Category: Opinion

December 9, 2025 – Milwaukee 12V Max

December 9, 2025 /

I needed another cordless tool-set like I needed a hole in head. I have an old Craftsman 14.4V drill, Makita 14.4V drill and Makita 18V drill and impact driver already. But, I wanted a second impact driver for one in the house and one in the shop. I thought that a smaller form factor would be the right approach rather than adding another 18V tool.

This actually all started several months earlier. I don’t like to admit this on multiple fronts but I started thinking that I wanted a power screwdriver. My wrist occasionally bothers me when I put together all of the boxed furniture my wife purchases. This has become especially true since I have been battling this neck injury. I did some research and there were a few, good options out there but the battery platforms were all lower voltage than the tools I had.

The Milwaukee brand screwdriver had high ratings and they offered a lot of other tools in the same battery platform. Once purchased, I had the green light to buy tools from a different line. Another benefit was that local hardware stores carry their tools and batteries. Of course, a lot of the above jibber jabber was written in early October before we decided to move. So throw that logic out the window.

What I mean to say is that there is an argument for owning both the 12V and 18V platforms. The smaller form factor of 12V tools are more compact and cheaper than their 18V cousins. It really doesn’t matter that they have less run time (my experience) and homeowners need one hole or is installing one shelf and not pounding screws all day long every day.

When I compare my 18V Makita to this new 12V Milwaukee setup, I really do feel as though the Makita is superior. They batteries run longer and hold charge for literally months without me touching them. That said, the Milwaukee has plenty of power for the around the house use when charged and ready to go. I have noticed a significantly faster, dormant discharge rate of the 12V batteries. I am still looking to quantify how much better in my long term ownership of these new tools. But what I can say is that every battery was fully charged when I put it away and a month later the batteries are showing half charge.

If you will recall, at one point I was considering becoming a contractor or something in the construction field. One reason I have multiple tools is to have them in different places at the same time. I could leave tools at the job site (securely of course) and still have enough resources at home to do the things that I need. It goes with a similar philosophy of having tools in the shop as well as in the home. Let us be honest, no homeowner really needs more than one battery operated drill unless it is special circumstances like building a deck with multiple helpers. The prudent thing would be to see if a tool could be borrowed. But, I am also kind of lazy and don’t like to run to the shop 100 times for everything that I need to do a job. Adding a second pair just shortens my trips to the basement instead.

One tool that I find I use a surprising amount is my corded multi-tool. This thing is amazing, especially for fine, finish type work like scribing or precision demolition. When trying to precision cut an 8′, T-111 panel it is a pain to try to manipulate a cord and be on the ladder at the same time. I would desperately like to get a cordless version but as handy as it is, I need a justification to spend $250. But, if I look at the Milwaukee 12V version, it is only $100. I think that I could probably justify that for almost any project. Yeah, it is not going to run all day but I already have a corded version that can do that. This would be to trim up one molding spot to slide a floor tile for a finish cut without moving furniture to get to the outlet.

I would argue that for most homeowners, the 12V is more than adequate. I wouldn’t even recommend going to 18V just to get the extra benefits given the cost. I have been extremely impressed at these tools considering my last 12V experience was in the Ni-Cad battery days. This was when you needed the higher voltage tools just to have adequate power.

End Your Programming Routine: My son asked, why Milwaukee and not Makita? They also have an extensive 12V line. The real answer is that they had the screwdriver I wanted but he also doesn’t know that I have been a Milwaukee fan since before I owned the Makita cordless tools. I have a number of corded tools from them and I think they are equally good in their own right. It is hard to justify another battery platform unless there is a distinct advantage like dipping into another tool line that meets your needs.

November 11, 2025 – A War To End All Wars

November 11, 2025 /

Today is finally the day that you can thank someone who served in the armed forces and not Memorial day, which bugs me a lot. On the 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour the war to end all wars (WWI) was over.

I was looking for something that wasn’t going to bore you to tears by being hours long. However, I found it interesting that there were some discrepancies in the facts from the same source. If you watched both then you probably heard it.

