Sagara Review: How Do Indonesian Boots Hold Up? HD

FOR THE FULL REVIEW + PICTURES, GOOGLE: STRIDEWISE SAGARA REVIEW A lot of people don’t think of “boots” when they hear “Indonesia,” but those people aren’t clued in on the thriving boot industry that has taken foot in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Once colonized by the Dutch, who brought with them a love of fine leather footwear, the skill and craftsmen remained after they left in the 1940s and today Indonesia is dotted with many well known bootmakers like Santalum, Junkard, Winson, and perhaps the best known, Sagara. Here’s what I thought of their Legacy IX boot. READ MY INTERVIEW WITH SAGARA’S FOUNDER: https://stridewise.com/sagara-interview/ FIRST GLANCE Made with a chrome tanned pull up leather, this is a really nice, classic derby boot with a plain toe and very little decoration, with the goal — as Sagara states — being “to achieve clean looks.” They also call it “stylishly sturdy” and I’d agree with all of this: it’s a well constructed, relatively heavy boot that’s easier to dress up than your regular service boot and not too hard to dress down. If it’s reminding you of the HIGGINS MILL boot from Allen Edmonds you’re not alone, it has a lot of similarities. Check out my review of that shoe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cb3JLxjyy4 LEATHER These shoes are totally customizable and you can pick from fifteen leathers, including Japanese horsehide, Italian calfskin, and even some Horween leathers. The cigar pull up is their cheapest leather and it’s made from Indonesian cowhide. This is chrome tanned leather, which is one reason why it’s a bit cheaper than the other leathers, and it’s finished with various oils and waxes. It did crease relatively quickly and it marks pretty easily too. LEATHER CARE Sagara only likes natural products on their shoes and since Venetian Shoe Cream contains petroleum, they strongly recommend that company’s biggest competitor Saphir. You could go with their Greasy Leather Cream or their Renovateur if you wanted to go with something a bit shinier. Sagara is planning to release their own shoecare line but they haven’t yet. ** Interested in boots from the Asia-Pacific? Check out the uber comfortable R.M. Williams Chelsea boot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1gIRoxV7kM ** SOLE You can order a leather or Commando sole but I went with “Sagara rubber,” a relatively hard but perfectly acceptable 100 percent rubber outsole. After that there’s a leather midsole and there’s also some EVA foam in there for shock absorption and to relieve muscle strain. That’s pretty unusual; Thursday Boots has EVA in their shoes and so do some of Thorogood’s boots, but for such an “Old World” company I was surprised they had such a modern touch. Finally, they’re handwelted boots, an extremely time consuming method of attaching the upper to the sole that you seldom see nowadays. It’s very rare and very old fashioned, and it’s something a lot of boot aficionados will be very happy with. ** Check out the E