The Boots of a Lifetime

While homo sapiens have been knocking about for some 300,000 years, early humans had already been upright and on the go for millennia: jogging, hiking, mountain climbing, and taking down walruses - all without shoes. In fact, it was only some 10,000-odd years ago that our ancestors thought of covering their poor, battered feet.

In other words, humans have spent 99.9% of their time on earth barefoot.

To make up for lost time, we've made a pair of Boots set to last for the next 10,000 years or so.

Making the Raw Boots was a treat for everyone involved… If you’re passionate about footwear, then making a pair of characterful but sturdy boots like these is a dream assignment.

Of course, it helped that we got a stunning 3,797 replies to our questionnaire on the subject of outdoor boots. Your input prompted us to design a pair, unlike anything we’ve ever made before. The Asphalte pillars are still present, of course. That’s a fanatical dedication to quality and making use of local expertise, for those of you who haven’t been following. But for this job, we injected our usual M.O. with an extra sense of panache as we set out to make the hardiest boots in Asphalte’s history. You can imagine nothing was left to chance:

On the subject of the materials, we turned to calfskin leather for two reasons: it’s hardwearing and supple… ideal for this kind of boot, promising to go the extra mile in optimum comfort. Long on toughness, short on blisters.

When it came to the sole of the matter, we opted for a Goodyear welt, which joins the soles to the upper. It's strong, waterproof and a cobbler’s dream to resole. But don’t just take our word for it; take a look at what goes on inside.

To have them firing on all cylinders we choserubber lug soles. The same sort used for on or off-road explorations.These will be happy on unforgiving concrete, rocky terrain, marching through heavy brush and navigating rainy days. They’re even ready to deal with carpets and parquet floors. We can assure you that these will happily clock up the miles in style, wherever you are.

We didn’t scrimp on the finishing touches. We added thick, waxed 100% cotton laces to the mixcombined with metal eyelets and lace hooks. Getting these on’ll be a breeze.

Nailing boots that would easily stand the test of time, check. Making them in Europe, check. But you know us, why settle for 'good' when we can do better?In addition to making trusted sidekicks that would be with you for years to come, we wanted them to become more beautiful, and characterful with each wear. No mean feat.

With this in mind, we took great care of sourcing the leathers we used and choosing the right construction. Our Chief Brand Officer, put his pair through six months of testing, including a few weeks exploring the rocky terrains of southern France. The result?

Picture yours in 10 years’ time

As you can see, they’re looking even better than a fresh pair. This leather’s perfect for adapting to your feet and it’ll even change colour in areas of flex and repeated movement, it’ll also mark nicely with each and every scuff and scratch, adding more character with every outing. Don't think of the marks as imperfections. A real pair of boots should tell their story.

Still, no need to go overboard, we do have a care guide ready to go with these. They aren’t immune to a bit of TLC every now and then.

We’re only waxing lyrical to emphasise the charm and magic of a unique patina, a testimony to a road well-travelled…filling your boots with extra soul along the way.

Off the bat - let us assure you we’ve seen to the lot. Looking at the other boots on the market, we can understand your worries, but not only do our Raw Boots have none of these faults, they've been designed to go above and beyond when it comes to solving them.

Tireless and snug, nimble and waterproof, with the promise of a magical patina built-in, we've designed these to make you the proud wearer of boots that can take you anywhere, anytime.

Now for the hard part: choosing which version fills your boots.

• Dark brown smooth leather that will make you want to take a closer look at the great outdoors

• Black smooth leather for the everyday roadie.

• Camel suede to add a little softness to these raw beauties.

• Tobacco suede. Much that’s more than just a smokescreen. Ok, we got tired on that one.

So there you go—the Raw Boots. If you plan on going outside at any point, these will come in handy: Built to withstand the rugged requirements of real life, they’re the ideal boots for anyone who needs sturdy, comfortable and reliable boots.

That’s all very well, but how do you get a pair? Well, the Raw Boots will be available to preorder for the exceptional price of 229€ from Tuesday, 18th of July.

But as usual, it’s first come first served, and you can sign up to get notified when they drop.

If it doesn't work out or you feel you’d want to exchange for another colour, fear not, returns are easy and the cost is on us.

Need to know anything else? Drop it in the comments below or check our international Instagram page for the answer. Possibly.

Thanks,

The Asphalte Team