Helm's (Now Discontinued) Johnson Boot

The cap toe is worth a mention in regard to its aesthetic - it's quite a long cap toe. Some cap toes on my other boots end about a half inch before this. With the narrow sleek shape of the last, it can accentuate the length and the boot looks a little long in my opinion, despite the fit being right. In some respects, it has a similar long, cigar shape AS the White's MP boot in the MP last.

 

The uppers are made of a leather tannage - which I'll go into more detail later - that looks matte with a slight sheen, again reinforcing the outdoors, combat-ready style of the boot.

 

It's not a particularly versatile boot, in my opinion, because it is clearly designed to be outdoorsy and military, and I found that it wasn't an easy boot to grab for most social occasions, except for the most casual, or when I wanted to go for a walk or a hike. So much so that I really only wear it for walks around the park in the mornings and some days at the pub, maybe once a month. 

 

But it has its place. Aesthetically, this could sub for a pair of Doc Martens. They fit into that category that DM's fit into - hip, younger, military, rugged, thick chunky soled.

 

 

This is why I think Helm may now have a gap in their range. The closest model they have to fit into that category is their tall-shafted Jakob boot. The black version that's a collab with Death & Co is pretty much a plain toe version of this Johnson boot.

 

Let's take a look at the construction of the Johnson boot, bearing in mind that it is very similar, if not the same as the current Helm boot models.

 

Starting from the bottom up, the outsole is Helm's own proprietary chunky lugged sole. It's made of quite a squishy rubber composite so that feels pretty comfortable to walk on, and I haven't felt any danger damaging it, or myself, on rough, rocky ground. The lug design is not the usual commando pattern like those on a Vibram commando sole, with the radiating lugs on the outside and the star-shaped lugs on the inside.

 

For those of you who don't know what a Vibram commando sole is, Vibram is an Italian sole manufacturing company that makes a lot of different models of outsoles that many boot makers use. Their commando sole has a pattern that is much copied for their proven ability to grip all kinds of terrain.

 

The Helm Johnson's outsole has lugs as deep as the Vibram commando sole, but the pattern is a little more forgiving in picking up gravel and stones between the lugs. The form of bars and lugs make for quite an attractive and different footprint!

 

 

Going up from there is a composite rubber midsole. This is what creates that distinct white line at the edge that is the signature of all Helm boots. This and the cushioned footbed makes for a very comfortable "squish" when you walk.

 

After the composite rubber midsole, there is a shank and a leather insole. A shank is a thin piece of hard material, usually steel, but can be leather, wood, or in this case fibreglass or plastic. The shank  - situated in the gap between the heel block and the footpad - provides arch support as well as longitudinal stability so that your foot doesn't roll around on any rough ground.

 

I mentioned the cushioned footbed.

 

Inside the boot is a footbed - it's similar to those comfortable removable insoles you can buy at pharmacies - but it's not removable. The footbed is made of a soft material, I think Poron, and it is covered in a leather "skin". Poron is a material increasingly used in modern heritage-style boots - and it creates a great divide because while it is immediately comfortable, may break down over time and could lead to some discomfort later, as opposed - or so the argument goes - to a leather and cork insole that moulds to the shape of your foot with pressure over time, 

and keeps its shape.

However, the rubber outsole, rubber composite sole, and Poron footbed definitely make for a comfortable boot straight out of the box, unlike leather/cork/leather combinations that take a while and some blisters to break in.

 

Now, you'll also see at the edge of the boot what looks like a welt and stitching - that makes this look like a Goodyear welted boot.

 

 

Well, you'd be wrong.

 

The Johnson, as are all of Helm's boots, are Blake Rapid Stitched.

 

Goodyear welt and Blake stitching (or the variant Blake Rapid Stitching) are two ways of constructing the boot - of attaching the uppers to the sole. In Goodyear welted construction, a thin piece of leather called the welt goes around the circumference of the boot. The inside edge is sewn to the uppers on the inside, and the outside edge is then sewn to the midsole and outsole.

 

Blake stitching on the other hand is where the uppers are sewn directly to the midsole and outsole on the inside of the boot.

 

In Blake Rapid Stitching, the Blake stitch sews the uppers directly to the insole/midsole inside the boot, and then on the outside, a second Blake Rapid stitch sews the midsole to the outsole.

 

A Goodyear welted boot is theoretically more water resistant because it has that extra barrier of the welt stopping moisture from getting in between the outsole and the upper. However, I don't really think you'd notice it unless you lived in a particularly wet climate and you made a habit of wading through or standing in puddles or rivers. I've certainly walked these boots through mud and some shallow puddles and not felt any wet socks.

 

The Blake stitching construction also makes for a lighter boot - these only weigh about 0.8 of a kilogram.

 

The other thing that makes this boot comfy out of the box is the fully lined leather uppers. The uppers leather is called Balthazar leather, tanned by the B Leather Company in the Dominican Republic. It's full-grain leather, hot stuffed with oils and waxes during the tanning process. While very supple and soft on first wear, especially being fully lined, it's the leather that I have some concerns with.

