SMUGS Rose Anvil X GORAL High Top Sneaker - Blood Core Ready To Ship

Brilliant concept: Leather boot that wears like a sneaker

I now have a total of three Goral Smugs. Two I bought directly from Goral (x Rose Anvil), and the other one was from Herring Shoes (Collab with Goral). What's interesting is that they all fit differently. The Herring x Goral (brown calf) pair fits the tightest, and I do wonder if they are actually size 8. The sole say 8.5, but the .5 is hot stamped. The natural Chromoexcel fits more like a 9. It's 0.5 cm longer than the Herring pair, and 0.5 cm taller, as well. In any case, they are all still comfortable to wear on long walk, although they were break-in periods required. One thing to note about the Blood Core black is that the black dye will bleed onto your socks. So you might want to wear dark colour/black socks when wearing the Blood Core... The use of the cup sole means that the SMUGS will be about 30% lighter than standard boot (e.g., Dainite soled boot). However, that also means the cup sole will wear out much faster. I am already seeing hotspots on the sole of my SMUGS where the tiny traction has disappeared completely.

Great shoes

I'm giving it 5 stars even though the EE is a little narrow compared to what I'm used to. I have one foot that's slightly bigger than the other and I used that foots measurements and went up a half size. I couldn't get the shoe on that foot with boot socks on. I keep the shoe on a stretcher nightly and this has helped. I'm at the point I can wear with boot socks for hours without discomfort. After about 6 hours it is starting to hurt but it's getting better with time. I'm not sure why the leather insoles were glued in, makes no sense. I bought a Birkenstock insole and just use the cork half for my plantar fascitis. The construction is top notch with a few straggling threads from the pull strap. If I could get a wider shoe from Goral I would definitely buy it but the thought of going through this type of break-in discourages me. If you don't have really wide feet or have normal width feet and want a nice leather shoe these are a good option. These shoes will last forever with the correct care. One last thing, the shoe strings are not long enough, not a horrible thing since I just leave the top eyelet empty. Well done Goral and Rose Anvil. Cheers

This was my first pair of Goral shoes and I was not disappointed. The Blood Core leather looks great out of the box, and is beginning to show the signature patina the makes this leather famous. They are clearly well made shoes, the stitching and materials seem premium. There was virtually no break in period, they were comfortable from the get-go. I think they'll continue to grow on me. I will be buying more!