“I wanted to like these so much, but they’re just Ok. The leather is more a mink than a chocolate. Which is fine, although not precisely what I expected given the name and the pics. The leather itself is high quality. The last is a bit more euro-clubby than I like, but not outrageous. It’s a funny market segment, the Cobbler Unions are not inexpensive at 495US but they were advertised to me as a real value buy; comparable in quality to John Lobb or the exceptional Spanish shoemaker Carmina (with whom they’re very closely priced). They’re not. It’s not fair to compare them to Lobbs given the price disparity, but Carmina (the only other Spanish made shoe I own, and I own 7 pair) does compare favourably to Lobb, and Carmina costs perhaps 5%-10% more than Cobbler Union. All of which is to say. I actually don’t think the Cobbler Unions are a particularly good value. They’re nice shoes just not great. They’re not that comfortable, in fact they’re the least comfortable pair of shoes I currently own. Also. This is somewhat minor but symbolic. The sock liner on the right boot started peeling out after my first or second wear. I guess I could just glue it down. But again. I haven’t had that happen on a pair of shoes in years. Never on Carmina, Alden, Rm Williams etc. I think a had a Gucci pair that did that. But Gucci isn’t a shoemaker.”
