Whether you’re looking for a reliable boot brand or you want to search among what they offer, it’s hard to narrow it down. Like dress shoes, there are many brands and manufacturers out there but some are better than others.
After testing a number of brands, we have found our favourite reliable, high-quality brands. Therefore, this guide will take a look at the 6 Best Boot Brands that you can buy online:
- Best All Round: Wolverine
- Premium Quality: Allen Edmonds
- Most Durable: Dr Martens
- Work Boots: Danner
- Value For Money: Johnston & Murphy
- Outdoors & Sports: Salomon
Use the links above to jump ahead. We also cover what factors we considered when choosing the best brands here.
What Are The Best Boot Brands For Men?
- Established: 1883
- Location: Michigan, USA
- Pricing: $100 – 400 [Buy From Wolverine]
Overview
Wolverine began in 1883 as a small leather shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1914, it launched the 1,000-Mile Boot, which soon became an enormously popular choice for workwear.
After introducing Cat Footwear in the 1990s, Wolverine now operates from Rockford, Michigan. It oversees a number of other renowned footwear brands, such as Hush Puppies and Merrell, but is called upon by Caterpillar and Harley-Davidson for their production.
Typical Boot Features
Wolverine’s 1,000-mile boot is over a century old and has barely changed in design and construction. Despite not being a dress boot, its high-quality materials make it ideal for smarter environments while rugged enough for utilitarian wear.
Most of Wolverine’s boots are constructed using a Goodyear welt with leather supplied by Chicago’s Horween Leather Company. Given the price range, this offers exceptional value for money.
What We Love
As mentioned above, we are won over by both Wolverine’s versatility and construction quality. Their 1,000-mile range can be worn across a wide range of occasions, but they also offer some excellent contemporary work and outdoor boots for specialized wear.
Also Featured In
- Established: 2019
- Location: Portugal
- Price Range: $199-$209 [Shop On Amberjack]
Overview
Amberjack is a dynamic brand that blends style and comfort with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
Founded with a vision to innovate the traditional footwear industry, Amberjack crafts shoes that marry the comfort of athletic footwear with the elegance of dress shoes. Each shoe is meticulously designed for the modern professional, featuring full-grain leather or suede, dual-density outsoles, and memory foam insoles.
Manufactured in a family-run factory in Portugal, Amberjack emphasizes ethical production practices and is committed to carbon neutrality.
Typical Boot Features
So far, Amberjack has only introduced two pairs of boots: The Chelsea and The Boot. While both styles employ their proprietary dual-density outsoles and memory foam insoles, the design of each boot style is quite different.
The Boot is the more casual variety with a service boot aesthetic, while the Chelsea is more formal with its laceless design. Both types of boots are available in full-grain leather or suede and different colors, permitting one to pick the color that best fits your purposes.
What We Love
On their surface, Amberjack’s boots are quite handsome. However, only after putting them on will you understand why we and other sources on the web rate them so highly.
Simply put, they are some of the most comfortable boots (and shoes) we’ve ever tried. Their dressier styles are an excellent choice for business casual workplaces. In contrast, their more casual pairs are perfect for all other endeavors in which you’d want a really comfortable pair of shoes.
Reviewed Boots
- Established: 1922
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
- Price Range: $300 – $500 [Official Site]
Overview
Founded in Belgium, Wisconsin, in 1922, Allen Edmonds supplied both the US Army and Navy with footwear during the Second World War. After garnering a reputation for itself in providing quality footwear, it became particularly popular for dress shoes.
Allen Edmonds has maintained this reputation and continues to produce its footwear in the USA rather than abroad.
Typical Boot Features
Although best associated with dress shoes, Allen Edmonds makes some of the best boots that we’ve tried. Like Wolverine, most of their footwear features a Goodyear welt and is made from premium calfskin leather.
Furthermore, Allen Edmonds uses a wide variety of lasts and will often feature hand stitching in its designs.
What We Love
Besides the excellent construction and premium materials, we’re quite fond of the Dainite rubber soles often included in some models. The historical firm of the same name makes these rubber soles in the UK.
Moreover, Allen Edmonds features some of the widest ranges of sizes that we’ve seen, with widths that go up to triple E.
Reviewed Boots
- Established: 1947
- Location: Wellingborough, UK
- Pricing: $80 – $200 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
In case you ever wondered, Dr Martens was indeed founded by an actual Doctor of the same name. A doctor in the German army during the Second World War, Klaus Martens injured his ankle when skiing in the Alps. He found that his army boots were too uncomfortable for his injury and he designed his own boot.
