James Leddy safari boots

[Kevin Peacocke]

I was surprised at the price for custom cowboy boots from Leddy’s. They cost that much 40 years ago.

I’m glad you mentioned that because I have seriously wide feet, 4E to be exact. If I ever get off the shelf safari footwear Courtney will be the first place I look.

A couple of points Kevin. Leddy’s is a smaller company than Courtney. And while I’m all for supporting small companies, foreign and domestic, there’s nothing wrong with spending money on gear that’s made in your own country. And there’s a WORLD of difference in custom footwear and off the rack footwear. At the price mdwest is paying it truly is a no-brainer.

I have no objection to competition Dwight, fair competition. Look at the two products together please, the are snap identical, right down to the position of the label! That is NOT fair. Why didn't Leddy do their own design, then there is no complaint? If they are so good, as it appears they are, surely they could even better the design?

 

[Dwight Beagle]

So?

 

[Rare Breed]

Come on guys, are you honestly suggesting supporting a copycat company? I can almost not believe I am hearing this on our forum. A small company in a small country doing it's best to survive and you want to challenge that?
by all means, let the other company build their custom boots to THEIR design. You cant critisize China after this stunt, sis.

I have literally tried for 12 months to buy a pair of Courtney Boots. Always out of stock. I am supposed to get them this month but not holding my breath. I am about to move on from them

 

[WAB]

I have literally tried for 12 months to buy a pair of Courtney Boots. Always out of stock. I am supposed to get them this month but not holding my breath. I am about to move on from them

Have you tried African Sporting Creations? Jim is extremely responsive.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have literally tried for 12 months to buy a pair of Courtney Boots. Always out of stock. I am supposed to get them this month but not holding my breath. I am about to move on from them

I know the shipments have been slow with the shutdown there. I have had a custom pair on order since DSC last year from Jim at African Sporting Creations. But I did just a pair from him of standard run solid brown Safari model.

 

[African Sporting Creations]

Our Courteney shipment arrived on Friday and we are shipping out a full 48" x 40" x 4' high pallet of orders today. Zim and SA are back on a partial lockdown again as of last Monday so expect this will slow the delivery of my next shipment. If you are looking for a pair I would not wait too long as of the 200 SKU's of boots we inventory, we are out of 5 already.

 

[rookhawk]

My buff hide is about to be delivered from my 2019 hunt with @Bos en Dal Safaris .. The plan all along has been to have a matching set of cowboy boots, belt, and a holster made from the hide.. and then maybe look at a couple of rifle slings and other stuff with whatever amount of hide is left over...

I've been looking at some of the better regarded custom boot makers in Texas trying to decide on who to hire to make all of the stuff mentioned above... when I came across these guys...

James Leddy Boots |

jamesleddyabilene.com

It looks like in addition to making custom cowboy boots, that they also have a "safari" boot line...

This one in particular looks interesting to me..

View attachment 359880

Has anyone here ever commissioned a set of boots (hunting or cowboy) from this company?

The Leddy name has a huge reputation... but the company isnt the same as it was 10 years ago.. James Leddy passed away.. A new family bought the business, but kept the name.. Then James kids also formed a boot company (they worked with James for years, knew the trade, etc).. a nephew formed a boot company.. and another memeber of the Leddy family formed a boot company as well...

All of these companies incorporate the Leddy family name into their business name in some way...

From what I understand (I am no expert)... all of them actually do excellent work..

But I am specifically interested in James Leddy Custom Boots because of the safari line they offer...

I know this company has a good cowboy reputation, but I can't endorse them for safari. Surely they would be inferior and cost more than using Courteney Boot?

Courteney has an amazing history. A kid from Rhodesia was an apprentice at Clark's in London as a last maker, making their famous desert boot they sold tens of thousands of over their history. He got the call up during the bush war and left England as a late teen or early 20s soldier back in Rhodesia. As he was watching his fellow soldiers get killed with noisy boots, trench foot, and other issues he started to make footwear in the combat zone using local skins. After the war, all the peacetime farmers and safari operators kept ordering boots from him. That's the story of Courteney Boot. How many millions of miles have been walked in that particular boot style on those lasts in the history of the company?

