You’re just wearing the wrong pair.
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be interviewed by FMT. Original article here:
You can find the related short form video and carousel on the outstationboots IG page.
We originally filmed around 90 minutes of Q&A that was edited into the final cut. I’m not particularly sure that the outcome was entirely representative of myself or Outstation, but I’m glad I still managed to get some points across.
For those who haven’t dealt with the media before, there’s only so much of the narrative that you can control. It’s a game of push and pull, them pushing you towards a certain story angle with their questions, and you pulling them back to your desired narrative with your answer.
Naturally each media outlet has their own spin on things, and in my particular case, the romanticization of a corporate to craftsman passion story was the target.
Which, for those who’ve been reading along so far, will know isn’t necessarily a true representation of myself or the brand.
Nonetheless, I was told many years ago that any publicity is good publicity. To which I wholly agree.
So, thank you FMT. A very interesting experience overall. I’m thankful that the feature was made, because it got many more eyeballs looking at Outstation.
But for now, back to the Journal.
The million dollar question.
In the final cut of the video, the editor chose to focus on the question that every Malaysian asks.
‘Aren’t boots too hot?’
Today I’ll take the opportunity to go deeper on this. And if someone asks the same question in the future, I can refer them here.
Note to self. Maybe I need an FAQ at some point. Well, actually maybe not, because I don’t think anyone reads anything these days, let alone FAQ’s.
Let’s get started.
The misconception.
As a generalization, the typical customer only knows boots that exist in the market. And when they think of a boot, these are what come to mind.
Makes sense to me. No blame there.
So for Malaysia, when thinking of a boot, the typical person will think of Timberland. Maybe CAT. As far as well known, popular, non-department store, non-work boots go, that’s about it.
Whereas for boot nerds, they’ll also know Red Wing and Dr. Martens. That said, these boots are more known for the brand, rather than the customer having an informed understanding about the quality.
Anyway. Let’s focus on the non-boot nerd, who are my typical customer base.
Boots are only for winter.
And there it is. The killer shows their face.
This is the use case that people here will buy boots for.
And the most popular boot brand in the market, Timberland, fulfils the use case very well. Heavy, waterproof, solid. Wear them in rain and snow with thick socks and the feeling is very cozy. Secure.
Funnily enough though, winter doesn’t exist in Southeast Asia. So, people buy these boots to go travelling. To cold countries in the region, Japan and Korea, or into Europe if they’re going further.
So big heavy boots like these, known colloquially as ‘winter boots’, means that wearing them everyday in Malaysia, is simply considered ‘too hot’.
So that’s the backstory. Now let’s dispel the myth.
The boot itself isn’t the problem.
A boot is a sum of its parts. And the characteristics of those parts determine the characteristic of the boot.
Make the boot from heavy, thick material and the boot will be, well, heavy and stiff.
Make it from lighter, thinner material, and the boot will be, lightweight and flexible.
Leather also isn’t the problem.
Well. If it’s high quality leather that is. But more on that later.
Leather as a material, isn’t inherently ‘hot’.
Because just like human skin, leather comes in all types. Thick, thin, stiff, flexible. And how it’s used can change how it breathes.
So with this in mind, let’s go deeper.
Leather uppers aren’t as thick as you think.
On average, a boot upper will use leather of around 2mm thickness. Add 1mm of lining, and that gives a total of 3mm thickness around the foot.
Your average sneaker upper is made from leather or textile, with foam sandwiched between it and the lining. Combined, this results in an upper of around 10-12mm thickness, mostly concentrated around the ankle.
So purely based on thickness, a boot upper made from leather is far thinner than the upper of most sneakers.
Leather is not just leather.
You want to find full grain leather. Top grain leather is also a great choice too. Without going into the details, you just need to know that full grain is usually the highest grade, followed by top grain.
‘Genuine leather’ is usually the leftovers. The pieces left after the full grain and top grain have been used.
So don’t be fooled. Because of the lack of regulation in the industry, anyone can stamp ‘genuine leather’ on a product, as long as it contains leather.
This stamp doesn’t indicate any form of quality. It simply indicates there is some form of leather in the product.
Poor quality ‘leather’ can be hotter.
For the mass market, manufacturers will use lesser quality leather to drive a certain price point. Because, consumers don’t know any better, and well, capitalism.
And these lesser quality leathers are usually coated with a thick PVC pigment, sprayed on top of the leather surface. Very similar to paint.
Why?
So that the ‘leather’ looks flawless.
Think of it like makeup. The PVC layer on the leather hides blemishes or scratches; it evens out pores and wrinkles.
But remember, underneath the PVC, there is still ‘leather’. So the manufacturer will happily stamp the end product with ‘genuine leather’.
