In the past eight years, John Lofgren has quickly amassed a reputation as one of the best makers of rugged footwear in the world. His brand gained notoriety for its first release, a sleek engineer boot with an enviable balance of the classic and modern. The Lofgren Engineer has been credited with sparking a revival of interest in the style, particularly outside Japan. (Due to the prevalence of stylish biker subculture in Japan, the engineer never really disappeared the way it did in the West.) Now it’s common to see high-end heritage brands offering their take on the engineer boot.

After the success of the engineer, John Lofgren slowly rolled out other types of boots over the following years – lace-to-toe packer boots, boondockers, and combat boots, to name a few. But the pair under review today, the Steadfast Chukka in burgundy, is an interesting case in that it’s probably the classiest, most “delicate” boot in Lofgren’s range.

I’ve always liked burgundy boots, but finding the right pair can prove difficult. Some makers’ burgundy uppers are too bright and purple, making them difficult to coordinate and inconspicuous in a not-so-good way. This is particularly an issue when it comes to Chromexcel and similar cowhides with strong pull-up. There are some good aged examples out there, particularly in cases where the boots darken significantly, but other times they can look quite awkward.

Fortunately, these Steadfast boots solve that, and most other problems with burgundy boots. The purple undertones are subtle, and compared to a more vibrant burgundy, looks almost brown. Some may dislike this, but for me, it’s ideal. Part of it is surely due to the vegetable-tanned calfskin: the color probably seems less harsh than on more common chrome-tanned leathers like Chromexcel.

Design

Lofgren’s boots always excel in the design department. It’s evident that he spends an extreme amount of time considering every design detail of each style of footwear. Although I’d say his engineer boot is the most aesthetically-pleasing of his range, I don’t think that takes anything away from his other offerings.

In fact, this Steadfast boot might be Lofgren’s biggest improvement upon the basic style which inspired it. This might seem a strange statement considering what I’m reviewing here, but I have never liked Chukkas. Generally I find them ugly and incomplete-looking, with only a couple eyelets, a low height, and a general design that looks like someone wanted to save a few bucks compared to producing a service boot by taking a saw and just chopping off the top several inches to make a boot with a weird, wide opening.

Almost magically, the Steadfast boot solves every one of these issues. First, it’s taller than a typical chukka and has four eyelets rather than two or three. It’s hard to overemphasize just how dramatically this improves the appearance of the boot. The design is so much more balanced, it’s amazing that nobody (to my knowledge) thought to try this sooner.

Like most Lofgren boots, the Steadfast utilizes a Goodyear storm welt, which this time extends all the way around the boot – 360 degree construction, rather than the usual 270. Triple stitching is utilized on the uppers, with some extra details thrown in for accent. The boot has a thick leather midsole and outsole, with a Vibram rubber heel and outsole topper. Finally, the back of the boot features a nice design that’s more interesting than the typical straight vertical line.

Materials and Construction

The uppers are made from burgundy vegetable tanned French calfskin, and they’re some of the nicest of any boots I’ve ever handled. This is the chief element behind the Steadfast’s (relatively) dressier nature. These uppers have more in common with my Sid Mashburn chelsea boots, which are also made from veg-tan calfskin, than my other rugged boots. The color is rich and dark, as I mentioned earlier.

But while this is a more luxurious leather than usual, it’s also one that looks good scuffed up. That’s the interesting paradox of these boots: they can be made to look classy, but also suitable for everyday wear. They’re probably the most versatile boots I own, which is all the more remarkable when considering that burgundy would seem to be less versatile than brown or black. I feel that burgundy is between brown and black on the clothing color spectrum, which makes these boots work well in outfits where you’d normally wear one color or the other. If I had a black leather jacket, I think these boots would like great with that – same thing for a bomber or other black jacket.

The other materials involved deserve attention as well. Lofgren is obsessed with ethical sourcing and production, reflected in the other materials. He uses Vibram outsoles rather than cheaper Chinese made ones. The handsome storm welts are made in England. The other elements, like laces, stitching, and leather soles, are similarly high quality.

The construction of these boots is the best of any shoe in my closet. The stitching is essentially flawless – I can’t find anything wrong with it. The boots are primarily sewn with triple stitching, the spacing so narrow and stitch count so high that it looks luxurious rather than heavy-duty, like triple stitching on my Wesco boots. The outsole stitching is similarly impressive and far above what you’d typically see on a pair of similarly-priced Vibergs.

The only thing I’d list as a concern, if you could call it that, is that the rubber outsoles (particularly at the heel) are much thinner than the usual heavy duty Vibrams used on other Lofgren boots, and will need to be replaced much sooner, at least on the heel – but the same could be said for any other semi-dressy boot.

The presentation also deserves attention – these come in a handsome box, and the included materials are nice as well.

Fit

These boots are made on the 110 last, the same last Lofgren uses for his engineer boots. I actually used to own a pair of Lofgren engineers, back in 2014. I sized those boots at 11 (half a size down from my Brannock size) and sold them a few years later because they were too big and not comfortable.

This time, I opted for a 10.5. It was immediately obvious that was the correct choice. The right boot was just a bit snug around the widest part of my forefoot, but after some wear time, it’s broken in and feels comfortable now, even if it’s still slightly narrower than I might prefer. The left boot fits my forefoot just right.

There is a little bit of heel slip, which I’ve come to expect with basically any boot, considering my small, narrow, bony ankles, but it’s nothing too noticeable – less so now that the boot is broken in.

Speaking of break-in, there was a bit of discomfort at first. The back of my heels poke out, and this caused some friction on the first few days of wear – enough that I wore a hole into my heel and had to wait for it to heal to keep wearing these. After a few more wears, however, the leather softened up and my heel calloused a bit, and now I can wear these boots without issue. They’ve become extremely comfortable, largely in part because the leather, once broken in, becomes incredibly soft.

Conclusion

With these boots, John Lofgren has made probably the best chukka boots on the planet. It’s easy to recommend these to anyone desiring a high-quality, versatile pair of everyday boots. Every aspect of the design and construction is just outstanding, and the fit is also quite good. If and when I buy another pair of boots, John Lofgren will be at the top of my list.

I would argue these are the best value in the Lofgren range, as well. The french calfskin (also available in black and brown) is a nicer leather than the Chromexcel usually offered on his boots, the construction is fantastic, and impressively, the price, at $685 USD, is much lower than most of his other boots. If you’ve wondered what makes Lofgren’s footwear special, these would be a fine place to start.

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