#he wants us to know that you can live a rugged outdoorsy lifestyle and still have an undertone of delicate floral notes

[egophiliac]

looking at next month's schedule and between the end of 7-12 and the wishing lantern event it's like

February is officially RIDDLE MONTH, brace yourselves to be absolutely blasted into ashes everybody

[thedenimdentist]

Parkhurst: Unboxing & First Impressions

Introduction

Parkhurst is a small boot company owned by Andrew Svisco in Buffalo, New York. Consisting of just eight boot makers, Parkhurst aims to produce a line of dress casual boots using primarily US-based materials and leathers. Their boots are designed to unite a sleek and refined aesthetic with a rugged, long-lasting construction, all at a price point more reasonable for most non-boot enthusiasts.

What I Ordered

First off I just want to thank Andrew for gifting me a pair of his boots to test out. Andrew reached out to me via Instagram back in November 2019 about sending me a pair of his boots to test. At that point, I had seen some of his boots on social media, but didn’t know too much. After browsing his Instagram and website, his Allen boot in Spruce Kudu leather really caught my eye. The texture and character of kudu leather had always intrigued me, and the green color was unlike anything else in my collection. The boot was out of stock for quite a while, but he was finally able to get me a pair in February 2020.

Based on the Parkhurst website, this boot comes with the following specifications:

The Allen - Spruce Kudu

Construction – Goodyear welted

Upper – Genuine Kudu leather tanned by CF Stead

Insole – Vegetable tanned leather

Hardware – 7 eyelets

Laces – Flat waxed

Welt – Vegetable tanned leather

Midsole – Vegetable tanned leather

Sole/Heel - Dainite Rubber

Shipping & Packaging

My boots were shipped out from New York on 2/20/2020 (Thursday) and arrived here in the Bay Area on 2/24/2020 (Monday). The boots arrived in a single brown box, which opened up directly to the boots. 

It should be noted that these boots did not arrive with a standard shoe box to keep and look all cute on your closet shelf. I don’t see this as too big of a deal. The boots seemed to be adequately protected, as the single brown box was built fairly sturdy, with each boot was stored within an individual plastic bag, divided by a barrier piece of card stock. 

The boots arrived with two sets of brown skinny, flat, waxed laces--the first set already laced on the boots, and the second set at the bottom of the box.

Sizing & Fit

As I stated in my Onderhoud review, my feet are very tricky when it comes to sizing (see previous review for details). Below I’ve listed my sizes for all the other boot brands I own.

Thursdays - 10.5

Onderhoud - 44E

Red Wing, Iron Ranger - 9.5EE

Truman Boot Company - 11EE

Viberg (1035 last) - 10.5

For these Parkhurst boots, I decided to go with a size 11 (in a D width, as it’s the only width they offer). After a few wears, I’ve concluded that a Parkhurst size 11 is about the same as a Thursday 10.5D, and just a hair smaller than my Truman 11EE. Not gonna lie, the Parkhursts are pretty narrow on me. I can’t say if the Parkhurst 11D is a similar width to the Truman 11D (as I only own 1EE), but they are definitely more narrow than my 10.5D Thursdays. I don’t blame Parkhurst for the lack of width options, as they are still a fairly small business, but hopefully they’ll be able to add more as they continue to grow. So while the narrower last does pinch some on my bunions, it also creates a really nice almond toe shape when viewed from above (which I will discuss later).

Pattern & Design

Andrew aimed to create a sleek and handsome boot that would be acceptable both out on the trail and at the office. This is his Allen boot design, and in my opinion he hit this one out of the park. The plain toe, the counter and heel stay, and the stitching details along the eyelets all come together to create a very simple and clean pattern. I’m also very pleased that this boot came with all seven eyelets, as I prefer eyelets over speed hooks. 

Like all of Parkhurst’s boots, the Allen boot comes with a 360 degree storm welt. The welt leather is imprinted with a fudging wheel, which creates the ridges in the welt leather perpendicular to the welt stitch. Traditionally, fudging wheels were used by bespoke shoemakers to mark out where the stitches would fall on the welt. However, these are merely decorative, as the welt stitches don’t appear to follow the individual ridges (see photo). While this fudging wheel pattern is fairly common on more dress boots, this is the first time I’ve seen it in person. It definitely creates a unique aesthetic--a little busier and eye-catching than the stitchdown and GYW boots I’m used to--but it’s growing on me.