For those reasons, and because the price will be less, I'd get your skins to Courteney in Zimbabwe and get the very best boots you can.

 

[mdwest]

Courtney in Zim won’t do custom boots.

A member here have asked them to.. they have said no..

And as others have noted, due to the lockdowns, getting Courtney’s reliably shipped to the US right now isn’t happening either...

 

[Gringocazador]

I need to get another pair. The last pair I had I bought to small and gave them away. I've been using a Pair of Rouge Trans Africans, It think thats what they are called. Not sure I will ever wear them out. Heavier than the Courteney Safaris I had, but good quite boots.

 

[WAB]

Courtney in Zim won’t do custom boots.

A member here have asked them to.. they have said no..

And as others have noted, due to the lockdowns, getting Courtney’s reliably shipped to the US right now isn’t happening either...

Please note ASC’s post above. A shipment is just in. I would strongly advise you to deal with them rather than trying to deal with Courteney direct from the US.

 

[Philip Glass]

I know this company has a good cowboy reputation, but I can't endorse them for safari. Surely they would be inferior and cost more than using Courteney Boot?

Courteney has an amazing history. A kid from Rhodesia was an apprentice at Clark's in London as a last maker, making their famous desert boot they sold tens of thousands of over their history. He got the call up during the bush war and left England as a late teen or early 20s soldier back in Rhodesia. As he was watching his fellow soldiers get killed with noisy boots, trench foot, and other issues he started to make footwear in the combat zone using local skins. After the war, all the peacetime farmers and safari operators kept ordering boots from him. That's the story of Courteney Boot. How many millions of miles have been walked in that particular boot style on those lasts in the history of the company?

For those reasons, and because the price will be less, I'd get your skins to Courteney in Zimbabwe and get the very best boots you can.

All history aside how can you conclude that a custom boot maker in Texas (which is well known for quality custom boots) is worse than a Zim factory? I’ve yet to make the comparison but hope to in the future. Inferior? I doubt it.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I know the shipments have been slow with the shutdown there. I have had a custom pair on order since DSC last year from Jim at African Sporting Creations. But I did just a pair from him of standard run solid brown Safari model.

Jim at ASC emailed me that my custom ordered Courtney’s were in his recent shipment. . Cant wait to get them this week. What made them a custom order is: I wanted a pair of Safaris that don’t come with the sole tread I wanted unless you custom order them that way.

 

[rookhawk]

All history aside how can you conclude that a custom boot maker in Texas (which is well known for quality custom boots) is worse than a Zim factory? I’ve yet to make the comparison but hope to in the future. Inferior? I doubt it.

im assuming they are excellent boot makers. I just know that the expertise comes from trial and error of the last and the pattern. Experience making safari boots is on Courteney’s side 10000:1 for that particular design. They took a Clark’s pattern that outfitted thousands of desert troops and improved it over 40-50 years based on safari feedback.

the inverse also true, Courtney would not have the expertise to make the right last and pattern for a cowboy boot on their first thousand attempts.

 

[Custom]

Thanks for the heads up on Courteneys in stock at ASC. I had been meaning to order another pair of Selous and just pulled the trigger. I have had a pair for 5 years or more and have worn them on all of my safaris. Thought I should have a pair for back up on my planned safari in May of this year. We'll see if it happens

 

[Dwight Beagle]

im assuming they are excellent boot makers. I just know that the expertise comes from trial and error of the last and the pattern. Experience making safari boots is on Courteney’s side 10000:1 for that particular design. They took a Clark’s pattern that outfitted thousands of desert troops and improved it over 40-50 years based on safari feedback.

the inverse also true, Courtney would not have the expertise to make the right last and pattern for a cowboy boot on their first thousand attempts.