End Your Programming Routine: I recently finished watching the Ken Burn’s mini-series “The War” about WWII. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It really brushes the sugar coating off of the American and allied victory. While most of the WWII and Korea veterans are gone, time has a way of dulling and mis-rembering things. Let us not forget how horrible war still is.

August 21, 2025 – Would You Do This?

August 21, 2025 /

Another reason that I got behind last week was something completely spontaneous. My wife learned from friends that there was couple walking across America and looking for an over night host in out town. I really didn’t give it two thoughts and considering we were later down the line then others, but it turns out that we were selected to host them overnight. Their names are Torin and Paige Rouse.

I didn’t know anything about them really until I started to look for some video to add to this post. Then, I found their website which had a lot more about motives and past. I am not sure that what they wrote really translates well so I will probably add a little based on the conversation that we had. Don’t be surprised if we end up on their social media as well (In fact, we already did).

Talk about a boon for the aspiring PCT hiker that I am. I got a chance to ask them gear questions from people that have literally spent two years walking in the last five. I asked about travel distance and pack weight as well; it was very informational to me. Plus, Torin has already completed some long (200 miles) hikes on the Colorado Trail. So, it is not just America’s sidewalks that they can discuss even though they are very closely related.

They arrived at our home approximately 5 PM on Sunday. They had come from the neighboring town about 11 miles away. When discussed, they said that was a pretty typical distance for them. They claim that walking longer than ten miles a day not only increased fatigue but also the risk of repetitive motion injury which they have suffered through the journey. Given that they are half my age, it doesn’t bode too well for my goal of being able to do 20 miles a day.

We talked about footwear and they didn’t seem to be too keen on anything in particular. That is the bravado of youth I guess. But they also said that they have not found any shoe that they liked or would recommend. That makes me feel a little better about my struggles to find the right shoe.

I also found it both refreshing and disturbing that they have not gotten completely comfortable with the forty plus pound packs. To me, that means I have done nothing wrong, but I also know that this will be a grin and bear it expedition. They also informed me that anything inflatable like my Nemo sleeping pad is bound to develop holes and recommended foam pads instead. It was their claim that thorns find their way everywhere. I am not doubting that but maybe because I am not going out for weeks at a time, I might not have the same experience.

I have developed a fondness for the water bladder. It allows me to drink without having to take my pack off. They had never used one but they said they had one that already had a hole in it. I am still going to use one, as you might remember I was planning on carrying a second one so that those one mile walks off the trail to a water source would only happen once.

It seems to me that their reasoning for the walk is more etherical and personal than the story that they tell online. The official line is to spread kindness throughout the United States. But, it was my personal conversation that opened more insight. It was Torin’s initial hike on the Colorado trail that cleared his mind from the world and he sought that as inspiration for life. It doesn’t hurt that their ethics orient toward a less material living.

There were other hints at motives for the trip. They told me that they lived in a van for a couple of years. Because they were living in a van, they felt it was the next logical step to get rid of that as well. Part of me envies the freedom and I wish that this hadn’t been so spur of the moment because I would have loved to interview them on my podcast. Unfortunately I really didn’t think about it until I was writing this.

End Your Programming Routines: This is not something that I would have ever done. In fact, I didn’t have much to do with it other than saying OK but I am glad that I did. I also am glad that I didn’t know anything about them until they left because I feel like my experience would have been more guarded and biased. While I appreciate their neutral vibe at an intellectual level, I think in their position it is the best and safest policy relying totally on strangers.

August 13, 2025 – I Know That You Love These…

August 13, 2025 /

Look and what do you see? Yes, the ammo can, but what is on it? It is a sticky note of course. I put that note on the can in 1996. And while it is not like I open it every day or even every couple of months, it is still firmly attached almost like the day I did it. I can’t say if a new note would stick as well, but I guess what impresses me is that I do periodically get into the can. I would never have guessed that an impromptu label stuck on an ammo can would still be holding on strong.

The can started off in my life in 1990. Obviously it is surplus. I am thinking that I paid $5 for it at a local farm store. But, it got used as a dry box for rafting. I had multiple trips like a five day Willamette River float and a five day John Day float where it held my wallet, camera, book and playing cards and anything else I didn’t want wet.

