Hugh Jackman Boots - Truth about RM Williams

These are the $500 RM Williams boots. So let's cut them in half, find out the truth of what's inside of them, and if they're worth $500. Also we got the new setup with the hide of friendship, sacrifices to the boot gods, toasters here in his little bucket. I want to make him like a really fancy, uh, like, shearling lined leather bed for YouTube and just around the shop. So I might be doing a video on that at some point, but I digress. Let's get to the RM Williams. These boots were originally going to be the 50,000 subscriber mark video, but they're handmade so it took like five or six weeks to get here because we did the blundstones instead. So this will be the 72,654 subscriber mark celebration video. So if you're not subscribed, consider liking and subscribing because it makes a huge difference, and I really want to start tearing apart some luxury brands, but they're so freaking pricey. And if you are subscribed, thanks for all your support. Like I said, we did the blundstones last time and a lot of people were upset that I didn't wear them for very long. So I think I'm going to start doing these a little bit differently. A lot of people said I should wear them for like two weeks, but imagine breaking in a pair of boots every single week. That will kill me and give me plantar fasciitis. So I think what I'm going to do is just wear them for like a day or two before I do the review so I can do kind of like a first impression, kind of what you should expect when you first get these pair of boots, what your first couple days in them is going to be like. And yes, I read every single comment, even the really rude ones. So if there's something else you guys want to see with these videos, I'm always happy to add some new elements in and change it on the fly. So let me know what you think of this new format and what else you want me to add. So let's talk about R.M. Williams the company. They started in 1932 and got their first storefront in 1934 on 5 Percy Street. And they've been- they just made boots ever since then. They still have a storefront on that same street. It's on their little tag here. Where I heard of them is in 2016. My boy Hugh Jackman was- became an investor and a partner in this company. So that's kind of where a lot of people started hearing from these, I think, at least stateside. One really unique thing about this company, they really emphasize repairing their boots because these are such expensive boots that the the goal is to be able to resole them when they- when the soles start wearing out and really repair them so you're not buying a new pair of boots every year. So I really like this company. I've been really impressed with them and they're made in Australia. You know, a lot of companies, they start making them in certain countries and then they try to get that money and they export all their production overseas and their quality drops. But these guys are really impressive and their quality is supposedly top-notch. So we'll have to kind of see for ourselves. But now let's talk about the actual boots that I got. These are their leather-soled craftsman boots. I got them in a dark tan and on the site they're a little bit more brown but the boots that I actually got are kind of a more reddish tint to them than on the site. So keep that in mind if this is the color you want. I got them in a G width and I have super narrow feet and they're really skinny boots. So if you've got wide feet make sure you get the wider size. They're $495 on their site and they're a chelsea style boot. Chelsea style boots are like laceless boots that have a little stretchy fabric on the side so you can just slip them on. They're similar to the blundstones but not really as close as I initially thought. Let me grab some of this. So the blundstones, these are a lot more of a work boot and they have a lot bigger toe, a lot rounder toe, versus these ones. You can see how much more pointy they are and more narrow they are. And these have like a really soft sole and these are leather-soled so they're just two different worlds when it comes to chelsea boots. These are more dress chelsea. These are more work chelsea. The leather is a yearling cowhide which means it's like, I think it's a one to two year old cow they get the leather from them. They do this because yearling leather and hides are a lot softer. They're not quite as thick because the cow hasn't grown up fully so you get a lot more pliable and soft and supple leather. That's why they use it in this boot. This is the craziest thing. So this whole upper is one solid piece of leather. So there's no seams all the way around this, just one seam in the back where it's wrapped around and sewn together. Getting a piece of leather to conform and fit around the last to make it a single boot from one piece of leather is crazy. Like, like these boots they make around several pieces because it's so hard to get leather to wrap around like that and I think that's part of the reason why they use the yearling because it might be a little more pliable. And then this leather is a really really finished leather. So it's not an aniline leather. It's very finished. There's a lot of finish on top that looks like paint. You can't actually see the natural grain of the leather. That's just another thing where