On the surface your logic makes sense and common sense says you are correct. Except you are not. A last is a last. The quality of a last has to do with how well it duplicates the measurements of an individual’s feet. A custom boot maker such as Leddy’s makes two lasts for every customer’s feet. A company like Courteney uses a standard last for each size they make. As a result Leddy’s makes many many more lasts than Courteney and a custom last is what separates custom footwear from production footwear. In addition Leddy’s has a pattern to go by-a pair of Courteney boots. Barring something weird the safari boots the OP gets from Leddy’s will be better safari boots than a pair of Courteney’s. And I’m not a fan of Leddy’s.

 

[Tanks]

Come on guys, are you honestly suggesting supporting a copycat company? I can almost not believe I am hearing this on our forum. A small company in a small country doing it's best to survive and you want to challenge that?
by all means, let the other company build their custom boots to THEIR design. You cant critisize China after this stunt, sis.

I'd have no issues with Chinese buying Chinese products. So, why would it be an issue Americans buying products made in the USA.

Not to mention it is a custom product not a mass market product.

 

[mdwest]

FINALLY made it over to Abeline today and got fitted for both a custom pair of western boots and a pair of their safari boots...

The people were incredibly friendly, and the shop owner (the guy who makes ALL of their boots..) was super helpful and informative.. He walked me through several options for some custom stitching I was interested in.. all the different heel options and what would be best for my intended purposes, etc.. overall it was a very positive experience..

Its a basic west texas boot shop.. nothing at all like the ML Leddy shop near the stockyards in Ft. Worth.. No salespeople on the floor, not extravagance, etc.. just a clerk working the register and keeping the shop clean/running, and the boot maker/owner..

But overall I was pretty impressed with it all..

When I called them several weeks ago I was told to expect 90 days for turn around... which I thought was exceptional since everyone else I considered was 6 months to 18 months.. (ML Leddy was 12 months minimum).. today I was told "it will be much faster than that" (90 days).. but no firm commitment on how soon they will be ready..

When I pick up the boots, pics will follow..

Pretty excited right now though.. He had several very nice looking boots on the shelf.. he clearly is an exceptional maker.. combine that with really good service that I experienced.. great turn around time promised.. and outstanding pricing compared to others I considered.. and I think this is going to be a very nice experience...

 

[Tanks]

FINALLY made it over to Abeline today and got fitted for both a custom pair of western boots and a pair of their safari boots...

...

Let us know with pics when you get them please. I drive through Abeline a few times a year on my way to Keller, TX from CA. Like you I have a boat load of skins.

 

[AZDAVE]

Thanks for the update Dave, look forward to seeing a picture when you have them and a review after you have walked a couple hundred miles in them. Like most other I have a number of skins that could be used for a set of safari boots.

 

[mdwest]

Another interesting note.. he can use backskins, etc.. that still have the hair on them.. you dont have to provide final tanned "leather"..

He admits that for a short period of time if he uses hair on skins, that boots dont look as nice (he removes the hair, etc.. but says its just not as "clean" of a look).. but he said that in a short period of time, after the boots have been worn a bit, the texture and appearance of the leather improves considerably..

He particularly likes to work with kudu... says its beautiful leather that is very soft, supple, and durable.. I think its probably his favorite African game animal leather to work with.. but he says he has made both western boots and safari boots from just about every african animal leather you can think of.. ranging from impala to elephant..

Also of note... when I talked to other boot makers (including ML Leddy).. they really didnt seem to want to work with "natural" colored leather.. they wanted it dyed at the time it was tanned.. some said "we'll dye it if we have to" sort of comments... but it was pretty clear they really didnt want to deal with that step.. what they wanted to do was take the leather in whatever state I provided it to them, and make the boot.. and not have to dye it..

James Leddy Boots was more than happy to deal with natural leather (when I had my buff tanned I asked them to leave it in its natural color/state and not dye it.... because at the time I had no clue what color or shade of boots I wanted made)... We looked at several different color options while I was there and settled on a dark chocolate brown for both the western boots and the safari boots...