As my Boy Scouting days wound down, it found a new use as a place to put my limited shooting and hunting stuff. There were things like lens cleaning cloths, I had an old 22lr scope in there that kept falling off my rifle and a special dowel that was the diameter of a 9mm. I had purchased a 40 S&W and some reloaded ammo that the bullet got stuck on my second shot. Talk about disappointed, I had to hammer that bullet out and it should have been a warning of things to come with that pistol.

1996 was my senior year in college. I had no money and so I stuck that sticky note on the can as a label. It is not like I really needed a label, I only had one ammo can and that was it. But, when I purchased some more ammo cans, the label inspired me. I put other sticky notes on my new cans to denote their contents. They did not last as long, not because they fell off but that I used my thermal label maker to replace the sticky notes when I re-organized the contents.

Originally, I was thinking that I would put an inventory on each note so that I knew what I had in each can. But then, common sense got the better of me and I figured that if I just filled them up, that would be good enough. It was going to be too much hassle trying to keep track each time I took something out and put something in. Then, I reorganized again and changed the purpose of the cans. Good idea that I didn’t invest too much in the sticky notes.

A word on ammo cans if you please. Ammo cans are fantastic pieces of equipment. They are waterproof and nearly indestructible. Accessories are made to organize them for small part storage. The are stackable, in fact they are meant to be stacked and stable. My only knock on ammo cans is that they are heavy, hence nearly indestructible.

The can I am showing in the picture is 30 caliber can making it significantly smaller than the more typical 50 caliber can. If I had no cans and wanted to get in the ammo can storage game, I would opt for the 50 caliber rather than the 30 caliber can. It is much more flexible in what it can hold. This is why I only have one 30 caliber can and why it keeps getting refined in what I put in it. The third most common size is 20mm and these things are big.

The aftermarket has figured out that ammo cans are useful as well. Now there is all manner of plastic cans made, particularly by a company called MTM. I use some of their products for different applications, mostly in reloading. But, there is also new, replica ammo cans made theoretically to military specification. I don’t have any but funny enough, they are always cheaper than a surplus can.

I am not the only one that thinks ammo cans are really cool. Check out this GMRS radio that is completely housed in an ammo can. This is the frequency that you pay $25 for a license. This guy makes what appears to be the ultimate tactical speaker out of ammo cans. You can even find instructions on how to make your own blue tooth ammo can speakers.

End Your Programming Routine: I know that this post was all about the label and how impressed I was with the longevity of it. I couldn’t help but throw in on some of the interesting applications of ammo cans. It goes to show that when there is a surplus of something, some people will figure out how to do something useful and possibly enterprising with them. The point is, a sticky note makes a low cost and durable label if you need one in a pinch. I am showing the time tested results.

August 7, 2025 – Binocular a.k.a. ‘Bino’ Harness

August 7, 2025 /

I am trying something new this year for hunting. It is called a binocular harness and it straps over your shoulders so that the binoculars are securely stored on you chest. It is the number one piece of gear that is recommended by the Meateater staff. They say that it has revolutionized their hunting. Since they seem to be much more successful than me, I think that it is worth a try.

Meateater is not the only one that has noticed a problem. I have typically left these binoculars in the car because I cannot wear them around my neck and be agile in the woods. I have tried carrying them in my backpack but then I never have them when I want them. That leaves me doing the bulk of my work with mini-binoculars (8×30) which is less than ideal. But even those swing around wildly unless I have a breast pocket to put them in.

Some makers of these packs are also modular. I purchased the Badlands brand and it is. I recently added the rangefinder pocket. It attaches with the MOLLE (MOdular Light weight Load carrying Equipment) system. My rangefinder ran the similar fate as my binoculars, never there when I wanted it and too inconvenient to want it. I rationalized it by using it only when I was sitting to get distance bearings on certain landmarks.

I do plan on adding more accessories. There is a bear spray holster, a multipurpose pouch, a bottom pouch and even holster attachments available through Gunfighters Inc. This way the gear can be setup for recreational hiking, bicycling, hunting or whatever since the chest is typically free space. I do plan on packing it for some practice hiking before the season starts. I think a full, after action report is appropriate in October.

