Ottawa Boot Crimson Chromexcel

Great boot!

Break in period was relatively quick and now this one of my most comfortable pair of shoes to wear almost daily.

Ottawa’s

This is my third pair of Ottawa’s. They are all great quality and craftsmanship boots that I have recommended to many of my friends.

Perspective from a Heritage Boot Newcomer With Extra-Wide (EEE) Feet

Overall, I think these are great boots. Since most people reading reviews want to know the downsides first, I’ll start there — with the caveat that for me, these are all minor issues. First, they’re fairly heavy and not especially comfortable right out of the box. That’s to be expected with a substantial leather boot, and I anticipate both the weight and stiffness will fade into the background as they break in. Second, even though they’re partially gusseted, the tongues were bending inward on both boots. I had a local cobbler stitch each tongue to the lining on one side (so not visible from the outside) of each boot for $20, which completely solved the issue while still allowing the boots to be easy to pull on and off. I’m new to heritage boots, but I’ve noticed the Chromexcel is creasing more on one boot than the other. That may just reflect my gait. It doesn’t bother me much, though in a perfect world both boots would break in more symmetrically — whether that means pronounced creases or almost none at all. Finally, the uppers close almost completely at the top, as if my ankles and shins are a bit too slim for the last. That’s likely the tradeoff for needing an EEE width to accommodate my forefoot — I assume the whole boot scales up accordingly. It’s worth noting that off-the-shelf EEE heritage, service style boots in this price range are pretty limited. The Allen Edmonds Higgins Mill (when on sale) is probably the closest mainstream comparison that I’m aware of. For that reason alone, I appreciate Grant Stone offering a well-built, readily available, extra wide option. Overall, I’m very happy with them and expect they’ll only get better with wear.