My Slightly Unhealthy Enthusiasm May No Longer be Watches

Check out the Rose Anvil on Youtube if you haven't already. My other areas of obsession preceded watches, so I can already babble about heel counters and vamps and eyelets ad full grain leather (vegetable tanned or chrome?) etc.

Resoling is the watch service of footwear. People talk about it and the possibilities for eternal life much more than they actually do it.

I have a pair of Thursday Captains, they are a great dressy/casual boot. I started down the boot rabbit hole a few years back, but because I have wide feet it was a short lived diversion. Many brands don't make wide sizes, or don't make them in the styles I would want. 

I stick to Thursday for dressier/business casual occasions, and either my Lowa Renegades or Altberg Defenders for casual use. 

I also went down the kayaking rabbit hole two years ago... I think I'll put more time/effort into kayaking this coming summer, in the end it's good exercise, and an excuse to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. 

I've had work boots resoled, but never my civilian footwear. 

I have watched him cut numerous boots in half lol. One of my favourites.

I recently bought the Thursday Captains and love them. other pair are Golden Fox not well known but a Goodyear Welt. I think I may return them as they are a bit big. 
I could see myself getting into Kayaking; we do it on Vacation all the time. Just a bit too far to drive for good kayaking spots at home.

I’ve never done it but prior to this I don’t think any of my boots would have been resoleable. 

In the CAF the MK III boots were considered the cat's ass, so if you had a pair that fit well you kept them useable by having them resoled. I had one pair resoled twice before BOOTFORGEN came out, and I could buy off the shelf boots that fit better than the issued ones, and were also waterproof (Altberg Defenders). 

I blame me as well.

Oh yeah, there are plenty of other rabbit holes/money pits/obsessions to dive into:

 boots, sneakers, guitars, speakers, pens, suits, cpu's, cars, etc... 

Going from one money pit to another, you're asking for pain 🫣

I always need something to be obsessed about, so my interests go all over the place. Which means watches do fade from time to time as they can’t always be my primary interest. 

Some of these interests are a passing phase (fountain pens) and some just go into the rotation (watches, photography, guitar, boots, bags, knives, axes, etc.). It keeps life interesting and keeps my bank account empty!

Haven't swayed away from watches yet, but big support for Rose Anvil as mentioned already. I own one of his wallets and it's class.

Beckett Simonon also has some relatively affordable footwear, and their Reids have been my daily sneaker for the past six months. Their bread and butter is still their Blake stitch footwear like Oxfords and boots. Great stuff if you want to check them out. 

While not focusing on boots, I've been down the goodyear-welted rabbit hole for the better part of 5 years and I'm not looking back. Have fun, quality footwear is a rewarding hobby.

Wait, wait, wait, you stopped using fountain pens? As with watches, I realized I had over a dozen and that more would just be more clutter and maintenance, but they're still my preferred method of writing.

Well I didn’t technically STOP using fountain pens so much as I realized I just don’t write. 😂

That photography one has caught me in the past to lol

I am going to try and capitalize on this new love by asking for a recommendation. The only boots I own are Docs and I need a real pair with some waterproofing that are comfy enough to wear for a long hike. I don’t get a ton of rain where I am but right now we are, amd we will again so I’d like to be better prepared. I would like to pay $150-200 but could budge for long term reliability. 

Yeah I tried on my sneaker size in the store my foot was swimming in it. I really like L.L. Bean and think the fact that they resole your boots for free makes me like them even more. :)

I'm actually researching hiking boots as I want a pair for when winter goes away and we can get outdoors again. 

I hear nothing but good about Danner but they are expensive. I think I have it narrowed down to 2 different options but have no first hand experience with either at this point. 

One is the Jim Green Razor Back or Ranger. I'm leaning hard towards the Jim Green Ranger at the moment may see what the return policy is and take the plunge.

The other one is the Eddie Bauer K-6. Sounds like a solid boot and looks cool but haven't read enough reviews. They are on sale right now though so I am tempted.

FYI if your into Docs look in to Solovair just not for actual hiking. They were the the company that manufactured Doc Martins back when the boot enthusiasts thought they were higher quality. So they look like Docs but really aren't a Doc knock off probably more true to what Docs were than Docs are today.

*******Update*******

I just ordered the Eddie Bauer K-6 Boots. They were over $80 bucks off. Not a lot a reviews to be found but Goodyear Welt, Vibram Soles, good looks admittedly ripped off from Danner, site reviews are mostly gushing. I'll try to remember to let you know what I think of them.

I developed an interest in good quality, durable clothes and shoes / boots lately.

Not talking about super-expensive designer clothes, but just trying to shop for clothes as I shop for watches. Quality beats quantity.

That's pretty much my approach on Boots and Watches also; I've also been adopting that philosophy into all my purchases. I don't care about the Brand I want to know about the construction, durability, and function. If I know it's a quality solid product I have more pride in ownership than I do by it having a recognizable logo.

Started getting back into man jewelry and kids gave me a drone for Xmas. Still love watches but now have other things to spend my money on. 
 

Have purchased some 30 bracelets, four necklaces and a half dozen rings the last two months. 
 

Tricked out my current drone with navigation and collision avoidance lights, stocked up on extra batteries and spare parts. Enjoying reading and plan to get a DJI Mini 3 Pro this year. 
 

A few snapshots of the current additional hobbies:

First I love that watch from Second Hour. Can't say I'd get into jewelry as I don't even wear my wedding ring consistently lol. I could see myself getting into owning a Drone though!

Get thyself to Angelo & Davide for a pair of Chelsea Beatle boots!

Sadly no London trips in are scheduled in my immediate future. :(

Check out RM Williams boots from Australia :) 

Good boots are $600 up , you might get good boots secondhand for $200 . Good luck with your search

Then I guess I’ll have to manage with bad boots. 

Good luck 🍀 

I so want a pair of their Chelsea boots but I struggle finding a pair I can get my feet into comfortably so it's a bit of a gamble.

Yes you really need to try boots on both feet :)