Suede is a material that is way more durable than what many still think. These boots are a good proof of this. A pair of very well used Red Wing boots that have been seen some heavy wear for a long time.
Now, it’s not like they look like new or anything, that wouldn’t be the case for any material that’s been through the same. But as you can see there’s really only one place of the on the toe of the right shoe where the suede is worn down a bit (regular leather would’ve been heavily scratched here for sure), otherwise it’s in good condition. When these shoes are cleaned and cared for they will look excellent again. The shoes belong to one of the owners of the awesome shoe store Lester in Gothenburg, Sweden.
You don’t have to per-suede me….er…I’m all for extolling the virtues to this leather :- )
Ok… to convince me, now a picture after cleaning.
Anthony: 🙂
Martins: Sorry, this photo is seven years old… But I’ve seen them worn by the owner after this, so you just have to take my word for it 🙂
I think these may be roughout rather than suede, which has the benefit over suede by being quite a bit thicker. I believe wildland firefighters prefer roughout to smooth leather due to their scratch resistance, which is very interesting
Steven: Roughout is exactly the same thing as reverse suede, just the latter being a bit more evenly sanded, but no differences in properties per se (although of course could differ due to other reasons).