With the incredible power of the internet and my amazing technological prowess, I have managed to create the images below – When you hover your mouse over these photographs they will magically change from what the CAT Sire Waterproof Boots looked like straight out of the box, to what they look like today. Go ahead and marvel at both the strikingly cool-looking boots and my Bill Gates beating ICT skills.<\/p>\n

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\nFirst impressions – you can clearly see that the boots have been warn a lot, but they are still looking grand. The leather has clearly softened up and become more comfortable. The added flexibility has meant they shaped to my feet and are now looking nicely warn. The boots are labelled as waterproof, which I normally approach with trepidation when it comes to shoes, unless I’m looking at a welly boot! I can report however, that they are what they claim. I’ve warn these through heavy downpours in town when puddles have been unavoidable; I’ve walked in wet sand and been caught off guard and trodden in rock pools; I’ve warn them when washing my car, and always my feet have remained dry. This is one of the biggest reasons that I’ve warn them every day. When it rains almost every day in the winter, why wouldn’t you wear waterproof shoes? Almost everyone wears a waterproof coat when it rains!<\/p>\n

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\nThe only actual sign of unwanted wear is on the shoe laces. The metal eyelet, which is third down, clearly wears the laces thin. Either this or the laces just aren’t as tough as the rest of the boot. Still, for me, this is a very small fault. Laces are cheap and are way, way easier to replace than a whole new boot. I think the wearing of these laces is testament to how ‘through the mill’ the boots have been taken. When you compare that level of wear on the laces to how good the boots are still looking, I think it reflects very well on the build quality of CAT boots.<\/p>\n

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\nIn the photo above, you can see that the full grain leather has developed a really attractive patina over time. I hate the ‘brand new’ look and love when shoes, clothing and gear looks warn in and actually used. Brand new, shiny outdoor kit is a sign of someone who doesn’t like to stray from the beaten path. On the toe of the shoe you can see a pretty deep scratch that the boots have picked up, if they weren’t made from real quality leather this would have probably pretty much killed them, but the CAT boots have shrugged it off and keep on going. If you look closely you can even see that the nubuck upper (which is also waterproof) looks exactly the same as brand new. The whole top part and entry to the boot is still immaculate which is excellent. I often find that the inner heel portion of shoes is the first to wear out from sliding your feet in and out every day.<\/p>\n

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\nIf you look alove and below you can see that the rubber outsole has hardly warn at all. This is a great sign as I’ve warn these as my primary shoe for months and I do a lot of walking. These boots have been everywhere with me and if the soles are still looking like this, you can tell they’ve still got years left in them. This isn’t a great surprise really given CAT’s origins, for a company that make huge industrial construction machinery with huge metal and rubber caterpillar tracks, making quality rubber soles for a pair of boots isn’t really a challenge!<\/p>\n

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\nSo that’s the end of the comparison photos and I hope you’ve gleamed a little bit about how these boots are wearing – which is very well. I haven’t actually mentioned my favourite feature of the Sire boots: what they’re like to wear. They are light for a boot as rugged looking as them and because of their well designed EASE Footbed and EASE Midsole, they’re extremely comfortable. I’ve warn these shoes through many 12+ hour days. I’ve been wearing them to work and still want to wear them when I go out after getting home. <\/p>\n