 paratroopers is similar, but lacks the roll. I love how it assists my gait. I look like a Victorian Sargent Major quick marching in a Monty Python skit. So said my
Backpacking group on their introductory hike through Malibu Canyon to the beach.
My size is probably pushing the limit for fit. If you wear heavier socks and a smaller US-European size no problem.
Jakob Radus (verified owner) –
I got these boots in a size 9 UK and am wearing them with orthopedic insoles.
Though the break in process was rather painful (the boots were sitting to tight thanks to the insole) they wore in very nicely after a week or so and have been supremely comfortable ever since.
The leather is thick and made the impression of being heavily treated with oils, after working in some leather fat and shoe polish of my own, the boots not only gained a nice matter brown shine, but are also surprisingly water resistant for a leather boot that does not advertise itself on that front (water will seep through, but neither fast nor in great quantities, I would still avoid entering deeper water in them).
The leather laces can not only withstand as much pulling force as any normal boot lace, but they also hold extremely firm both on the speed hooks and eyelets, and in the knot, allowing the wearer to really tighten the boots for a secure hold.
The leather also scars and creases easily, which in my opinion gives the boots a nice patina, though both scars and creases can be worked out really easily with a bit of lather fat or even just rubbing the spot with a finger for a bit.
The Vibram sole performs as expected of a Vibram sole.
All in all an excellent outdoor boot for most occasions and surprisingly pretty and fashionable with the right care and tricks, the long wait time was worth it!