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10 January 2025 -
The Iron Snail
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The History Behind JK Superduty Boots
John Khadzhi uses 100-year-old forged French hammers and Swedish lasting pliers to make high-heeled JK Superduty boots. These boots are nailed together, screwed together, glued together, and stitched together. They’re firefighter boots, they’re logger boots, they’re construction boots.
You’re looking at some of the toughest boots in the world that just so happen to have changed the lives of the toughest people on the planet for the last 400 years. I like to put on two pairs of sockie wockies; otherwise, my feetsie weetsies will get blisty wisties, and that’s no good.
The Haters and Today’s Deep Dive
Today, we are looking at why the JK Superduty boots have a big old fatty on the back of them, which, of course, is the heel. These boots are rough and tough, and you can hold a lot more weight and not have sore feet than you can with any other boots.
And while these boots are some of the toughest boots in the world, you still have to make sure that you get the right ones. These have the honey sole, and when you look them up on Reddit, you will see a comment from Reddit user smokejumperbro.
Smokejumperbro says, “The boots that I am wearing, these JK Superduty boots, are called loft boots, and they are for office work like sewing and eating ice cream,” which is a hysterical comment but also strangely close to my job.
And finally, as amazing as these boots are, they still have some haters – not JK boots specifically, but these logger PNW (Pacific Northwest) boots in general, and we call those haters the barefoot bros.
Some of the barefoot bros, not all the barefoot bros, but either way, a further breakdown of what we will be talking about in the article is here:
Number one: Why the F do these boots actually have a heel? What does that help with? The keyword: dorsiflexion.
Number one (a): Do these boots make your feet weaker by wearing them because of the heel?
Number two: The bottom section of these boots is fuzzy, but the top is not. What is with that?
Number three: Why do we have like 12,000 stacks of leather on these boots?
Number four: Why, when I first put these boots on, did I feel a lump right on the side of my boots?
Welcome to The Iron Snail
What’s up, everyone? It’s Michael back with another old article for the Iron Snail. This channel focuses on two things: one, incredibly deep dives into every technical aspect of a shoe, of a boot, of a clothing article, whatever it may be, and two, fashion stuff.
And today, of course, we are deep diving, incredibly deep and dangerously, into JK Superduty boots.
The Tech Specs: Breaking Down These Bad Boys
Let’s just get to know these boots first. Let’s go through the basics, and then we’ll get to the crazy details. However, we need the foundation. These big fat fatties are 10 inches in height. They use 8 to 9-ounce leather, the insole is genuine oak-tanned USA leather, the midsole is genuine oak-tanned USA leather, and the arch support is USA leather. These boots are made of USA leather.
These boots are designed to always keep your foot in a resting position to distribute weight evenly, so standing on a log, my feet would normally kind of bend and conform around the tree unless I was wearing rather stiff boots. Now they don’t – they stay straight, and they get much less tired as I walk around and as I try to balance on something like this.
Really, you see this come out if you stand on ladders all day. You want a boot that doesn’t let your foot kind of sag over the ladder because then your foot will get tired, which is obviously no good if you have to work for 10 hours a day. You want something that keeps your feet kind of stiff and not overly working and overly flexing. In terms of ground feel when you’re walking, you get two things.
Number one, obviously, it feels like you’re standing on an absolute boatload of USA oak-tanned leather – there’s not a lot of feeling, not a lot of bending, and you’re not very close to the ground when you’re walking on these boots.
The Mind-Blowing Arch Support
Now, the one thing that will shock you if you’ve never worn PNW boots or boots with very strong high arch support is the feeling of arch support. It is unreal on these and I shall explain what it feels like through the metaphor of a sock. Obviously, these boots have a heel – you may think though the bottom of these boots is flat when it’s not, it’s very, very heavily rounded, and pay attention to that.
That will come in handy later when we talk about the heel. But what it feels like is – picture a rolled-up sock right under your foot; you’re not wearing a boot, you’re just gently putting your foot down on a sock. That’s essentially what it feels like, except the sock is in the perfect place where your foot is no longer splaying out and getting tired. It’s resting on the sock and supported, you know, technically by the rest of the boot. I guess the metaphor dies there.
I must admit I left a crucial part out of the walking, how they feel and stuff test, and that is range of motion.
I left it out because it’s incredibly fascinating because it works for you and against you depending on what situation you’re in, but when it works for you, it is probably the nerdiest, coolest thing that I’ve ever heard – it’s hacking your foot and your strength.
The Big Question: Why That Chunky Heel?
Why the F do these boots have a heel? Number one, I will reference Rose Anvil. You can use the heel as a lug to grip onto things and lock into things; that’s very useful.
But number two, it’s what I was talking about before – you can see the outsole of these boots literally drips down because there is so much leather used for arch support that if you didn’t have a heel, you’d be walking on a weebly wobbly surface and that can’t happen. So you have to chunk a big heel on the boot in order to have that many layers of leather giving you support.
Most boot soles are perfectly flat, and walking around in them is no problem. You can add a little bit of a heel, but if it’s perfectly flat, it’s no big deal. JK boot soles are rounded up a bit, so now you need to essentially add a little platform so the rounded part doesn’t touch the ground; otherwise, you won’t have a lot of steadiness when you’re walking.
