![]() The high production quality creates a boot that’ll last you many winters and L.L. Bean isn’t suppressing quantity to create hype-they just can’t keep up with demand. It takes a combined 85 minutes of labor to make just a single pair. The company has made the boots in Maine since their creation in 1912 and even today everything is done by hand through a combination of almost 400 people. One thing that hasn’t changed: Bean boots are still made in America, even as the number of domestically produced things has dwindled. Now, they’re using more modern machinery and techniques to contend with the 50,000-people waitlists that build up over the winter. Bean first fused the leather and rubber components together in his brother’s basement. It’s a funny looking combination but that unique look has made it a recognizable icon in American fashion. The way they combine tank-like indestructibility with what I like to generously describe as a funky style is the most pragmatic reason you’ll be disappointed if you wait to snap these up.įirst invented by Leon Leonwood Bean-they just don’t name people like they used to-as “the antidote to wet feet.” The boots are rubber on the bottom to keep water out and leather on the top. Overhead Instagram shots of them are as a reliable indicator of fall as Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Snow is similarly no match for these beasts. The way the boots plunge into water without leaking would impress Captain Nemo. Plus, given the raised heel and 8-inch shaft, you're guaranteed to keep dry even if the water level rises past puddle-height.Bean boots famously sell out every year and you can’t talk about why they’re in such high demand without singing their praises. These boots worked well in every situation, thus confirming their ability to keep your feet dry no matter how much (or which kind) of precipitation you get. As such, I had ample opportunities to test these: through light springtime mists, end-of-summer rain storms, dewy, early-fall mornings and mid-winter downpours, which we got in lieu of snow. Pittsburgh, where I live, and where I tested these boots, gets a lot of rain. Again, this is partly my own doing by suffering through what I'd assume is the wrong size, but I'm sure I'm not alone - hence this warning. During the first half-dozen wears, my heel consistently lifted out of the cup and rubbed on the rear spine, causing red spot that came just short of becoming a painful blister. ![]() With sizing issues comes shifting, which causes blisters. Those early pairs came apart, but this incident spurred perhaps the brand's most popular design feature - maybe behind the duckbill toe, though. As early prototypes, they came without Bean's now-famous triple-line stitching finish, which secures the rubber outsole to the leather upper. He grew tired of traditional boots that'd get soggy in the sole, therefore combining the comfortability of rubber-soled shoes with the durability promised by leather uppers.Īs the story famously goes, though, 90 of the first 100 boots sold were returned. (They're really just rain boots, though.) The brand's founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, first stitched them together for his own journeys, but eventually sold 100 pairs to close friends and family members - as well as others in Maine. Bean's iconic Bean Boots were then called the Maine Hunting Shoe, but have since adopted more colloquial catch-alls: Bean Boots or Duck Boots, for short. Bean Bean Boots: Testing Notes They're an iconic product with a timeless look.įirst built in 1912, L.L. Finding the right fit can prove difficult and may require wearing double socks.Heeled outsole is a little wobbly to walk in.
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