 

Don't get me wrong - it's very supple, and in wear, quite resilient. I stepped off a kerb wrong and scraped the front of one boot right up against the kerb and I thought - "Oh Well, that's put a big scratch in it!"

 

But it was relatively unmarked - it had a scuff that rubbed off - as good hot stuffed leathers do. I think the softness and suppleness help it withstand scratching a bit - it's almost elastic in the way it responds.

 

 

I can't quite describe my reservation - but I'm not "feeling it" with this leather. It looks quite highly corrected to me, and, despite also being hot-stuffed with oils and waxes, is just not as pull-up in character nor feel as oil-packed as Chromexcel. It feels plasticky, almost like PVC car seats.

 

The Johnson has an ungusseted tongue - and despite the length of the shaft and therefore the tongue, it doesn't slip, helped by the lace loops sewn into the tongues. 

 

 

Overall, the quality control is pretty good. I can't see any loose grain in the leather, and there were no loose threads or missed stitches anywhere. The stitching is strong enough and double stitched everywhere including on the toe cap. The manufacturing quality and QC are mostly pretty good.

 

 

Now let's take a look at leather care.

 

I usually turn to the bootmaker to see what they recommend for conditioning and looking after the leather. Helm's website doesn't have any specific articles about their leather care recommendations. However, they supply a number of different products from Blackrock, Huberds, Otter Wax, and Venetian Shoe Cream.

 

The leather is already soft and supple, and it doesn't look like it will patina especially hard, so I probably wouldn't do too much with oils and balms and just clean it now and then. If you want to condition it when it starts to feel dry, just use some Venetian Shoe Cream for hydration and a little polish on the basically matte leather.

 

I'll now discuss sizing, fit and their break-in.

 

I'm US size 8 and a 1/2 D going on E in my Brannock size. That's the aluminium machine you stand on in a shoe store and they slide things around to find your size. However, I usually fit into 8D in boots because heritage boots tend to run large.

 

Nothing different in this case, I ordered an 8 and a 1/2 D and they fit well.

 

The last that Helm uses for this boot, despite the combat boot design and appearance, is quite slim and sleek. The toe box and the cap toe shape are relatively sleek - there's no clod-hopper Iron Ranger or Timberland look to this. This means that while it fits me well, I did have some early squeeziness just where the cap toe seams are. There was some discomfort there for the first 4 or 5 wears but the leather and stitching eventually stretched and settled down.

 

The tall shaft is new to me - up until then I was only experienced with boot shafts that were 6" or less. So I don't know if it was my ankles not being used to such high boots or the way the quarters are sewn together, but I did have a short period of needing to condition and massage the collar so that it didn't bruise my ankles when I tightened the laces.

 

But...

 

I can say now after a year of not very regular wear that they fit snug but comfortable, so overall, I don't think breaking in is a thing. Other than that initial pinch at the cap toe seam, there really was no break-in period. The softness of the uppers, the leather lining, the insoles and squishy outsoles - all contributed to comfort out of the box.

 

 

This is what I mostly struggled with - what kind of outfit to wear them with?

 

 

It's clearly a rugged combat boot, so I don't think you can wear it with smart casual or business casual clothing. This is strictly a jeans and T-shirt kind of boot. I think if you wear it as a work boot in a workshop, that's fine, or if you ride a motorcycle, that sort of wear, and that sort of outfit. That was my problem, I do neither.

 

I said earlier that it was in the Doc Martens category, so think DM's and what you'd wear with DM's - black skinny jeans with rolled-up cuffs, tapered denim, leather jacket - that sort of thing.

 

Not very versatile, but a definite substitute for DM's and possibly quite a lot more comfortable!

 

 

When I bought this boot in October 2021, it was listed at US$295. But I bought it on sale for $205. I'm pretty pleased with that price - I'm not sure I'd have been as happy at $295 considering you can get at least similar quality Goodyear welted Thursday boots for US$199, and at $295 you're getting close to Red Wing heritage boot prices!

 

So what are the pros and cons?

 

Firmly on the pro list is the immediate comfort and fit. Despite being a tall boot, the leather is soft and supple, the arch support is pretty good, and the shock absorption is excellent. I think the lugged sole is a definite pro - it's attractive and different, it's very grippy, and the rubber composition is slightly squishy so walks silently on hard floors and just feels good. It's Blake stitched so it's pretty light, and so far I've found it to be pretty moisture resistant in my climate.

 

 

As you can from my description, I'm just conflicted. There's nothing REALLY wrong, but I'm just not "feeling it".

 

So, is it worth it?

 

For US$200 definitely yes, for $295, I'm really not sure. But one thing that's good about buying from Helm from their website is that they often run sales that take their boots into the "worth it" category.

 

Anyway, that's my personal opinion - make of that what you will.

 

So, that's what I think of the Helm Johnson boot. Good looking, and comfy, but maybe I'm still unsure of the leather.

 

See you back here soon!