How good are the Alden Boots? I am currently on my third pair in six years and can say without hesitation that they are remarkably well made boots. I have had two pairs re-heeled, and one of those pair re-soled (as the cork sole does wear down after about two years). Unfortunately, no shoe repair place I have found has cork replacement soles-so the closest replacement is to go with leather.

Aside from the sole wearing down, the top of the boot is nearly bullet proof. I've never had the stitching wear out on any of my pairs. (I sold my oldest pair to a friend, he's still wearing them!). Expensive little buggers, though! Greg I've had mine for almost a year now. Mine have been through jungle, desert, mountains, and caves and even survived an archaeological dig in Belize. I haven't seen a better pair of boots! Indy Magnoli

Correction, the shoes are NOT cork soled, but are soled with oil resistant Neoprene, and is readily available at ANY shoe repair shop. I'm sitting here looking at the soles of mine as I write this, and though they appear to be cork, they are indeed marked "oil-resistant Neoprene by Biltrite". Michaelson

Aldens are very comfortable & sturdy. They are built like a tank, yet retain the classic styling of yesteryear. I wear mine all the time. Indiana John

How can I give my Aldens that distressed (dragged behind the truck type) look? One thing to remember in the motion picture business is that costume designers age costumes very quickly. In a big budget film, the costume designer is brought on board around 2 or 3 months prior to principal photography. They just don't have time to age things naturally. What they usually do is beat the crap out of an item, grind them in the dirt, file them, take sandpaper to them, etc. to get that aged/worn look. Believe me...I speak from experience. I've been on MANY motion picture sets. This is a great technique for motion pictures as they have plenty of money to buy 50 pairs if necessary. They don't care about ruining an item. They might only need it for one shot. It's funny to be on a set and see an item held together with gaffers tape just to get it through the shot before it disintegrates. Looks great in the shot, though...but afterwards, it's toast. It's different for the average Joe, however. The average Joe (or Jane...sorry ladies) wants the aged worn look, but doesn't want to ruin the only pair he/she has. This is difficult. It's comparing apples to oranges. What's the point of my rant and rave? It's just this. If you want the worn look quickly, you can do what they do...age them quickly. Your Alden's won't last very long, but they'll look good for awhile. Or...You can hike up a dirty mountain trail (what I've done with other shoes). After only a few hikes, they'll get grimy and start to look the part. They'll last longer too. Oh...and don't dye them. The dirt will be enough for wear. Give it time. Indy Sahara

The best way to make your Aldens look like Indy's, is by wearing them.
I do not recommend artificially distressing them or altering the color. The best way to rough 'em up is to take hikes down dusty trails & do some rock hopping. This really gives them that natural distressed character. Indiana John

Is there a polish or a cream recommended for tinting the Alden boots? Any good quality boot cream can be used on your 405 boot--Properts and Meltonian are two good brands. Allen White

What leather care is recommended for the boots? Personally, I use the Pecard leather dressing available from David Morgan. It is a clear, neutral dressing that keeps the leather shiny and supple without the harsh salts and solvents that would eventually break down leather. And, yes, it does give the boots a nice slightly-weathered look. I use Pecard on the boots, bullwhip, satchel strap, and leather equipment belt. (also on holster) Dale