One thing I really appreciate about these boots is the fact that the insole, welt, and midsole are all made from vegtan leathers. They also come with leather-stacked heels, and are finished with very cleanly stitched Dainite soles. While I tend to prefer half soles, I actually really like the simple, low profile aesthetic of Dainite soles. I’ve heard some people complain that Dainite soles lack traction in outdoor, wet, and rainy conditions, but I’ve never had any issues. I live in a Bay Area suburb, and these Dainite soles grip the sidewalk just fine.

If there were one thing about the pattern I would change, it would be the addition of gusseted tongue. The standard tongue these boots come with (similar to my Thursday boots) tend to collapse when my foot isn’t inside. Nothing wrong with a standard tongue, but I just personally prefer the gusseted tongue, as it makes sliding my foot in a lot easier. Plus, gusseted tongues also improve the boots’ ability to keep out water, dust, and dirt...for those of you who have a more outdoorsy lifestyle than me.

Toe Shape & Last

If you follow my Instagram, you can probably tell that I prefer everything to be slim: slim fit shirts, slim fit denim, slim low profile boots. These Parkhursts are now probably the slimmest boots in my collection. Thursday Boots also designs their boots to be sleek and slim, but I actually prefer the toe shape of these Parkhursts more. 

Here is a side-by-side comparison with my President boots by Thursday. And while I do prefer the Parkhurst toe shape more, I should mention that my Thursdays are currently far more comfortable. However, my Thursdays are nicely broken in and have stretched around my bunions, while I’ve only worn these Parkhursts a couple days. I’m hoping these will stretch with wear to accommodate my bunions, but only time will tell. 

Here, you can see that the Parkhurst last is actually pretty similar to that of my Onderhouds (which I absolutely adore). If you look closely, you can see where Rizky added some extra give on my custom last to accommodate the bunions on the outsides of my feet. 

The Leather: Spruce Kudu

This is my first time seeing kudu leather in person, and it did not disappoint. The leather is soft and supple, with a good weight to it. As for the color and texture, I’ll let these photos speak for themselves:

Something I really like about Parkhurst is their vegetable tanned leather options. They currently offer this Allen boot in Natural Dublin, and their Delaware boot in Color 8 Dublin, both of which look amazing. I’m a sucker for beautiful vegtanned leathers. (I blame @almostvintagestyle.)

Craftsmanship & Finishing

Overall, the construction of the Allen boot is pretty good. They have a decent weight to them, which I like. Put a gun to my head, I’d say they’re just a hair lighter than my Trumans if I hold them in either hand, but pretty comparable. Under close inspection, I didn’t see any loose stitches or flaws in construction that would cause me to doubt the structural integrity of the boot and their ability to withstand a beating.

(Before I describe these boots in any more detail, I just confirmed with Andrew that my pair is actually a production sample, which he says are about 90% up to what goes out to consumers. Prior to shipping, Andrew warned me that he ran short on leather lining while making my pair, so one toe box is lined with tan leather while the other is in beige. He assured me that this would never happen on boots made for paying customers, and I didn’t mind as you can’t even see the lining in the toe box anyway. I cannot say whether or not any of the other following critiques would have been prevented had these boots not been production samples, but just keep that in mind.)

With regards to the stitching, I really like the stitching pattern used on the Allen boot. The stitching along the eyelets and the neck of the boot, the 1-2 offset triple stitching along the quarter, and the double stitching on the counter all look tight without any loose stitches. There are a few places where the placement/alignment of the stitching isn’t quite perfect or symmetrical.

For example, here are the backstays of both the boots. The horizontal stitches aren’t perfectly parallel on the left, making that leather strip look a little longer than the one on the right. Is this a big deal? Does it compromise the overall aesthetic or durability of the boots? Absolutely not. I just thought it was worth noting.