There are lots of cheaper options out there than the Badlands brand. Believe it or not there are more expensive options too. All of them have the same basic premise, mount the binoculars on the chest so it doesn’t swing around. Most of them also have a rangefinder pouch as well. That makes price ranges from $50-250. Of course, I wasn’t able to handle and try on all of the options but it was the Badlands that seemed to be available at every retailer.

The features that I liked were magnetic lids. This makes for a quick and quiet removal of the optic. Each unit comes with quick connect rings and tethers so the expensive things are safe from dropping as well as can be kept out for ready use. But, the quick connect doesn’t keep the optic chained to the harness semi-permanently. It can be removed very easily and quickly for other uses.

They come in different sizes and mine is a pretty stuffed 10×42, size medium. I think that you want them snug because you certainly don’t want stuff bouncing inside the pouch. That being said, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for things like your phone or GPS. This is why the accessory pouches are necessary.

I think another advantage of the Badlands brand is that modularity and their other products. I know for sure that the MOLLE accessories can be attached to their branded packs. I assume that some accessories can go the other way. But realistically, any MOLLE attachment should work as long as it fits the space.

I want to be careful and not fall into toolbox fallacy. You don’t need this to be successful. In fact, most of western Oregon hunting is temperate rain forest and optics are not that useful. The very best tactic is to be out there looking with or without binoculars. But, this year I am hunting the significantly more open central Oregon and I am hoping that having my better optics with me is a tactical advantage.

End Your Programming Routine: I still have to try out the harness but I think the best use case for this is when you want to be beating the bush with quick access to binoculars. That means that if I was just a hiker, I think just sticking with the 8×30 binoculars and save the bulk. But, I could see serious birdwatchers or nature lovers finding them convenient. They are really purpose built for hunters.

July 23, 2025 – Old Habits, Dying Hard

July 23, 2025 /

She knows that she is not supposed to be on the bed without invitation. But when Mom is not around to monitor, the rules get a little looser. In fact, she has a habit of jumping on the bed as soon as I come around. As if I am going to just stand by and let her take my space on the bed. Usually, I am just passing by and I have to shoe her back down to the floor.

The real reason that I took the picture was actually the book. But, since the dog was on the bed, she got in the shot as well. I had an extended weekend of babysitting a couple of weeks ago. One of the things that we did was read books on Thursday night before bed. Friday was a work day for me as well as camp for her. We definitely needed a normalcy strategy.

The first book we read was Where the Wild Dads Go. It is a take off or recent release of the book Where the Wild Things Go. That was the book I read when I was young. It was very short and so on to the second book, If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss. This was one from our library of books that comes from the era of reading to my own kids every night.

Reading time was something that I looked forward to every night. We started very young at even infant age. Some nights, I would read the book that I was reading. I figured that they really didn’t know what was going on and so reading was part of the routine. But, as the kids aged into comprehension, the focus shifted into age appropriate books and If I Ran the Zoo was on rotation of forty or so books.

As my kids got out of lap size, we migrated to more mature books like the Harry Potter series. But, they learned how to read themselves and we found that they would read ahead and even finish the book before we could read it as a family. And so, reading before bed shortly came to an end.

We even tried to incentivize reading as a family by trying to wait to rent the movie before we had completed the book. But, this was the time that I was travelling heavily and eventually those standards quickly got bent. My wife was also running the dance studio and bedtime as well as family time became significantly less routinely structured and idealistic.

Its funny, I haven’t read this book in the neighborhood of eight to ten years. Despite that, the words roll of my tongue like it was yesterday. I know that Dr Seuss can be a sing-songy. But, he also uses made up words that trip you up if you are not ready to pronounce them correctly. I anticipated those things because I was so familiar and we breezed through the book as if was a normal reading night.

I know that Dr. Seuss was taken down by the woke police. I understand that the way people talked and acted in days gone by are not exactly acceptable in today’s paradigms. This book is actually one of the titles specifically identified as controversial. But, I actually believe that Dr. Suess didn’t necessarily mean harm any more than good.