The brand became particularly successful in Germany, especially among housewives. Using discarded rubber from Luftwaffe airfields, the brand manufactured boots in German factories until 1959 when British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group Ltd bought the patent rights and anglicised the name.
Typical Boot Features
An iconic brand from the UK, Dr Martens are renowned for their association with counter-culture thanks to their rugged yet stylish appearance. Although only a small portion of Dr Martens boots are still made in the UK, their craftsmanship has not suffered with overseas production.
Like their appearance, the construction is original and there are number of materials available such as smooth leather and vegan-friendly uppers. The recognisable yellow stitching isn’t just an aesthetic aspect but also part of Dr Marten’s unique construction, which combines heat sealing and Goodyear welting.
What We Love
A great boot brand for a variety of budgets, Dr Martens are affordable and extremely hard-wearing. While you won’t be able to resole the boots due to their construction, you’ll unlikely ever need to either.
Timelessly stylish and embraced by a variety of cultures, Dr Martens are a universal icon for both fashion and anti-fashion.
- Established: 1932
- Location: Oregon, USA
- Price Range: $100 – $350 [Buy On Zappos]
Overview
Founded by Charles Danner at the height of the Great Depression in 1932, the brand first started by manufacturing logging boots. Given its association with outdoor working boots, Danner became the only domestic manufacturer of hiking boots during the 1960s.
Today, Danner is one of the few brands that continues to produce work and utilitarian boots in the USA. Although mostly designed for practical use, their high quality and construction has made them a firm favourite for lifestyle wear.
Typical Boot Features
Given their rich variety of boots, each offer a construction designed for their destined usage. All work boots meet or exceed the necessary ASTM standards and the tactical boots are built with the same considerations in mind.
Many of their boots are made using a stitchdown construction, which offers the opportunity to recraft them when necessary. Furthermore, Danner offers their own in-house recrafting service.
What We Love
Danner is a brand that exudes its American heritage with its rugged, rustic styles. While incredibly stylish, they’re also practical boots that will be a contractor or outdoor enthusiast’s best friend.
- Established: 1850
- Location: Tennessee, USA
- Price Range: $130-350 [Official Site]
Overview
Founded by European migrant William J. Dudley in 1850, Johnston & Murphy first began as a traditional shoemaker in Newark, New Jersey. Having garnered a reputation for quality yet affordable shoes through its pedigree heritage, it now operates from Nashville, Tennessee.
Typical Boot Features
Like Allen Edmonds, Johnston & Murphy may be best associated with its high-quality dress shoes. However, it also specializes in excellent boots that offer the same impressive value for money. We like the artisanal Est. 1850 collection, but even their basic footwear is made from rich calfskin leather.
There is a wide yet well-justified price range, from imported shoes at around $150 to their premium Made In Italy collection, which retails in the mid $300 range.
What We Love
Thanks to a wide price selection of unwavering quality, Johnston & Murphy offers a plethora of shoe and boot styles for all budgets. This is a rarity as most brands will only stick to a particular market, while Johnston & Murphy ensures that there’s something for everyone.
Also Featured In
- Established: 1947
- Location: Épagny-Metz-Tessy, France
- Price Range: $130 – $230 [Buy Now On Zappos]
Overview
Founded in Annecy, France by François Salomon in 1947, the brand was a family business, which involved both his wife and son, Georges. Based in the French Alps, the Salomon originally designed and manufactured skis.
Their claim to fame was the first self-releasing ski bind that replaced leather straps in the 1950s. This was followed by ski boots in the late 1970s. Having sold over 15 million alpine and cross country ski boots in the 1990s, the brand turned to outdoor boots at the turn of the 21st Century.
Typical Boot Features
Unlike all the brands listed above, Salomon is dedicated to created contemporary outdoor boots for hiking and running. As such, Salomon boots use modern materials such as Gore-Tex, EVA as well as seam-sealed technology in order to provide comfortable and protective footwear.
Similarly, Salomon boots are feature designs that ensure stability such as their 4D chassis as well as Contragrip rubber outsoles for traction.
What We Love
When heading out to the great outdoors, Salomon are a favourite choice of ours thanks to their practical designs. Although we would consider Danner for hiking, Salomon have a wide range of sporting footwear that offers the necessary cushion and protection for more intense sports.
Reviewed Boots
High-Quality Men’s Boot Brands
At Bespoke Unit, we’re very passionate about footwear, and boots are no exception. Although we’ve encountered a variety of different brands, we tend to favor those with a soul and vision that coincide with our beliefs.