Another thing I did notice when first unboxing the boots was that the left boot wasn’t quite balanced when placing them on the ground. It appears as though the left heel placement isn’t perfectly level, so the boot rocks to the left and doesn’t stand sturdy and upright. If I’m sitting and am not placing any weight on my left foot, the left boot does rock if I shake my leg back and forth (but who does that, really?). However, when standing and walking, I can’t feel any difference in my gait or balance. So it doesn’t bother me really, and it may correct itself over time with wear. (It is already less noticeable after a few wears, which is a great sign.)

(Here you can see the left boot is tilted slightly to the left.)

A third little variation between the left and right boots is the visibility of the heel counter. In both the photos above, you can see that the border of the right counter is much more defined and prominent than the left. Unlike with the heel rocking, I can’t feel any difference when on foot, and I highly doubt this has any effect on boot durability. 

The last thing I really noticed was that the welts aren’t exactly aligned on either of the boots. Functionally I don’t see any need for concern--everything seems to be stitched down tight and securely, so I doubt these will be falling apart anytime soon (or ever). And because of these welt joints are in a very discrete location on the boot, they’re barely noticeable. (Also, I want to point out that imperfect welt joints are quite common. I’ve seen similar discrepancies on many other brands of boots, regardless of their price.)

Price Point

Parkhurst’s entire collection of boots range between $298-$328 (with these Spruce Kudu boots being $328). That puts Parkhurst right in between Thursday Boots (around $200) and Truman (between $400-600), and less than half the price of a Viberg boot (usually north of $700). In my opinion, the build quality and materials put into these Parkhursts are definitely worth their cost. For instance, the fact that Parkhurst offers some vegetable tanned boot options below $300 is awesome. Plus, they even use vegetable tanned leather for their insoles, welts, and midsoles. I feel like it’s not uncommon for smaller boot companies to sacrifice material quality in some of these areas in order to cut costs, but Parkhurst does not. 

On the whole, I am pretty impressed by the quality of these Parkhurst boots. As far as I can tell, most (if not all) of these “imperfections” are merely cosmetic, with the largest issue being the unbalanced left boot. However, I doubt any of these will have any effect on the structural integrity or longevity of the boots. Andrew and his team built a solid boot, and while perfection is always something we should be working toward, the little handmade variations I mentioned are fairly acceptable--especially for their $300 price point.

To quote @flamepanda11, “Handmade is to achieve higher standards, not ‘hand-made defects are inevitable.’” I agree with this 100%. Being “handmade” is no excuse to be sloppy. However, I also believe that “you get what you pay for.” Are Parkhurst boots perfect? No; but for a $300 American-made, vegetable tanned boot, is it fair to expect perfection? 

Conclusion

The Allen boot in Spruce Kudu is definitely a unique boot in my collection. I really like the simple pattern and sleek aesthetic, and the construction quality seems close to that of Truman for $100-200 less. Are they the cleanest boot on the market? No. But are they structurally sound and built to last? As far as I can tell right now, yes. And priced at just around the $300 mark, I believe that these boots by Parkhurst are definitely fairly priced for what they offer, and are worth looking into.

If you’d like to learn more about Parkhurst, you can follow Andrew on Instagram @wearparkhurst, or visit the online store here. Andrew is always super busy (which is to be expected when running a small business), but is a super nice guy and is very easy to talk to. He’s very transparent with what’s going on behind the scenes, so don’t hesitate to hit him up with any questions. 

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I plan on writing an update review on these Parkhursts after I put more wear on them. Same for my Onderhouds. So please stay tuned for that. Anyway, hopefully this review was informative and helpful. I try to stay as objective as possible, supporting as much as I can with photographic evidence. DM me via Instagram (@thedenimdentist) with any feedback or questions you may have regarding Parkhurst, Onderhoud, or anything else denim/boots related. 

[biofunmy]

Meet the Man Quietly Building the Tesla of Trucks, With Jeff Bezos Aboard

NORMAL, Ill. — By definition, the time of the world’s richest man is pretty valuable. But early last fall, Jeff Bezos sought out a 36-year old entrepreneur named R.J. Scaringe and spent the better part of a day in Plymouth, Mich., at the company he founded, Rivian.

Mr. Bezos got a preview of Rivian’s electric pickup truck and sport-utility vehicle and liked what he saw. Not long after his visit, Amazon led a $700 million investment in Rivian. Two months later, in April, Ford Motor invested $500 million. All told, Rivian has raised $1.7 billion without selling a single truck or S.U.V.