So what’s PVC got to do with ‘hotness’?
Well, PVC is essentially, plastic.
If you put your head into a plastic bag and seal it, you can’t breathe. And it’s the same with your foot.
A PVC coated ‘leather’ upper won’t allow the foot to breathe properly. All of the pores on the leather have been filled with PVC.
Meaning, humidity and hot air can’t circulate out through the boot.
Compared to an uncoated full or top grain leather of similar thickness, a PVC coated leather will be far ‘hotter’ on foot over time.
If you want to test whether your leather is PVC coated, hold a flame close to the upper. If it boils and melts, there’s a plastic coat on top of your ‘leather’.
Real leather is like human skin, it burns, chars and turns into black ash. It won’t bubble and boil.
So we’ve talked about material. Now let’s talk about weight.
Leather isn’t necessarily heavy.
Because of the typical ‘winter boot’ made from ‘leather’, the general assumption is that leather is what makes the boot heavy.
When actually, it’s not the leather that gives weight to a boot. The weight mostly comes from the thick rubber outsole that most ‘winter boots’ use.
Don’t get me wrong, when comparing uppers, leather is usually much more dense than a similar thickness sneaker textile. That’s a fact. But the difference in weight is negligible; most people would never know once on foot.
So, I have the suspicion that when people say that ‘boots are too hot’, this actually originates from the boot being heavy.
Because if the wearer were to walk around with them in 30 degree, 80% humidity, they would become hot.
And then blame the boot for being ‘too hot’, as opposed to the real problem. Which is, the boot is too heavy.
Put it like this. Try walking around holding a 1.5 kg dumbbell in each hand. You’ll be just as hot. So, it’s not a boot problem. It’s a boot weight problem.
Back to my point. The weight of the boot comes from the outsole. Not the upper.
And you’re hot because you’re dragging a heavy ass boot around in the wrong climate.
The lining also makes a difference to heat.
Just like the upper, a lining should also be breathable for maximum heat dissipation. So, leather is best.
Most boots use either polyester (again, plastic) or cotton as lining. Not particularly durable but very cost effective (for the manufacturer).
Related to lining, and a favourite for non-boot nerds, is the desire for ‘waterproof-ness’. People go crazy wanting their boots to be waterproof.
Now there’s a rant for another day.
But for now, let me relate it to this lining topic.
Leather, is skin. And just like your skin, is not, and cannot be fully waterproof. So leather (whether used for the upper or lining), at some point, will let water through.
Taking this one step further, this means that a waterproof boot can only be truly waterproof, only if the lining material isn’t leather.
So, a waterproof boot will usually use Goretex (or similar) as the lining. A great material for the use case.
This waterproof lining is waterproof because it’s a man-made material. A form of plastic.
And we’re back to the plastic bag analogy again.
‘Plastic’ lining equals no breathability equals hot foot.
But hey, at least your foot won’t get wet.
No. Scrap that. The irony of this entire waterproof saga is that because waterproof lining is unbreathable, your foot will sweat even more. And the sweat generated, also can’t escape outwards through the boot.
Actually leading to…wait for it…
A wet foot.
Oh the irony.
Education & exposure solves the problem.
So like I was saying, it’s not that boots are too hot. In my eyes, the misconception boils down to three basic root causes.
- What people know as boots in this part of the world is only a ‘winter boot’.
- Wearing the wrong boot in the wrong conditions.
- A lack of exposure to other forms of boots.
The average non-boot nerd in South East Asia has rarely seen heritage boots, let alone know that boots can exist in forms other than a ‘winter boot’.
To be fair, it’s not the fault of the consumer. They simply have access to certain products in the market, reinforced through brand marketing.
And nobody has time to do their own research. This is simply the age we live in. I get it.
Often, the brain still cannot brain.
So you can imagine that when a customer sees an Outstation boot, 1.8mm full grain upper, unlined shaft, EVA wedge; their brain is completely broken. I see this all the time.
Some customers struggle to accept that my product is a ‘boot’. The preconception they have about their ‘winter boots’ doesn’t match with my product.
A casual, everyday, flexible boot, that weighs the same as their Air Force 1.
That said, by putting the product in someone’s hands rapidly exposes them to what a boot can be. This is why I always encourage customers to come and visit the workshop.
My marketing likely needs to be adjusted.
When asked about it, I always compare my Everyday line to a sneaker rather than a boot.
Because just by using the term ‘boot’, I find it often freaks people out. Again, because of the existing preconceptions.
That word, ‘boot’, automatically means ‘winter boot’ for the average customer here. Even if my boots look nothing like them.
Anyway, so there you have it. The tldr is that no, boots are not too hot.
You’re just wearing the wrong pair.
