Thursday Boots Review | Worth the Investment?
I just had to write this Thursday Boots review after owning two pair of Captains over the last several years.
And I’m not going to sugarcoat things here, either…
I absolutely adore my Thursday Captain Boots. They’re by far the best pair of boots I’ve ever owned. Hell, as far as “dress” shoes are concerned, these are my favorite pair of all time.
Nothing else even comes close to the style, comfort, and price of these bad boys.
So this Thursday Captain Boots review is going to be overwhelmingly positive — but that’s just because these boots do such a damn good job.
However, I’ll make sure to break things down in detail to ensure you figure out if these boots are for you or not.
In this detailed review guide, I’ll breakdown things like:
- Who is Thursday Boot Company?
- Thursday Boots Company | What I Love
- Any Downsides with the Thursday Captain Boots?
- Any Cheaper Alternatives?
- Thursday Boots Review | The Verdict?
If any of those specific questions are what you need to succeed, aka figure out if the Thursday Captain Boots are ideal for your situation, just click the link above and you’ll be taken to that exact section of this guide.
For a general overview, just keep on reading this best damn Thursday Boots review on the interwebs.
All your questions and concerned will be answered below.
Who is Thursday Boot Company?
Here’s the ting’ about Thursday Boot Company…
This is a brand new boot manufacturer. They haven’t been around for decades like many of the old-school, well-known boot makers.
So know one really knows how these boots will hold up in 5+ years, much less in a decade. However, I can tell you from personal experience that Thursday Boots look damn good after 2+ years.
The company is based in NYC and seems to do things in the correct way. According to Thursday themselves, the company focuses on…
“Comfort, Durability, Versatility & Honest Pricing. Thursday was built out of our own frustration. Clunky work boots or delicate fashion boots? Cheap shoes that fall apart after a few wears, or shoes that were incredibly overpriced? It didn’t seem right that we had to make these trade-offs. There had to be another option.We started Thursday to offer an alternative: ridiculously high quality footwear at honest prices that could handle our busy lives in New York City.”
They saw a need in the market — high-quality, stylish boots that don’t cost $500+ bucks — and the company answered it. Which is exactly why I’m writing this review, because you’d be hard-pressed to find a better pair of “dress boots” for under $200 bucks.
And by hard-pressed, I mean you *won’t* find them.
Even how the company came about is fascinating to the traveler in me…
“It all started with a simple idea on a surf trip in Nicaragua to make the best boots possible and sell them at the best price possible. Three years later, Thursdays are being worn in all 50 states and nearly 60 countries. What started as a “bootstrapped” passion project has evolved into something truly special. It’s been a dream come true — and we’re just getting started.”
Now, I may sound like a fanboy here. That’s fine. But I’m telling you this for a reason. The reason is I don’t think Thursday Boots has “sold out” and gone “corporate” as of yet.
They’re still focusing on creating the absolute best quality products they can at an affordable price. They’re not yet concerned with stockholder prices and all that jazz. That jazz that ensures companies cut corners — leading to product quality eventually falling off.
I don’t see that happening here yet, and my second pair of Thursday Captain Boots still look great after 2+ years of use.
Thursday Boots Company | What I Love
So enough of my fluff, let’s dig into this meat and potatoes of this review. Let’s take a look at exactly what I love about my Thursday Boots.
Here’s my in-depth Thursday Captain Boots review:
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Long-Lasting
My first pair of Thursday Boots lasted almost two years. I probably could have worn them for another year without any issues, but I decided to grab another pair because I was about to embark on a year-long trip through Latin America.
This second pair of Captain Boots is still with me to this day…nearly two years later. And the boots look damn good right now too. Just look at this picture:
With just a little bit of “TLC” — there’s no reason Thursday Boots shouldn’t last for 2-4+ years. The leather is still holding strong as ever and there’s not a single issue with the lacing.
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Stylish Design
The initial reason I bought the Thursday Captain Boots was because of how amazing they looked. The dark leather, the minimalist design, the superb stitching, and so much more.
Thursday Boots are more than stylish, y’all.
I was searching Amazon after my old boots started falling apart. They looked good, but only lasted about a year. So I was in the market for a new model.
Then I ran across the Thursday Captain Boots.
The minute I laid eyes on the stylish design, I knew I had to order a pair. I mean, just look at these bad boys…
Now, I’m no boot expert, footwear guru, or style consultant…so I’m sure there’s far more informative ways to spell out the unique design style of Thursday Captain Boots.
