There are a handful of things that every man should have in his closet or on his nightstand that he can turn to when he needs them the most. Dependable, durable, and comfortable. A leather jacket is the ultimate in elevated casual garments. A great pair of perfect-fitting jeans will keep you comfortable in any situation. And a great field watch will outlast any adventure you have in mind. The man also needs a solid pair of boots that can work as hard as him and a knife as dependable as he is. Luckily for us, Nicks Boots has teamed up with Buck Knives to bring us the perfect combination of the last two necessities.
Thanks to the dropping need for dressier footwear and the new explosion of the casual world, boots are the oldest new fad to take hold. Nicks Boots has an idea of how that will shape the boot market, and we got an opportunity to sit down with Shuyler Mowe, CEO of Nicks Boots, to talk about the collaboration and the future of boots.
Boots tough enough to do the work
“We’re known as the Toyota Land Cruiser of boots,” Mowe said about the company. “They are very durable, they last forever, and they can handle anything.” There are boots, then there are work boots, and then there are Nicks Boots. Known for providing some of the best firefighting boots for the brave men and women fighting forest fires in the Pacific Northwest, they are made to handle everything you can possibly throw at them.
“They are over-made, I would say. That is kind of our thing.” Mowe went on to explain what makes the boots unique. “It’s called the stitch-down construction, which is a relatively uncommon way to construct the boot. Which basically means you are stitching through the sole and the welt. If you turn over one of our shoes, you will actually see stitches on the bottom of the boot, which is unusual. That adds an additional mechanical connection between the sole and the upper. Just helps it last a little bit longer.”
In respect to the collaboration, it is a suped-up version of one of the most popular models on the site, the Builder Pro, only with some additional bells and whistles that make this one of the most must-have, one-of-a-kind boots on the market today.
Knife dependable enough to get it done
What were you doing when you were 13 years old? Hoyt H. Buck was developing a treatment method to heat metal for tools that would hold an edge longer. He eventually volunteered to make knives for the U.S. military. When he found out there weren’t enough knives for the soldiers, he bought an anvil and got to work, stating, “I didn’t have any knives, but sure knew how to make them.” He founded his company with his son in 1949 and handmade 25 knives a week until his death.
In 1964, the company dropped the Buck 110, the first hunting knife without a fixed blade. The new folding hunting knife quickly became one of the most popular knives that has ever hit the market. The product was the brainchild of Hoyt’s son, Al, when he decided to create something durable and flexible for hunters to take the place of the more cumbersome fixed blades. His gamble paid off, and now the company boasts one of the most famous knives in history, and now you can own one with a sheath attached to one of the best boots you could add to your collection.
Nicks Boots and Buck Knives keep you prepared
“The Buck 110 is their classic knife. You can see it on TV shows; it was even on the HBO Zombie series, The Last of Us,” Mowe said about his company’s collaboration with Buck. “It’s so ambiguous that it gets featured in all of these iconic shows. It’s been around, coincidentally, since 1964. So it came out the year that we were founded, and that was kind of the genesis of that.” The combination of the two American icons, the classic Nicks Logger boots and the Buck 110, arrive with the Builder Pro sporting a sheath on the outside of the upper, above the ankle. And of course, you get a limited edition classic Buck 110 to carry around with you.
One additional aspect of the collaboration is that it highlights the passion Nicks has, not just for making boots for loggers and firefighters, but also for the wilderness they are a part of. These boots are made to order, so they cut down on waste and protect the environment. “That is kind of how we do all of our boots. We have some in stock sizes but not very many,” Mowe said. “We specialize in highly customizable boots, which cuts down on waste.” That makes your 1964 a truly unique piece of American craftsmanship. “This boot is for you and you only; in many cases, there is nothing like it out there.”
The 1964 collaboration of these two is a limited edition, so you may need to act fast. However, if you happen to miss out on this one-of-a-kind collection, this doesn’t seem to be the end of Nicks Boots and Buck Knives working together. “We both talked about it. Next year will be the 60th anniversary for us and the 60th anniversary for the Buck 110. That makes a lot of sense to have some celebration in conjunction with that and bring a great product to both customer bases. That is something we are definitely thinking about down the road.”
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