If you're after the hard worn drug behind the truck look, jump over this because this is not for you. I'm all for keeping these in as good a shape as possible, as the price for these is pretty high, and let's face it, they're in constant contact with old "terra firma" at all times, so unlike all our other gear, they are constantly receiving daily wear and tear. With the following suggestions you can keep them looking good, but at the same time be protecting them and giving them more years of use in your arsenal of "indy gear". These shoes have that surface that I call a hard finish. When I first received my Aldens, I coated mine with the Pecards dressing. I gave them 4 days to soak. The dressing never did so into the leather, or at least not in my experience (as the Aldens are a wax coated leather) I finally buffed the excess off and began to wear them. I have been using a leather cream to keep the leather colored, as well as adding lanolin to the leather through the polish itself. One trick to give these shoes a good going over is to use the leather cream as described by the particular manufacture, buff to a shine, then use the old military trick of using an old pair of panty hose to give the leather a high shine. This also removes any excess polish that your buffing rag missed. Now here's where Pecards comes in....you will notice that your shoes take heavy flexing in the front of the shoe, as well as the tops around the ankles. This is from normal movement of the foot, of course. This is also "damaging" to the shoe, as it is constantly flexing those areas to the point that after several years of use, the leather will eventually crack through. The Pecards dressing actually lubricates the leather fibers and stops the oxidation of the leather. Air enters the cracked area that is not protected by the final hard finish of the shoe and oxidizes just like metal, allowing the eventual failure of the leather from drying. If you apply Pecards to these areas of the flexed leather, you'll find that the shoe not only seems to "break in" better, but in my experience seems to make the shoe more comfortable to walk in, as the usual binding you experience seems to go away. This is due to the fact that the Pecards is actually allowing the fibers to pass past each other in the flexing, but do not break in the constant use. To date this has been my regimen when I work on my shoes. By rubbing a light coating of Pecards into the leather (not a heavy coating, mind you, but very light over glaze), you also are able to remove the usual rubs and scrapes you seem to experience on the heels of your s remember HOW the scrapes got there) by just rubbing the offending scrape away with your fingers. The Pecards also allows you rub out any addition scratches you pick up by sealing the exposed leather, just as you seal the use cracks in the flexing of the leather. Try this and see what you think. So far this seems like a sale for Pecards. Well, to date this product seems to do a lot of things that I haven't been able to achieve with any other specific product. If you know of one let me know. I am not a fan of mink oil, as it attracts bugs in a lot of climates, and the fats can actually turn rancid, eventually breaking down the leather.

The easiest (and suggested way by the Pecards customer service dept.) is to either coat the boot with the paste, then apply low heat from your hair dryer to liquify the paste, allowing to soak into the leather. Or coat your boots with the paste, put in a large clear plastic bag and allow to sit in direct sunlight. It has the same effect. Then polish the boot (if you're still wanting to keep them looking good) with shoe cream of either neutral or sandelwood coloring. After buffing to a polish, finish the work with a good buffing using an old pair of nylon stockings and buff to a high polish. This also removes any additional polish that you may have missed. Michaelson

Can the boot components be repaired/replaced? The boot takes a 45" lace and these can be found at most any shoe repair facility. The soles and/or heels can be replaced at any quality shoe repair service. The boot originally comes with an oil resistant, neoprene sole that most repair shops have available. The Alden factory also offers a restoration service if you want to have the boots rebuilt using original components. The current charge for the restoration service is $115 with a 4-5 week turn around. You can obtain further information regarding this service by calling 1-800-451-2320. Allen White (Alden Shop)

The Alden boot takes a 45 inch shoe string. The Alden shop can supply these for you, or you can find them in any good shoe store. I found a package that held two sets of the small ROUND string at a Nashville shoe repair shop, and personally I think they work better for me than the original flat version. They seem to be holding up better too. If you can't find the standard 45 inch flat string, try the SMALL round versions. I keep emphasizing the word small because they do make a 45 inch round sports boot version that you can find in most department stores, but these are entirely to thick and don't work in the hooks at all. They are much coarser in appearance and just plain don't work The version I'm speaking of remind you of a pair of the finer men's dress waxed shoe string, but in the 45 inch length. I highly recommend them. Michaelson

Should I use a cream on my boots? Would this affect the color of the stiching? I would recommend matching a cream to the leather color. A neutral cream will nurture the leather just fine, but in time your boots will bleach out on you. That is no problem if you want a weathered look, but they will definitely loose their color over time. Allen White

I just bought some of the Meltonian shoe cream in "Brick", and it's dead on to the darker colored Aldens, so if you're looking to keep the shoes looking like new (the other end of the stick, as they say, compared to the weathering them to death), the "Brick" creme polish is the exact color.
Michaelson

I tried this particular polish myself on my darker colored Aldens, and it matches decently--it will make your boots a shade darker though. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't. It seems obvious that the boots look more "Indyesque" if they have a lighter appearance due to wear & tear on the leather. I recommend the natural look. Indiana John

I have used Meltonian's "London Tan" Boot Creme/Polish and have found it to be an excellent match for the lighter color aldens I have been wearing for a year and a half. It is a little lighter than "Sandalwood" which someone recommened earlier. This and a little Pecard's is all I need to take care of scuffs and keep the shoes in good shape. Abner

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