If you have not heard of Rivian before, well, that was intentional. Until recently, it was in stealth mode, operating out of unmarked buildings and making few public announcements. But no longer. By the end of 2020, Rivian intends to begin producing premium electric vehicles, with a greater range than anything on the road today.

Rivian is promising to do for trucks what Tesla did for luxury cars.

That’s where the similarities between the two electric automobile makers end. Even as Tesla and its brash chief executive, Elon Musk, made headlines by setting and falling short of some audacious goals, Mr. Scaringe and Rivian has spent a decade fine-tuning their designs.

Walking around a former Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill., Mr. Scaringe points to where stamping presses will churn out car parts like fenders and doors. But he is hoping to do more than sell cars. Mr. Scaringe wants to dispel myths he thinks still surround electric vehicles.

“We have a number of untruths — a truck can’t be electric, an electric car can’t go off road, it can’t get dirty, it can’t tow and truck buyers don’t want something that’s environmentally friendly,” he said. “These things are fundamentally wrong. Electrification and technology can create a truck that’s incredibly capable and fun to drive.”

In addition to developing advanced battery systems, Rivian has also designed a skateboard-like chassis that it plans to sell to other carmakers. For Ford, investing in Rivian is a way to leapfrog the competition and get new ideas from a start-up as it and other automakers race to prepare for an electrified future.

Amazon has been mum about its interest in the company, but Rivian’s vehicles could help the retail giant reduce its carbon footprint as it builds its own distribution network.

The automobile business has fearsome barriers to entry, and aspiring players have to ante up billions of dollars just to be dealt into a game where profit margins tend to be slim.

Mr. Scaringe is likely to need billions more to get as far as Tesla, which itself struggled to expand production in 2017 and 2018. But the demand for electric vehicles is there — Tesla built more than 250,000 cars in 2018.

Mr. Scaringe founded Mainstream Motors, the business that would later become Rivian, in 2009 after completing a doctorate in mechanical engineering at M.I.T.

His timing was odd to say the least — the financial crisis had made investors skittish, and the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler did not bode well for an automotive start-up.

Family and friends provided the initial funding, and Mr. Scaringe and his father both took out second mortgages to raise money. Rivian takes its name from Florida’s Indian River, close to where Mr. Scaringe grew up in Melbourne, Fla.

Mr. Scaringe and a small team worked for two-and-a-half years to create a fuel-efficient sports car, but he ultimately pulled the plug in 2011. “In my heart and soul, I knew I wasn’t answering the fundamental question of why the world needs this company to be successful,” he said.

It was a painful moment. At one point, the team had worked through four nights in a row, said Roman Mistiuk, now a senior interior designer at Rivian. “When the vehicle was done, R.J. said we’re switching.”

The small band of employees stuck with him, and when Mr. Scaringe moved the company to Michigan, they followed him north. At one point, Mr. Scaringe, his girlfriend (now wife) and several Rivian staff members lived together in a house in the Detroit suburbs.

Except for sleeping, they talked cars day and night. “It was breakfast, lunch and dinner, 24/7,” Mr. Scaringe said.

Early backing from Saudi and Japanese investors provided the runway for Rivian to develop its electric vehicle designs.

“Fortunately, my personality is one that I never lost confidence I could do it,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I always knew how I was going to do it.”

Much like what he is building, Mr. Scaringe is in constant motion, splitting his time between the company’s engineering headquarters in Plymouth, the factory in Normal and two other offices in Irvine and San Jose in California.

That leaves little time for him to spend with his wife and three sons, the oldest of whom is 3. “Rivian is 100 percent minus family,” Mr. Scaringe said, estimating that his wife and children get about 5 percent of his time.

Rivian is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Mr. Scaringe grew up rebuilding vintage Porsches under the tutelage of a neighbor and he knew he wanted to start a car company when he was 18.

“It became the plan when I started college,” he said. “Then I started putting the pieces together.”

At M.I.T., Mr. Scaringe made his ambitions clear, recalls Dan Roos, a retired engineering professor who served as the director of the university’s Center for Transportation Studies.