But if you’re a normal dude like me, a bro who just wants something that looks great with dark jeans or on casual Fridays, you won’t find anything better than these dress boots.
Oh, and one more thing…
These boots take up a good chunk of space in my luggage, which is important to me being a full-time traveler and all — but they look so great, that I’d never think about leaving them behind.
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Little Bit Taller 😉
I’ll be frank here…
I love the design of these boot right when I laid eyes on them. It’s the main reason why I’m writing this Thursday Boots review right now.
But something else also caught my eye when I was deciding whether to buy these or not. What’s that?
The slightly raised heel.
Being a 5’11” guy, a little bit of extra height can go a long way. When I use these insoles with the Captains, which alleviate a little knee pain I have after two knee surgeries, I’m about 1.5″ taller wearing the Thursday Boots.
That’s significant!
The Captain Boots have a larger heel, but it doesn’t look bad at all. The slightly raised heel doesn’t hurt the style of the boots at all, but definitely helps you stand up a little taller when rocking these boots.
One HUGE benefit for me.
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Comfortable as Can Be
Dress shoes and boots can sometimes be uncomfortable. Might be why many a dude prefers to wear sneakers more often than not.
I used to be similar — until I started rocking my Thursdays.
These boots are incrediblely comfortable.
Featuring full glove leather interior lining, I’ve never once gotten a blister from the soft interior leather used to create the Captain Boots.
Plus, the mid-sole is made of cork-bed, which tends to form to your feet over time and allow all day comfort. Thursday created the boots in this manner because they imagined someone wearing these boots to work during the day, then untucking the shirt, and heading out for happy hour drinks afterwards…all in the same pair of shoes, all while staying comfortable.
If you’re looking for a boot you can stomp around for hours on end without issue, then Thursday Captain Boots certainly meet the comfort criteria.
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Leather and Quality Materials
Again, I’m no shoe, boot, or style expert. Far from it in many respects. But after wearing the Thursday Captain Boots for years, I’m more than confident in commenting on how high quality of materials these boots are made of.
Not only are Thursday Boots handcrafted, but just look at some of the materials and features:
- Thursday Chrome Leather
- Goodyear Welt Construction
- Full Glove Leather Interior Lining
- Premium Flat Waxed Cotton Laces
- Custom Developed Reinforced Eyelets
- Poron® Antimicrobial Shock Absorbing Insole
- Cork-Bed Midsole
- DuraEVA™ Comfort Strip
- Studded Rubber Outsoles
Now, that might be a mouthful to take in right there — as there’s a lot of different features here and a number of materials used to build these boots.
But the main things you need to know…
Thursday Boots are made from full hide leather from American cows and feature Goodyear welts construction, which ensures these boots exceptionally water-resistant and re-soleable.
Just look at how good the un-cleaned leather looks on my boots after a couple years:
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Strong Sole
When talking about the Thursday Captain Boots sole, we could dig deep into features like:
- Rubber outsole
- Cork-bed midsole
- Anti-fatigue steel shank
- Dura EVA comfort strip
Features that all come together to form an exceptionally strong, long-lasting sole — that’s also super easy to resole due to the 360 degrees Goodyear welt.
However, if you’re anything like me, those things probably don’t matter nearly as much as the results. Like how the sole feels and performs after yearly use – often day-to-day.
Well, here’s a picture of the soles of my current pair of Thursday Boots, the ones I’ve had for years. I’ll let the photos do the talking here…
Indestructible…except for gum ;(
As you can see, there’s barely any wear and tear on those soles. While they don’t look brand new, those soles look like they’ve got years upon years of life left in them.
Thursday Captain Boots have an incredibly strong, yet comfortable sole.
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Easy to Care For
Here’s the thing…
I generally live in Latin America for the majority of the year. Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Brazil…I like to explore a bit, and I always wear my Thursday Boots out and about when traveling.
And when traveling in Latin America, it’s pretty easy to find shoe shiners in every major city — often for $1-3 USD for a full boots clean and care.
So, I generally pay one of the shoe shiners every month to clean my boots up and keep the leather in tip-top shape. Well worth the few bucks to not have to carry shoe cream and a horsehair brush in my luggage.
However, if you’re not living abroad, then you’ll probably want to clean and care for your boots yourself. It’s exactly what I have to do when I’m back in the ole’ USA. Luckily, that’s exceptionally easy with the Thursday Captain Boots.
