When you’ve been making western boots for over 150 years, you develop a skill and level of experience that few can match. That comes out in a boot that is so well known, other products are named after it, and the world ties your company name with the American West. That’s Stetson and you know it when you put on a pair of their boots.
Stetson’s dedication to the western boot and the cowboy life has been well known for decades. Not only have Stetson boots been the standard many others have built their shoes to match, it has been copied repeatedly overseas by other cultures trying to emulate the West.
Putting together a quality western boot isn’t a simple process of stitching pieces of leather together. A bootmaker needs a deep knowledge of what leathers do over time, how stitching behaves as it ages, and most importantly how the boot reshapes itself to the foot of the wearer. All of these factors and much more affect how the boot ultimately fits when it is first bought as well as how it feels years later.
There are always cheaper alternatives for shoes and boots. In today’s global market these choices can number by the hundreds. But that doesn’t mean they are worth wearing. A good western boot isn’t designed to just be nice looking at a dance or a social BBQ event. It’s designed to be a solid work boot in an environment that is unforgiven, dry, vicious and at the same time beautiful. The West and the wilderness won’t give a moment of mercy to poorly built shoe, cutting the sole off in a matter of hours. But a Stetson western boot is crafted intentionally for this kind of environment, built to deal with river, sand, stone, flint, snakes and more. It truly is the cowboy’s boot that makes the West famous the world over. Is it any surprise then that the western boot and cowboy hat are the logo of American outdoor history?
Today, Stetson competes with bootmakers from around the world, especially with online selling and a much larger competitive arena. There are copies and duplicates from as far as Asia to as far south as Brazil. But they don’t compare with Stetson’s quality and design. There is simply too much history, knowledge, and depth of experience that has gone into a Stetson to be simply be replaced by a painted over copy on cheap leather and cardboard. The truth comes up in the same Western environment that made the Stetson boot famous in the first place.
You’ll know right away why your Stetson boots are going to last while other choices are only good for an urban show setting at best. Your boots will literally form to you and provide you the best foot protection in a western boot possible. Why settle for less? With Stetson you never have to.