First month and a hike with Numzaan Tyre Wedges
I wanted a "Trail Tank" boot. Really rugged, double lasted for winter and water resistance, with no synthetics...all leather. They needed to be recraftable/re-soleable. My plan was to do short hikes in them, yardwork, and for outdoor utility like trail building with my local mountain bike chapter. Weight was not a consideration. I'm new to Jim Green but I've been lurking here for a while and had a feeling their Numzaan or Razorback would be idea. I think the wedge sole, toe cap and leather mid on the 'Zaan won me over.
I was excited to grab these Numzaan Tyre Wedges in bronco leather when they were on sale for $225 earlier this year. The STC last looked ominously wide at first glance at 2E and I worried my lil 9.5C width feet would be swimming but it turns out the upper holds my foot great and my toes can splay out without any loss of control or balance. I got 9 and 9.5 and returned the 9's from my toes hitting the front....true to size 9.5 was perfect.
These boots broke me in, not the other way around. Incredibly stiff leather and midsole. Took me a month to get comfortable in them and the only way I could truly make friends with them was to wrap the laces around my ankle (had to buy 79" laces for that) and forget the top speed hooks completely. But in doing that they are absurdly comfortable now. I love the character this Bronco is getting with just regular brushing and wipedowns.
I beat the hell out of them hiking my favorite rugged trout fishing water as you can see from the scarring all over them. 4 total miles of scrambling over boulders, crushing the toes of the boots while kneeling, wedging my feet in between rocks and dunking them a couple times for up to a minute. I had treated them ahead of time with Montana Pitch Blend waterproofing and it did exactly what it said it would on the can. Aside from the break-in, they are heavy as shit so if you're keeping hikes under 6-8 miles you're probably fine but beyond that, I bet they'll wear you down. I doubt they'd be comfortable above 85°, I have trail runners for that but in 65° temps my feet were perfect with medium wool socks. Super satisfied with my very first Jim Green purchase.