Adventurebilt is bringing back THE Indy boots

[Marc]

Dear all, (I hope that I put this in the right section...)

I am very happy to announce that Adventurebilt is now official Alden retailer. I'll even get the engraved brass plate for my hat shop, so this is a moment of pride I'm having here:love

What can I offer? - I can offer you THE boot. Made by the same company, using the same color, the same leather, which will be treated as it was "back then" both before and after it has been turned into the AB 405, with the same lining the same stitching the same everything. This is NOT a replica or a very close enough but THE real deal.

What does it take? - In order to get the boots made to the exact same specs. as "back then", it takes a min. order of 12 pair of boots. Once this amount has been reached, the order will be placed and the boots manufactured. Please understand that once the order is placed, I cannot re-order before the next dozen is full.

How much will they cost? - The retail price is 450 Euro plus shipping per Aldens request.

Regards,

Marc

 

[darthjones]

Sweetness! I wish I had more funds right now. Very cool move, Marc.

People - I have owned two pair of Alden IJ boots over time and they take a licking quite nicely. VERY substantial footwear, these things.

 

[moffeaton]

Cool, do you have pics/a little more info on what makes them better than regular Alden 405s for the additional $450? I thought the 405s as seen in the film were roughly the same as the ones you could buy direct...

Very interested to learn more!

 

[UFO]

for the other americans watching this thread...thats $708 US dollars.
ouch, a little out of my price range.

 

[Marc]

First of all: I KNOW they're pricey. IMHO I went:eek when I heard that price myself. Unfortunately (and I mean it as I say) it is not in my powers to do differently. They'd simply give me the boot if I'd sell it for less:lol

The difference will be that they'll not only make them in the exact same color as back then, but they'll also use the same lining, the same stitches, treat the leather the same way before AND after the boots are made and a few other things that will make this boot the EXACT same as back in 1980. So they're basicly making a private collection version for me and they're charging for this. Of course the weak Dollar doesn't help ANY here:unsure

STILL: for ME and at least some other Indy fans who ordered already, it IS worth the high price tag to be able to own the exact same boot as Harrison Ford was wearing in Raiders of the lost Ark.

Regards,

Marc

 

[darthjones]

Weak dollar?! Do you mean those green, Presidential trading cards I use instead of toilet paper?

 

[dom]

Is there a blow-by-blow description of the differences? (pictures maybe?) I'm not being negative, but that's quite a bit more than the "stock" 405 goes for.

That being said, I'm not a SERIOUS Indy gearhead, but would potentially be interested.

Thanks!

 

[moffeaton]

That's all I'm asking for too I guess - I wanna see a comparison between a stock 405 and the new ones. I'm interested, even at that crazy price. I LOVE my Aldens, and wore them every day in and around Japan recently - they never felt uncomfortable, in any terrain:

Even on the plane - they breathed well!

 

[cking]

Great news Marc!

Thanks so much for going the extra mile to make this possible.
In a nutshell, the biggest "problem" with all modern Alden's is the colour. They're way too "red / orange".
The Raiders boots were definitely a lot more brown than Alden's current offerings so I'm really glad that Marc is bringing back the late 70's / early 80's version - it's going to be just like the pair Ford purchased for himself. Cool!

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Marc]

Thanks!

Alden has changed the 405 a little here and there over the years. As Chris mentioned, the most eye catching thing is the color of the upper leather. The second picture posted by moffeaton show the actual color very well (I saw this sample in the sample book I was shown and it's NOT the same we see on screen). Also the stitching on the sole should be OFF white in opposite to white, the lining has changed and the mock toe stitching shouldn't be contrasting to the upper leather... Though quite close, it's not THE boot and I guess it depends on how picky you are to actually give a damn or not.

Take the ribbon on an Indy Fedora as an example: to some, if it's a black ribbon (even a Petersham) with 36 or 37mm, that's just fine. For others, if it's not THE dark brown (ALMOST black) 39mm ribbon that we see on screen (the only piece of gear that remained 100% the same in all four movies btw), then it's just not right. Personally, I'm one of these guys. "Close enough" just doesn't float my boat.

Many gearheads (incl. myself) have been trying to redye the boots and gone quite some extra miles in order to get THE look on them. So far I haven't seen anyone succeeding to a degree, where it suits my picky needs.

Regards,

Marc