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Hey there GYW. I just wanted to share my experience with Thursday’s recent factory seconds sale. I know, I know, they are Thursdays but I never see anyone with the Captains in natural cxl and haven’t seen much about their seconds offerings. My previous gyw/high quality shoe experience includes Red Wing, Rancourt, and Allen Edmonds. These are my first Thursdays.

Ordering:

I ordered the boots on 4/2 and they shipped a week later on 4/9. Understandable due to covid (reduced) staffing and a higher volume of orders than normal. They shipped via ups ground and arrived a few days later. With the discount and a $10 coupon code I had they came out to $139. I decided to order these because I have no experience with natural cxl and the price was too good to say no to.

Arrival:

They arrived in a standard brown box labeled with the companies name, and inside were the boots in a dark grey box with the Thursday name and logo. The boots were wrapped in plastic and looked like they were packed with care.

Sizing:

I am 10.5 D on a brannock, 9.5 D in RW iron rangers, and I ordered 9.5 D in these. They fit well with mid weight socks.

Initial impressions:

The boots look great. Clean stitching, clean welt join, no obvious defects in the leather other than some very minor indentations on one of the cap toes (see pictures, outside toe of left boot) These boots look like they were tried on a few times (some very minor creasing) and the leather liner was loose in couple of areas in the vamp area of both shoes. I think this is why they were made seconds. No complaints here. The loose lining was just on the edges where the shaft lining meets the vamp lining and the cement probably just gave up or wasn’t applied adequately. I used some master shoe cement to stick the lining in those areas back down, although I’m not sure that will last long.

Overall the fit and finish is nice. But when comparing them to my RW Iron Rangers they certainly are not as stout. Even with the lining the uppers are much more flexible and feel broken in right out of the box. This could be due to a lower grade/cut of leather from Horween. I can imagine that at the $200 price point some concessions have to be made. With that said the leather looks nice. The lining is supple and soft but its definitely thin and doesn’t seem as high as quality of leather as some of my other shoes (Rancourt, AE). The soles are flexible and give plenty of grip. The insoles are wrapped in the same leather as the lining and appears to be a combination of EVA, poron, and leather (or possibly fiber board-but this is only speculation).

My only question about the build is the midsole. Thursday’s website says they use a cork midsole but it feels like a spongy synthetic material. Anyone familiar with what they use and if it spans the product line?

Comfort:

They are definitely comfortable. Right out of the box they are flexible and forgiving. They feel more like sneakers while walking.

Wrap up:

I am pretty happy with the purchase. I would say my only gripe is the loose lining. Other manufacturers secure the lining with the vamp stitching but in these boots the lining from the shaft overlaps the vamp lining and has to be secured with cement. So when you pull your foot out it rubs against the glued down edge. Very minor but worth mentioning.

My only other comment about these boots is just how much they wear like sneakers. Even the way they sound on the floor is different, much softer. Not a negative. Just interesting and probably has everything to do with the construction of the boot.