John Lofgren Engineers and More Ramblings

For those who know me and see my photos regularly throughout our socials and the ISP site, you may have gathered that I’m a bit of an engineer boot guy. More specifically, my John Lofgren's that I've worn damn near everyday since 2019. After years of y’all asking about the boots I’m wearing (and Josh being pissed that I chose to wear something we didn’t carry in the shop), we are absolutely thrilled to finally have John Lofgren as part of our lineup. That being said, I thought this was a good time to post a little writeup about my experience with the brand and why I absolutely will be buying another pair.

I can say with a fair amount of confidence that over my many years of consistent wear, I’ve reached a point that qualifies me to make the claims and resolute opinions that I will lay out in the following discussion.   

The year was 2019 and teenage me was starting to take the plunge deeper into the world of “heritage workwear.” At that time, I had already been wearing selvedge denim consistently for the previous few years since first encountering this world through the vintage motorcycle community. In the previous year before purchasing the engineers in discussion, I had been stepping up my clothing game, snagging my first pair of Iron Hearts (21oz 634’s) as well as a 618 Schott Perfecto. To say I felt like hot shit would be an understatement. After a little assessment of my wardrobe and how it was evolving, I decided it was time to trade in my much loved Cody James engineers via Boot Barn for something a little more… more. 

Through motorcycles, I had developed a passion for the world of cafe racers, hot rods, and the whole counter culture surrounding the time and place these were at their height. My style became a reflection of this and I took inspiration from photos, old advertisements, movies, and you guessed it… Marlon Brando in The Wild One (big shocker, I know). There’s a lot of speculation online about what engineer boots Brando specifically wore in the movie. The primary belief was that it was either Red Wing or Chippawa, but I’ve even heard Wesco being thrown into the discussion before as a potential option. Regardless, my plan was to start with one of those as my next stepping stone towards the world of “high end” boots.

Lofgren was already on my radar but it seemed rather unobtainable at the time. Just about no one had them in stock, long lead times, and not to mention the price was a little daunting for me as a teenager freshly in college. I was reading lots of blogs and forums looking for reviews and advice on which pair to go with, but every time I saw a pair of Lofgrens, they always stood out to me. Not only in the build quality, but the overall silhouette and aesthetic was extremely pleasing. They became somewhat of a grail item and I knew that I was definitely going to snag a pair eventually. I had been saving up some cash from the maintenance job I was working and I was ready to pull the trigger on some new boots from one of the above-mentioned brands. I made one last glance at the available Lofgrens and as fate would have it, there was an unclaimed preorder available in my size. 

After performing a few quick mental gymnastics and landing in the mentality of “F**k it we ball,” I hit purchase. Since then, I have worn them virtually every day for over seven years and I can say with certainty that they are the most worn item in my entire wardrobe. While still following regular maintenance for the sake of longevity, I haven’t shied away from subjecting these to the harshness of everyday life. To take a quick tangent (some may say rant), I try to view my clothing with the same frame of mind as someone who would’ve been wearing these clothes 100 years ago. In the heritage world, we often get caught up in the stylistic/fashion aspect and tend to lose sight of the intended purpose behind what we’re wearing. I often find inspiration from scouring archives of old photos to not only get an idea of what people were wearing, but how they were wearing it. Clothes were expensive then much like they are now, and even though they were intended to endure some pretty harsh working conditions, the wearer still cared for their garments to ensure maximum longevity. Clothes were worn regardless of what work was being done, however, you wouldn’t purposely subject them to an activity that would ruin a garment if it was avoidable. In my opinion, heavy use is the main reason that everyone's fits in those old photos look so badass. In short, wear your clothes, don’t baby them, but don’t purposely destroy them for the want of quick fades and a “vintage look”; earn that badge over time and maintain them as necessary. 

Let’s get back to the topic at hand, John Lofgren’s engineer boots. Like I mentioned before, I have lived in these for over 7 years. They’ve been with me through everything you can imagine; countless miles, hurricane flood waters, trail hikes, yard work, you name it. These have been my companions through it all. To touch on the boots themselves, they’re everything you’d expect from high end Japanese craftsmanship. Mine specifically are from the standard core collection constructed from Horween’s Chromexel, a leather that in my mind strikes a great balance between being a premium cow hide while still being tough enough to serve a utilitarian role. Speaking specifically to the black tea-core, you can see from my personal pair just how beautifully the patina becomes once you start breaking through the top layer of black. 

I like to believe I can claim to know a decent amount of boots, but to necessarily call myself a “boot guy” would be a disservice to the knowledge and eye that some of y’all have. I have been fortunate enough though to handle and compare a fair amount of boots through my time in this industry. That being said, I think construction quality on these are truly top-notch. The stitching is super tight, consistent, and overbuilt to withstand a lifetime of wear. Every detail is meticulously thought out right down to using only Japanese and USA sourced materials. The storm welts are a unique touch that isn’t seen very often and actually adds quite a bit of functionality. Down here, 20 minutes of rain is enough to cause a flash flood at any time and boy have I been shin deep in a few. Thankfully, my feet have always come out dry on the other side wearing these.  

I often talk quite a lot about the “point of diminishing return.” There's a point with most things where the basic quality of a good plateaus and any additional cost is either driven up by brand name or artistic value. Don’t get me wrong, I think some of those rare and custom boots can be totally worth the price, however, it doesn’t make sense for me. Mirror polished midsoles/heel stacks, hand painted dyes, rare and exotic leathers, and contemporary patterns are cool and all, but that falls more into the “artistic value” category for me. Especially at the cost of some of those boots, I’m not going to want to wear them how I want for risk of messing them up. That’s why I keep coming back to Lofgren. In my opinion, these are the perfect combination of quality, utilitarianism, and art. At the price range these fall into, you’re getting the absolute best quality boot without paying extra for fancy polish or any rare oddities. 100% worth the price. 

To touch on fit and actual wearability, the leather footbed has perfectly contoured to my foot ensuring the comfort and support needed to make it through a full day of being on my feet. Seriously, these are the most comfortable boots I own. I have walked upwards of 20miles in a single day wearing these with no issues whatsoever. If heel slip bothers you… maybe consider a different style all together. By nature of a slip-on boot, chances are you’re going to have heel slip. Deal with it. These do however, have some of the least heel slip out of any of the other slip-on boots I’ve owned. The heel counter does a great job of cupping my heel and the instep strap is positioned perfectly to really tighten this boot down on my foot. 

So 7 years later, where do we stand? Well, I think these are more beautiful now than they ever have been. The leather has worn and shown the scars of the life I’ve put them through. I condition them every few months when they feel dry or whenever they get totally saturated from the rain/flooding. There's a little welt separation on my right boot and some loose stitches on the back strap where the shaft naturally creases… all things of no fault to the maker and honestly, they are in surprisingly good condition considering the time and hell I’ve put them through. The USA made vibram heels have also held up surprisingly well, I have a tendency to drag my heels and I’ve worn other heels caps clean down to the leather in significantly less time. I’ll be sending them off pretty soon for a little TLC and some fresh soles so you bet your ass I will be buying another pair in their absence. I greatly look forward to adding another pair of them “Jawnz” to my lineup and hopefully my barely coherent ramblings help you consider adding a pair to yours.