History is just that. You can easily search the term ‘historically racist presidents’ and find the argument that Thomas Jefferson was one. Yes, it is a complicated subject. He was a slave owner and yet coined the phrase ‘all men are created equal’. I really don’t want to expand the discussion into a whole new dimension and so I will leave all the specifics here. My point here was that I think that is clear that Jefferson contributed significantly more good than bad.

It is pretty hypocritical to celebrate the first amendment and condemn the dangers of book banning and such only to turn around and censor work that has been in the public orbit for up to ninety years. I think that what is lost here is that our culture has forgotten its historical origins For instance, the legal system requires intent for a crime to be present. We have changed the burden of proof from intent of harm to ‘I feel bad as a result’ and that is good enough.

Of course, our legal system has different aspects. For instance on the civil front, then there is a lessor standard of guilt. However, a civil case must have damages to valid and have a case. What are the damages from offensive words or pictures, especially when there is a right to say whatever you want? You see this is the problem, we have succeeded philosophical, moral authority on all issues.

End Your Programming Routine: This is not an endorsement to be racist or even offensive. I am advocating for things to be the what they are, like children’s stories from a past era. Maybe we should choose to throw away books where we encounter such feeling rather than mounting campaigns based on our own insecurities. At least, that is what I would do if I ran the zoo.

July 16, 2025 – Made in India?

July 16, 2025 /

This is one of the most serendipitous events that I have ever encountered. My wife recently asked for relish to put on hot dogs. I really don’t care for relish much. Years ago, I made zucchini relish and I thought that was pretty good, but that is long gone. When I went to the store, I deliberately sought out something different that what normally is purchased in a squeeze bottle.

I picked out this Wickles brand in a specialty area of the store. I actually thought that it was pretty good, very close to my zucchini relish. The fourth of July came around and we had a few hotdogs but we also had a ton of buns left over. So, I have been eating a bunch of hotdogs lately that include this relish on it.

Now for the serendipitous part. A few days ago I saw an article on MSN that I had to read. It was something along the lines of ‘The most famous food brand of each state’ I am a sucker for these kinds of articles because I am always interested in what a likely non-resident thinks of my state and other states that I am familiar with such as South Carolina.

Most of the time, I can pretty much guess what the choice is for Oregon. I will get to that in a minute. But, it just so happens that Wickles is the most famous brand in Alabama. Before I purchased this jar, I had never heard of or seen Wickles before let alone ever read the label.

The other night, I was eating a couple hotdogs and thinking about this article. I couldn’t remember the state and so I flipped the jar around to look at the label. Low and behold it said Made in India on it. What? I cannot think about the last time I saw Made in India on it. Even more than that, why relish?

As I went through the the article, I guessed correctly that Oregon’s most famous brand is Tillamook cheese. If you are not familiar with the brand, it is pretty good cheddar cheese. We of course grew up with it but it has gotten pretty big in the last twenty years. I remember seeing it in one grocery store for the first time when we lived in South Carolina, it was a big deal for us. There was a time when my wife’s family sent us a care package. It contained some Tillamook cheese and some wine and a few other things. It was in an insulated box but it was warm outside and I remember the cheese being soft. It was still good though.

Tillamook is a town on the Oregon Coast and the cheese is a farmer owned coop. It was traditionally made in a factory along the coast. But, about 25 years ago, they built a second plant along the Columbia river gorge. It doesn’t even have a visible sign on it. But, it is that plant that produces about 75% of the overall volume. In fact, there was even a lawsuit over this “It claims the creamery’s marketing led consumers to believe its milk is sourced from small, family-owned, lush-green pasture-based dairies in Tillamook County, when in reality, the case alleges, it sources two-thirds of its milk from one of the country’s largest dairies with cement floors and barren feedlots and over 28,000 cows east of the Cascades near Boardman.”

Without that plant, there would have never been Tillamook cheese in South Carolina grocery stores. Now that I am back in Oregon, I could really care less if Tillamook has distribution on the east coast. It is however quite the double edged sword. Are you willing to let your small, hometown favorites compete against the likes of one of the seven large food companies? And if they can’t compete, eventually they become acquired. This happens over and over.