All you need is this cream and this brush.
Once you have those things handy, simply head over to the Thursday Boots website and check out their informative tutorial on caring for your boots. This is legit all you ever have to do when cleaning and care is of concern.
They claim you need to clean your boots once every 1-2 months. But once every 2-4 months is perfect fine, especially if you’re not wearing these things on a daily basis.
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Direct to Customer Pricing
Last, but not least…
Thursday Boots are incredibly well-priced.
In fact, you’ll be more than hard-pressed to find a better boot than the Captains for less money. I certainly haven’t found anything that’s even comparable as of yet.
$199 USD for a pair of high-quality dress boots that could easily last you 2-4+ years is a STEAL.
Seriously, you can’t even get a pair of decent basketball sneakers for that these days.
With no retail stores outside of NYC, you’ll only find these boots direct from Thursday’s website or on Amazon. I’ve yet to see these products anywhere else.
Now, this could be a downside because you can’t really go into the store to try them on and test the boots out in-person. Luckily, you’ll have a free return window when ordering from either retailer.
When ordering from Thursday directly, you get 14-days to decide if you want to keep the boots or return them — as long as you send them back in “unworn” condition.
On Amazon, you should get a 30-day return window, which is one of the main reasons I recommend ordering these from Amazon.
Any Downsides with the Thursday Captain Boots?
There’s no *perfect* product out there, but these boots certainly come close. It’s why I’m writing this Thursday Boots review.
However, I found a few things I wasn’t in love with when talking Thursday Boots:
- Not For “Outdoor” Use: You should not wear these boots to go on a hike or do anything too outdoorsy. These are city boots made in NYC. They’re made for all the urban hiking you want to do, but these are not ideal for trekking, climbing up a mountain, etc. These are city boots — not adventure boots. But here’s the thing, you don’t buy these to go hiking around a mountain in — so this shouldn’t be a big deal.
- Leather Can Smell After a Year: I noticed a minor odor after wearing my Thursday Boots for about a year or so. The odor was never present when I had the boots on, but occasionally present when I took them off. At first, I though I’d have to buy a new pair of boots. But then I remedied this the old-fashion way. I shoved some newspaper all the way inside the boots and them set the boots outside on a cool, dry day for 5-6 hours. This dried the boots out and eliminated about 95% of the odor I was smelling when taking them off. I now do this once every 2-3 months to ensure the odor doesn’t creep back up. A minor thing.
- Take Up Space in Luggage: If you plan to pack these boots in your luggage, just be forewarned…they take up a good amount of space. For me, they’re more than worth it. But you’d have to wear these on the plane to pack light.
Any Cheaper Alternatives?
Well, of course you can find alternatives at cheaper price points.
But I’m not sure I’d recommend them — considering it’s highly doubtful you’ll find anything near the quality of Thursday Captain Boots at a lower price.
Honestly, I think these boots are a damn good deal simply because of how long they’ll last. You’ll surely get 2-3+ years out of these boots — aka maybe only $70 bucks per year to wear these stunning shoes.
However, if money is pretty tight right now, here’s a few cheaper alternatives:
- Florsheim Men’s Estabrook Cap Toe Boot: These boots are decent. I’ve haFd a pair of Florsheim boots in the past and they get the job done. They’re not nearly as stylish or durable as Thursday Boots in my opinion — but they’re also $125 USD per pair, not $199 bucks. If money is tight, these could work.
- Golden Fox 6″ Boondocker Service Boot Pro: If money is really tight, these guys come in at $97 USD with free shipping. They look decent, although nothing close to the Captain Boots, and they should last for a solid 6-12+ months. Overall, an ok budget option for those who can’t afford Thursday Boots.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy any boots on Amazon for under $50 bucks. They will fall apart very quickly and anyone with half an eye for fashion will instantly notice how cheap they are. Trust me…I’ve tried them ;(
Thursday Boots Review | The Verdict?
I wrote this Thursday Boots review because I love my Captains.
They’re by far the best pair of dress boots I’ve ever owned and I don’t plan on shopping around when I need a new pair. I’ll just re-up with Thursday and grab another pair of these bad boys.
Although I may opt for the lighter “brandy” color-way instead of the “brown” I currently roll with.
If you’ve made it this far, you already know I can’t recommend the Thursday Captain Boots enough.