“He said, ‘I’m going to start an auto company’,” Mr. Roos said. “When you hear a student say that, it’s like saying I’m going to change the world. It’s nice but highly unlikely. But he was very determined about what he was going to do.”

As much as he loved cars, Mr. Scaringe said he was deeply troubled by their role as a cause of climate change, air pollution and other ills. “I wanted to have an impact and the highest impact approach was to build the company myself,” he said.

Mr. Scaringe, an outdoorsy type who enjoys mountain biking, wants his cars to be able to go off road. Rivian trucks and S.U.V.s can operate in three feet of standing water. A ballistic liner protects the battery pack so drivers can take the vehicle into rugged terrain without worrying that rocks and other objects could penetrate the undercarriage.

Rivian’s R1S S.U.V. bears a resemblance to a Range Rover, while the flatbed in its R1T pickup is shorter than the best-selling Ford F-150. “Rivian’s products are not really meant to be work trucks,” said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst with IHS. “They aim to be lifestyle products, capable but meant for recreational use.”

The R1S will directly challenge Tesla’s S.U.V., the Model X, and although Mr. Musk has said he will introduce a pickup, Tesla has yet to unveil one

The R1S and the R1T will start at around $70,000 and cost more than $90,000 for fully loaded models that can travel up to 400 miles on a full charge. Rivian has received tens of thousands of reservations from buyers who have made deposits of $1,000 each.

“Targeting the premium pickup and S.U.V. market in the U.S. was smart,” said Sam Abuelsamid, principal auto analyst at Navigant Research. “Those are the kind of vehicles Americans want to buy, as opposed to a compact car or midsized sedan.” Profit margins are higher too, especially for luxury models.

As different as Mr. Scaringe is from Mr. Musk, the two share some qualities. Mr. Scaringe is a control freak who weighs in on everything from the color of bathroom tiles to the lighting in the assembly plant.

Rivian employees describe Mr. Scaringe in worshipful, almost mystical tones, echoing the kind of adoration that Mr. Musk inspires. Designers laud his sophisticated design sensibilities. Brand experts cite his marketing know-how.

“I’ve spent years trying to decode R.J. and predict what he wants,” said Larry Parker, creative director at Rivian. “He’s moving so fast. Sometimes we don’t know where he is going. To keep up with R.J. is not easy.”

Jeff Hammoud, Rivian’s head of design said Mr. Scaringe was the reason he was willing to leave his job as the top designer at Jeep. “It’s amazing how much he is able to absorb,” Mr. Hammoud said.

But there are idiosyncrasies beneath the surface. Mr. Scaringe usually dresses in blue (“Blue is my favorite color!”), occasionally flannel. On his birthday, many employees wear flannel on what’s known as “Dress Like R.J. Day.”

To provide fresh food for his employees, Mr. Scaringe wants to turn the grassy areas that surround the plant in Normal into a farm. “The goal is let’s make this the best place to eat in town,” he said.

Asked about Rivian’s rivalry with Tesla, Mr. Scaringe would not disparage the competition. He credits Tesla for changing the perception of electric cars as “boring and slow, or glorified golf carts.”

While Tesla has failed to reach its own lofty production targets in recent years, Mr. Scaringe is only promising about 20,000 to 40,000 vehicles in 2021, the first full year of production.

Before that happens, Rivian will have to create assembly lines for its vehicles and batteries, which Tesla’s problems have shown is very difficult. The company will also have to establish a retail operation to get its vehicles to buyers.

“Manufacturing is the biggest challenge,” said Mike Ramsey, an analyst with Gartner. “The capital requirements are enormous and ceaseless.”

Even as Rivian has grown and new investors have come aboard, Mr. Scaringe has made clear he wants to hold the reins tight. General Motors discussed investing in the company this year, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. But the automaker and Mr. Scaringe could not agree on terms. G.M. was demanding more control and exclusivity than he was comfortable with.

For inspiration, Mr. Scaringe looks to Alex Honnold, a rock climber who scaled Yosemite’s El Capitan without equipment. A poster for a documentary about the climb, “Free Solo,” is on the wall of Mr. Scaringe’s office in Plymouth.

“Hindsight has a lot of advantages, one of which is that everything looks crisper and cleaner, but at the time you don’t know the path forward,” he said. “So you’re going up this infinitely steep climb.”

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