Therefore, we do understand it when men seek a boot brand that resonates with them. After all, it’s satisfying when you don’t just invest in a pair of boots but also support a brand for what it does.
Having reviewed many pairs of footwear from different brands, we appreciate their varying philosophies, which can be steeped in heritage and tradition or innovative technologies.
However, on what basis have we chosen our favorite brands in the list above?
Superior Construction Methods & Materials
With the exception of Salomon, which is a brand that has embraced new materials and technologies, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on tradition and heritage.
With a lot of modern brands, we’ve noticed that long-lasting quality isn’t a priority anymore. As such, we perceive this as a key factor in a brand’s success.
This sort of quality is what truly offers value for money, but we’ll touch more on that later. In short, the use of high-quality materials and meticulous construction ensures that your boots will truly last.
This can vary from the types of leather used to the construction method for putting them together. For instance, both Wolverine and Allen Edmonds manufacture their shoes from high quality calfskin leather using a Goodyear welt.
It’s this sort of costly and labour-intensive process without aggressively high pricing that creates a loyal following. As such, they’re among our favorite boot manufacturers.
Value For Money
There’s often the misconception that value for money implies a low price tag. However, it isn’t quite as black and white as this. In fact, value for money implies the quality of the product for the price paid.
For instance, a boot made by a brand can offer a stylish design but made using cheap materials and methods, which is sold at a premium. For us, we find this to offer a very low value for money given that the manufacturing costs don’t reflect the final price.
Furthermore, the boot won’t last very long, and if the construction is cemented, there’s no possibility of recrafting the sole.
On the other hand, an expensive boot that’s made with high grade quality leathers with a more reliable construction offers much better value for money.
Similarly, the country in which the footwear is made plays a significant role as you’d be supporting local craftsmanship rather than an imported production.
These are yet more reasons why we would prefer to support Wolverine and Allen Edmonds, given that their footwear is made with high-quality methods and materials in the USA.
However, Johnston & Murphy is a brand that we’ve listed above because they seem to offer the best experience for their price range. Although their footwear isn’t made in the USA with a Goodyear welt, they use Blake stitching and high-quality materials, which is unbeatable for the price.
Comfort
Comfort is an important factor for us when taking a look at both shoes and boots. Dress shoes are renowned for being uncomfortable, and we consequently try to break this reputation by finding comfortable options.
Meanwhile, boots have a better image with regards to comfort as they’re often seen as snug footwear with thick soles and good ankle support.
As such, we make sure that this reputation rings true with the shoes that we test and only support those that provide a positive experience.
Each of the brands listed above are very comfortable to wear during long periods. For most of them, it’s thanks to traditional and high quality materials and construction methods.
However, Salomon is the exception here. Thanks to their use of EVA in the midsole, plush construction and Gore-Tex lining, their high-tech boots are a cut above and keep your feet in good shape.
The Brand’s Story
You may have noticed that we introduced each shoe brand with its origin story. This is because we feel that the roots of a brand play an important role in creating its modern day identity.
In fact, this is especially the case when a brand continues to embrace its values when faced with giant brands that tend to leave little room for smaller, independent brands.
Rather than wearing a boot that’s just another number from the assembly line, opting for these brands allows you to express your appreciation of their cultural heritage and identity.
The Style
Of course, we wouldn’t overlook a shoe’s superficial aspect. However, a pair of boots’ style is exuding through all the points mentioned above.
After all, what is style but the product of the boot’s construction, materials, and the identity of the manufacturer?
When reviewing shoes, we take a look at all of its properties from the leather grade to the stitching. It’s when we bring all of this together that we can truly appreciate the style that they exude.
At the end of the day, we’re a men’s style guide so it would be neglectful on our parts to overlook this essential aspect. Indeed, a shoe isn’t simply something that you wear to protect your feet. Instead, it’s closer to a work of art to be admired and worn with pride.
Therefore, from the last all the way to the stitching, we take a close look at the style and how the shoe can be worn to improve your wardrobe and your appearance.
What Next?
Now that you have discovered the best boot brands for men, why don’t you check out some of our related shoe resources for more specific guides?
- Best Men’s Boots For Winter
- Best Work Boots For Men
- Best Dress Boots For Men
- Most Comfortable Men’s Shoes
"Wonderful boots with true style and energy! These boots are amazing. I just wish that I could own them all!"
Shoe Content
Leave A Comment