Colombia offers some high end boots at an incredible value!
Brand Overview
Bordon Handmade began in 2018 but adopted the Bordon name in 2019. Their goal is to offer the Colombian market extremely high-quality footwear at a price that’s accessible. They achieve this in a couple ways: first housing production in their home country of Colombia, and by employing just-in-time manufacturing. This means that products are made to order and surplus in the form of stock boots is avoided. This means that the customer must wait 4-5 months for the delivery of their boots but enables Bordon to keep costs low.
Construction Details
Now let’s get the construction details out of the way:
The leather is 5-6oz Oiled Latigo from Wicket and Craig in the color Chestnut. They’re lined in pure aniline Italian calf leather with a veg tan insole and leather heel counter.
The midsole is also Colombian veg tan leather, and beneath that is a layer of cork filler. There is a shank, and Bordon states that the shank is both steel and leather. They accomplish this by using a steel shank and then putting a layer of thick leather over it, resulting in a double shank.
The sole I spec’d is a Commando Vibram, and the tongue is fully gusseted to keep dirt and debris out.
Leather Quality
This leather is one I’m relatively familiar with, from an American tannery famous for its veg tan: Wicket & Craig in Pennsylvania. This particular leather is their Oiled Latigo which is hot dipped in a special mix of oils, waxes and tallows meaning that this leather will have some nice pullup.
If you’re not familiar with what pullup is, on a leather like this, bending it will displace the oils and fats resulting in a lighter color along the crease. So that means some nice variation in areas like where your toe or ankle bends.
Colombia's finest export since Shakira
Vegetable tanned leather is also known for its ability to age beautifully, and it’s safe to say that these boots will actually look a lot better with time and use- as long as you like that type of thing.
Fit and Finish
Overall, the finishing on these is exceptionally good. The stitching is more on par with boots like Truman than most PNW brands, and the variations are indicative of a handmade product. I never understood where the line is between sterile factory stitching and endearing handmade imperfection. Nothing on these boots could be considered a defect, though I can clearly see some waviness in the stitch lines. Nothing as bad as some of the stuff coming out of Spokane though. In terms of fit and finish, Bordon punches well above their weight.
Sizing and Fit
I found the sizing to be straightforward and the Bordon fit chart to be accurate. They fit like most of my boots at the same size do, and I appreciated the “E” width for a little more room. Arch support is good, but not on the same level as the PNW high arch models. Luckily you can always add insoles if needed.
Comfort and Break in
Look, there is a lot of leather here and its vegetable tanned leather at that. These boots are stiff right out of the box, and you’re going to need some time to break them in. Nothing other than heat, moisture, and pressure will get you to the point of pure comfort with these boots. So, the best thing to do is check out my video all about breaking in boots and get wearing them.
Eventually you will have boots which feel custom made to your feet as the leather conforms to your heel, your instep, and your gait. This is the reason people love boots like these and endure an extremely uncomfortable break in period- because it’s well worth it in the end!
Price and Value
If there’s one area Bordon excels, its value. The components of these boots, the construction and attention to detail place them in a much higher category than their price suggests. At $409 they’re still not cheap but let me compare them with the closest boots in my collection.
The Nicks Wicket & Craig MTO boots are similar in most regards, using a similar leather from the same tannery, the same double row stitchdown construction, and largely similar components. The difference is that these Nicks cost $759 – almost double what the Bordon Tukano costs. There are plenty of differences between these two pairs of boots, but in some ways, I’d argue that the Bordon’s are superior to Nicks, especially in their finishing.
The Bottom Line
As I get older, the more I realize there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In building construction, we say you can have it cheap, fast, or good, but you can only pick two. In the case of Bordon, you get a beautifully made pair of boots for a bargain if you can wait for the order period and build time. To me though, that’s a worthwhile tradeoff!
Colombia's finest export since Shakira
they look gay and why would you buy something from another country need to keep America strong