it's part of the style. Like, it's a Goodyear welted boot. It's not a 360 Goodyear welt where the welt is sewn on all the way around the boot. It's just from, like, the heel wrapped around to the other part of the heel. There's no stitching on the actual heel. And the sole is a leather sole. They do have, like, a rubber sole, like, non-slip version of this. So now let's talk about the fit. I wore these for a day and a half-ish and these boots aren't going to be comfortable right off the bat because they're, I think, a faux leather boot. They don't have, like, a soft rubber sole. So they're going to be comfortable until you get it worn in. But they were surprisingly comfortable for being an uncomfortable boot. It wasn't until, like, six hours in that I started to get a little foot fatigue and my heels started to feel a lot of the pressure of not having any cushioning. They're also really narrow. My pinky toes were starting to rub and that's part of the style of these boots is they're meant to look really narrow and long. But I hate having my toes squished so that was a big negative in mind. But these are style boots so you pay for style. I think they're nice looking boots. They're not necessarily my style because I I work all the time so I wouldn't be wearing these around the shop. But if I were to dress up for some reason these would be a good dress boot. So now that we've kind of gleaned as much information from these boots without cutting them in half and kind of analyzed them and talked about the wear in, let's cut them in half and see what's inside of them. See if there's a shank. See if it's all leather. If there's any cork in there. And see what's inside of them. Okay we gotta cut apart. Let's see what's inside. Looks like we got some pretty good stuff going on in here. I thought this might be a full leather all the way through but we got some cork in there and that's going to help conform to your foot faster and it's going to give it a more custom fit over the long haul. It looks like the the heel stack is full leather except for the very bottom piece. That's the rubber cushioning and grip part. And then the insole looks like it's full leather. It looks pretty good in here so far. Pretty impressed. So to really analyze I needed- I want to rip apart the rest of it. Kind of tear apart this heel stack because I see some nails in here and I definitely cut right through the middle of a nail. There is a shank in here. I think it's just a composite shank. It's definitely not a steel shank. So I want to get that out and pull these layers apart and see how it's constructed. It's definitely a Goodyear welt. So yeah let's tear it apart and see what else is inside here. So now that we got it torn apart let's go through the layers of it. So obviously the bottom layer on the heel is the rubber heel pad for grip and comfort. And then you got a mostly leather heel stack with a few layers of a composite material. There's a little wedge. And then right at the top of the heel stack above the outsole there's a little layer of this composite material as well. And then we've got a layer of cork all the way through the midsole. And then a composite shank. And then the insole is a really heavy layer of leather. And then you've got that little pad on the heel. And then the liner- it looks like a deerskin liner on the forefront of the boot. And then just another yearling layer in the back. The counter is another composite kind of plastic counter kind of like the shank. There's not really a cap near the heel on the counter so you might get some slip on your heel when you first start wearing these in because this leather is really smooth. A lot of times you'll see in boots where this is roughed up or roughed out leather so that your heel doesn't slip as much and cause blisters. Yeah overall it's a really good boot. I'm pretty impressed. There's a few things I wish were a little different. Like I wish that there wasn't some composite material inside the heel stack. Just being nitpicky. But other than that I think it's a solid boot. I don't really have that many complaints other than it was so freaking hard to tear it apart. It literally took me like two hours. I feel like I've aged 10 years. Like I don't even remember starting this video. It's been so long. It's like 3 a.m and I started at 7. So yeah let me know what you guys think. Is it worth $500? I have a hard time spending $500 on anything but let me know what you think. And if you have a pair of these what's your experience with them? Have you seen some flaws? Do you love them? Let me know what you think. And consider liking and subscribing and commenting and everything else that the algorithm demands because these boots were $500 and it it probably takes me around 300,000 views to break even. So anything you can do to help this video out is very greatly appreciated so I can continue doing these videos and do- start doing some luxury brands and some designer brands to see if they live up to all the hype and if they live up to that price tag. Thanks so much for all your guys' support. We're getting close to 100,000 subscribers so yeah let me know what you guys want to do for 100,000. I don't- I have a few ideas. I really want to make a Toasty Gang t-shirt so that would be really fun. But what should I do for 100,000? Let me know. See ya!