Okay, so now we know arch support is important, but we don’t necessarily know why it’s important or how it helps you kind of fly up a mountain and still have all of your strength and make things easier, and really, why is it so important that we’re chunking giant heels to the bottom of boots. Before we get into dorsiflexion, we have to break down some of the smaller features of these boots.
The Magic of Rough Out Leather
First things first – why rough out? Why are there two types of leather on this boot? Put simply, rough out does not show scratches the same as smooth leather.
Rough out, the opposite side of the leather is rougher and tougher. It doesn’t scratch as easily – you have to get through all of the fibrous material and the fuzz before you can even begin to scratch the leather, so you have to move a ton of stuff out of the way before you’re damaging the leather.
Why did smokejumperbro on Reddit say the outsoles, these honey Vibram outsoles, are for office work like sewing and eating ice cream? Because there are different harder outsoles, I think there’s the V100 and the 100, and you might have to correct me on that. It is a black outsole.
It is harder than the honey outsoles, so it lasts longer, but JK sometimes uses honey outsoles. They use all kinds of outsoles, so you can pick what you want. They sometimes use honey outsoles because people say the softness grips better when you’re going through certain terrains, so it does have its pluses and minuses.
Comparing Different JK Boot Options
| Feature | Details | Benefits | Usage | Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | Nailed, screwed, glued, and stitched together | Durable and robust for heavy-duty tasks | Suitable for firefighters, loggers, and construction workers | Requires proper sizing and adjustment |
| Material | 8-9 oz Oak tan USA leather | Provides strong arch support and weight distribution | Ideal for extended standing or climbing | May feel stiff initially |
| Heel Design | Chunky heel for dorsiflexion and stability | Reduces fatigue, enhances balance on uneven terrain | Essential for climbing and gripping | Limited range of motion during running |
| Outsole | Honey Vibram outsole | Soft grip for versatile terrains | Great for hiking and outdoor work | Shorter lifespan compared to harder outsoles |
| Rough Out Leather | Fibrous texture resistant to scratches | Enhances durability and wear resistance | Handles tough environments | May require regular maintenance |
| Customization | Tailored to individual specifications | Ensures perfect fit and comfort | Custom orders for specific needs | Higher cost for customization |
The Spicy Question: Do These Make Your Feet Weak?
Okay, and now for the spicy question – do these boots make your feet weaker? Obviously, if you’re walking barefoot, you are strengthening your feet to the max, so do they make your feet weaker? I mean, for their general purpose, it doesn’t even matter. It’s not like your feet are going to be so weak that you can’t walk on them or anything like that.
These are logger boots, firefighter boots, and people working outside all day boots. No matter how strong your foot is, you’re going to get tired after 10 to 12 hours of fighting fires and lifting logs and heavy equipment. So technically, I mean, yeah, maybe you could get your feet stronger, but are you really going to tell a smoke jumper that he needs to do toe lifts after work?
The Science of Dorsiflexion
Now, I will say walking around in these boots is actually incredible. I love it, I don’t feel like I have a lot of foot strain. I’m not doing anything incredibly strenuous, but they still feel great. It’s a pleasure to put them on, and they’re not even broken yet. I can see why all of the hype surrounds these boots.
However, yesterday, I had these boots on, and I was running through the woods – not going for a run, but I was actually actively running through the woods, and this is where things get interesting because the boots were working for me and against me at the same time and this is why they have a heel.
Two very important things that you need to keep in mind: Number one, I am the epitome of a random guy on the internet, so talk to a doctor if you need a specific type of boot or shoes, but number two is that my boots are not fully broken in yet so they will get more flexible over time and break in even more.
Dorsiflexion baby! Dorsiflexion is really – apparently, just the movement of your foot when you point your toes up but keep your heel on the ground. It’s important when we’re talking about these boots.
When I was running through the woods pretending to be a firefighter fighter, I noticed the range of my foot was limited. Usually, when you’re running, your foot is flexing all the way up and then most of the way down. You get just about the full range of motion. In these boots, I kind of stayed in the middle. Now the idea is that we have a golden range in power of our feet when we are going up inclines.
It’s not overly superly high lifting your foot up all the way, it’s not overly super low, so by keeping your feet in the middle in that power range, you’re essentially completely avoiding the super high weak zone where you have less power to go up mountains and hills, which of course means you are fatiguing dramatically less as you do work all the day long because you’re using your most powerful range of motion.
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The Final Verdict
Okay, so at the beginning of this article, I said these boots are technically not for everyone. I guess I should amend that because JK Boots will custom-make boots for you, which means, yes, these boots are for everyone. These boots are really everything I could have dreamed of and more – they’re amazing.
I love just putting them on and walking around. It feels good; they feel like they’re built for you, and they’re molding to your feet over time. I love everything about them. So, if I needed firefighter boots, logger boots, construction worker boots, or something like that, I would love these even more because they would make my feet feel a lot better.
Thank you so much for reading! I will see you all very soon in the next article where we look at the lightest jeans in the world and the heaviest jeans in the world.
This article was adapted from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to ensure the integrity of his original content. Watch the full video here.
The Iron Snail is a men’s fashion vlog (and now article series!) starring a young man named Michael and featuring a snail no bigger than a quarter. The two are set on taking over the world of fashion by creating a clothing line to end all clothing lines. Until then, we’re here to tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the best clothing out there, from the highest quality raw denim jeans to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has got you covered.