Justin Blueprint 8" Men's Work Boots, EH Rated

After wearing sneakers my entire life, I was finally forced to buy some work boots for my job. I grew up next to the Justin Boots factory in Cassville, Missouri (and have family who worked there for years), so I naturally went straight to their boots. The leather and craftsmanship is excellent. However, they do have one giant design flaw... which can be corrected with $5 and a trip to Target/Wal-Mart/whatever: - The exposed heel. As others have mentioned, it will rub your heel raw in just a few minutes... but it can be fixed with a some simple cloth tape and heel pads (the tape is really all you need, but I wanted extra padding). Cloth tape can be found in the first aid section of any store and the heel pads can be found in the foot care section. Yes, the heel pads are meant for women's high heels, but get over it. They work for any shoe or boot. - I've had the tape on the boots for over a week and it shows no signs of falling off. The same will the heel pad. - THE BOOTS RUN LARGE. I normally wear a size 11 in everything, but I read that these run large, so I bought them in 10.5. Well, the 10.5 was too large... lots of heel slipping and over an inch of space between my toes and the front of the boot. I sent them back for a 10.0 and the new size fits perfectly. So order a complete size below what you normally would. You have been warned. These aren't as comfortable as sneakers... but I think I'd have a hard time finding any boot that is close to this comfortable. EDIT: 2016-01-08 - After breaking these boots in for three weeks, the fit like a glove. I don't use the tape or anything special at this point. They've molded to my feet perfectly. The first 1-2 weeks are a bit rough, but once you get past the break-in period, they are worth it. I'd suggest getting a size smaller than normal. They will stretch. I'm buying another pair, just in case Justin stops making these for some reason.

So after many pairs of shoes and boots that only seem to last 3-6 months each I believe that full leather boots again are AWESOME. These are pretty comfy out of the box and the 2E was great for my wide feet, in New Balance I wear 4E. I was worried that they would be too narrow but they were great. There is a bit of heel slip on my smaller foot, but I also prefer a lil bigger so I can wear thick winter socks. I would recommend ordering 1/2 size larger if considering steel toes. I LOVE the fact that these are handmade in AMERICA! I would also recommend grabbing some boot socks to help wick moisture that also have thicker toe and heel construction, I've been rocking them wearing my wigwam hiking socks. I can't wait to wear my KILT and rock these boots!

I had the first pair 4 years best boots I ever had. I purchased 2 more pairs

These Justin boots are my favorite work boots. I use them when working on projects, walking in the woods or riding horses. These boots last because once a year I thoroughly clean with Skidmore products. The boots are made to last. I have been known to have a pair last 15 years with the aid of our local shoemaker replacing soles and heals. You cannot beat these boots for comfort and helping to avoid injury. I have like to occasionally where my Tecovas cowboy boots. But for comfort and all round function, I wear my Justin's.

Very comfortable... They fit everywhere but in the heels. Love the look and construction of them. I AM a female who wears these boots for work (I didn't get the female ones bc I didn't want steel toe)... But I've bought men's boots before and know my size. However, these seem to fit very loosely around my Achilles/heel area. My heel slips up and down in the boot, but if I'd have gotten a smaller size they def. would not have fit. I am trying heel bumpers/pads to keep my heels from slipping, but it's so so right now. Probably will have to take them to an actual cobbler to get custom heel inserts made. So just be aware... Male or female, if you have narrow heels, you may suffer from heel slipping with these boots.

So far so good… but only 2nd day in them

I wear an 11 in all shoes and boots and when checking at a shoe store, I measure out at exactly an 11. With these, an 11 was way too large and the 10 1/2 would have worked with most designs, but these have a flaw. The problem is that the back of the heel is too straight to hold you. If you don't wear these with very thick socks, you'll always have heel lift and eventually rub the back of your foot raw. They pretty much need to fit you exactly in order to work. If they do, the leather is very nice and these seem like they would be extremely comfortable, but only a select few will be able to wear them. If they do happen to fit, 5 stars but for everybody else, 1 star.

Been wearing them since I got them and a very natural fit to the foot. I have a pair of Chippewa boots that I bought for work, but refuse to wear them for that because they are the lightest most comfortable pair of boots I've owned. These are fantastic as well and I just can't afford to have another pair of boots sitting around too nice to wear to work....otherwise these would be pair number 2 of too nice for work. Don't hesitate, these are very well made boots, comfortable and American made....