Origin American Bison Boot: A decent pair of boots

A number of years ago, I watched a movie about a man after World War II having to walk home to Italy again after being released from POW camp*. One of the things that stuck with me the most was a scene where a man says to the main character that the most important thing anyone needs is a decent pair of boots. Then throughout the movie, you see just how far those boots take the characters, all the way back home.

Such a neat concept that I’ve always had a fondness for. That a man’s boots can take him anywhere. The unfortunate part about this is I had yet to find a decent pair of boots. I have wide feet, long toes, and high arches. One of the things I dread the most is shoe shopping. I usually get frustrated about halfway through. How hard is it to just make good shoes/boots these days?!

I kept thinking about that movie and how screwed I would be without a decent pair of boots.

Origin Boots

I’ve been wearing my Origin boots for about two weeks now. I’ve had my eye on a pair since I first heard about them on a Joe Rogan podcast featuring Jocko Willink. What caught my interest was how they were said to be 100% American made right down to the eyelets and shoe laces. The Origin company took an old textile factory in Maine and outfitted it to make boots and jeans and martial arts equipment. The work they were doing was breathing life back into a lost art which is American made goods. Providing Americans and their community with jobs. Which I think is badass. 

These boots are not cheap. In price or quality, thankfully. 

Mine are the American Bison Boot. 100% hand made in America (Maine, USA) from all American sourced materials. Especially the bison leather. Freaking amazing. They are worth every penny. 

It took a while but I was able to finally order a pair. The factory has been slower since COVID. The sizing process made me feel confident that they would fit even if I wasn’t trying them on in an REI or some other brick and mortar store. I had to print off a sizing template and stand on it in my sock feet. Once I got the size figured I ordered the boots. 

A few weeks later I stuck my feet inside and laced up the most expensive pair of shoes I have ever owned. 

Origin Boots Review

These brogan style boots fit my feet perfectly, especially with some breaking in. I didn’t need to remove the insoles like some have suggested in reviews. The soles of the boots themselves are Vibram attached to a thick rawhide leather sole. You don’t see this kind of construction anymore. Back in the day, when your soles wore out, you could just take them to a cobbler and have them put on a new sole. It’s nice to this this option here.

I slapped on some mink oil for weatherproofing (which right there gave me confidence in the product.) This wasn’t some kind of garbage pressed leather created from leather pulp and shellacking. This was real top and full grain bison leather. My feet can breathe. My arches are supported. I feel confident that I could hike twenty miles in them or kick around a city street all day and still feel comfortable. You won’t feel those uneven pavements on your feet anymore than you would tree roots and gravel on a mountain trail. What’s more is once the Vibram soles wear out I could have them resoled and get another thousand miles out of them or more. 

Anyone who knows me knows how much I loathe shoe shopping. Especially now that most of the good brands you used to pay more for have gone to Chinese manufacturers. Red Wing, Asolo, Merrill, Timberland, etc. Even Keens which brag about being “built in the USA” are put together from pieces sourced from China. 

And it shows. 

My Origins are handmade in Maine and couldn’t have fit better unless a shoemaker had measured my foot and sent his elves to making them in his workshop. Only here, you are giving people jobs in the USA, which since the pandemic started, we had seen the nasty side of this dependence on foreign products.

So yes. I am including an affiliate link because I believe in the quality of the product and what they are doing. And if I make any money off sending them some business it will probably just go to buying another pair. New customers typically get 10% off when they visit the site. That’s what I did.

Drawbacks

• I just wish they made a low top version for more formal use, because the branding is definitely geared for a workboot look. Either way though, they oil up pretty nicely, and I’m fine with wearing boots just about anywhere.
• The price point is spendy but buy cheap and cry twice. So they say. 
• Some of the complaints I read while researching the boots talk about the insoles that come with the boots take up a lot of room, which I have found do make a very snug fit, but as you break them in it becomes less noticeable.
• The higher upper is not comfortable right off the bat when driving. But this is improving as I break in the boots. Again, a low-top would be better on the road.
• I have the Big Lug soles because I go hiking a lot and need that kind of traction. Where I go, they really don’t do “trails” all that well. The bummer about this is that if you walk through pea gravel, you sound like you are wearing tap shoes until you can pop all the rocks out of your treads. If you aren’t hiking through the kind of places I go, the shallower treads should be fine.

*The movie is Truce starring John Turtorro.