RM Williams Classic Turnout – Initial impression
If you are from the UK, you probably heard of RM Williams as a building/construction company. Somehow they have the same name but they are not the same company. I think I am more interested in the Australian RM Williams. RM Williams has been an epitome of Australian footwear for a very long time. It’s all Australian made and they even have Hugh Jackman in their advertisement.
I purchased RM Williams because I have heard so much about them. I have seen so many people rating them very highly and I needed to find out why.
RM Williams boots’ name has a lot of hints about what you are going to buy. For example my RM Williams boots are called Classic Turnout. Classic means that the boots will have leather outsoles and turnout means that it will have a rounder last used to build the boots. If the boots have composite outsoles, they are called “Comfort” and if they are made with a more formal and square last they will use the name “Craftsman”. Other than this, often they will say the name of the leather used, RM Williams also has boots made of Kangaroo leather, which I think is very cool.
RM Williams Classic Turnout Material
These classic turnouts are made with suede on the top. RM Williams loves to boast that their upper is constructed with one piece. Usually, with Chelsea boots, this is not common. Chelsea boots are usually made with separate pieces of leather that are sewn together on the side.
Here you can see the photo of my Tricker’s Chelsea Boots and compare it to RM Williams Chelsea boots. You can see that the upper construction is very different. Tricker’s has three panels upper in total (if we ignore the brogue patterns.
‘Classic’ in the name means that the boots have leather outsoles. I think the quality of the rest of the boots are very similar to other boots in similar price range, but not the leather soles. For those of you that follow my social media, you will know that I do own a lot of shoes with leather soles. I know they are slippery and often people hate them a lot, I find them fun to wear. The leather soles are made of cattle rump and it is not slippery and rather gives a great cushion to your feet. They are bouncy, not like sneakers, but give a little bounce that you can enjoy whilst walking around.
The shank of the shoes are made of fibreglass. Still, due to the pandemic, people cannot travel but fibreglass is airport friendly. Therefore, I love them. Also they are not as heavy as the metal shanks in other boots.
They used thermoplastic for the heel stiffeners and toe stiffeners. I do have something to say about the toe area. I cannot find this with other RM Williams boots, but with mine, you can see the plastic in the toe area too clearly. It does not bother me too much, but I am certain that other buyers will be annoyed about it.
RM Williams Construction Method
The boots are Goodyear welted. They can be resoled when the leather soles are worn out. I think I will go back to good old Dainite soles when the outsoles are worn.
RM Williams Class Turnout Sizing
These boots are UK 10.5. I usually wear UK 10.5 or UK 11 for dress shoes and boots depending on the manufacturers.
The boots fit perfectly on my feet. They are not too long and not too wide. Usually, with other companies, there is plenty of room in the toe area in terms of length, but this one does not. That does not mean it’s uncomfortable, but if I want to buy leather ones instead of suede, which is a softer material, I think I would go for UK 11.
It is simply a nightmare to find great shoe sizing unless you tried them on. I have made my own shoe master sizing chart to help you guys to get a reference for your purchase. So please help yourself!
RM Williams Classic Turnout Price
The price of the RM Williams here in the UK is around £350 to £400 in the US, they are around $450 ~ $550 depending on the leather type and the construction type. My RM Williams tobacco cost £350.
I think the RM Williams Chelsea boots price is not too over priced nor too cheap either. I can definitely find other Chelsea boots at a similar price range that will be as good as the RM Williams Chelsea boots. However, I personally find these more comfortable to wear and I am in love with their leather soles too.