End Your Programming Routine: I know a lot about the food industry, most of which doesn’t impress me very much. I cannot say why relish is made in India. That being said, it probably has to do with product cost and distribution. They are clearly very small, they have 82 followers on LinkedIn. There is a separate LinkedIn page for Wickles that has 125 followers. I mean, I have more than that without too much effort at all.

July 8, 2025 – Visible Evolution

July 8, 2025 /

We are now on our third Ecovac Deebot (see picture below). These things are not cheap but given how much our dog sheds hair, it saves from having to vacuum more frequently. Our model also mops, but after testing the use once we have never actually used the feature. Part of that is because switching between the two requires manual intervention. Given that it adds to the price tag, I am not sure why we keep getting the feature that we don’t use.

Probably about six years or so ago, we bought the first model. It lasted probably two or three years. In fact, we even sent it back to be rebuilt because it lost it’s way around the house. It did work, but shortly we found out that the dog hair was clogging the discharge. Consequently, every day I would manually empty the dust pan. It also had a propensity to lose its map and so every few weeks we would have to remap the house.

When it stopped working the second time, my wife decided to replace it with a newer model. I was very thankful that I no longer had to remember to empty the dust bin. This second generation seemed to remember it’s map so that was also a win. It was also more robust than the first one. I wouldn’t get stuck on carpets as an example. But is was also a brute. There have been several mornings I found it wedged (and stuck) under the toe kick.

So, while the second generation was significantly less likely to be stuck, probably several times a week I would find it stopped in the middle of the room. These things are not without maintenance. The first thing I would do is try to determine if something that wasn’t supposed to be wrapped up in the brushes. After that I would check to see if there was hair wrapped around the main spindle causing heat and friction. Inevitably, the battery would be dead. I never could quite tell if it died in place or kept trying to work which killed the battery.

For some reason, my wife decided to replace unit two. She said that she didn’t think it was working very well. I don’t know, I didn’t notice anything unusual. She installed unit three about two weeks ago. So far so good. This one must have a bigger motor because I feel like it uses the battery much quicker. However, the thing this one does is actually go back to the base station to charge. It will then pickup where it left off.

It hasn’t run long enough to notice any quirks. My wife is a big fan of the Ruggable product which is an area rug that is two pieces. There is a backing and there is the washable rug. These vacuums have a propensity to suck up the top layer. Most of the time it goes right over it, but then there are other times where it actually gets wrapped up in the robot. I am not sure that is the robot’s fault but every morning we have to flip corners back onto the velcro backing.

There must be a lot of feedback that goes back to the manufacturer. I am amazed at how quickly these things have become better in a short period of time. I count 64 models on their website and they are not the only people making such products. I know that I am certainly jaded, that comes from years and years of seeing inferior products continue to be inferior. I couldn’t believe that our second generation actually would empty the dust bin, that seemed like such a win.

End Your Programming Routine: If something happens to my wife, I will more than likely let the Deebot go. In my opinion, it is a maintenance hassle as well as a consumables are costly. You trade your time for the task in troubleshooting and keeping the robot running. It also is not a substitute for a manual sweeping or vacuuming. Things block the robot from doing a complete job. But with pets indoors, it does a pretty good job of knocking most of the hair down and it stays on top of it.

June 11, 2025 – Man, I Love Old Stuff

June 11, 2025 /

Take a look at my almost thirty year old boots. Yeah, I know that I love to flaunt this kind of stuff. I originally bought a different brand of boots and the leather ripped on the first day of wearing them. So, I returned them and purchased these significantly more expensive pair of Danner boots to replace them.

They haven’t got a lot of wear, specifically lately. These are my hunting boots. It was about 2014 that I had worn them on my one and only elk hunting trip that I noticed the sole started to separate from a boot. I took them into a local boot repair and asked them to sew the sole back on which they did. The problem with that is that it cupped the boot tip up and the plastic toe protector would rub my big toe. So much so that it would become raw after a couple of days of wear and so they stayed on the shelf in favor of my low hikers the last couple of hunting seasons.

I thought that I would investigate the Danner recrafting services. Fortunately for me, I live close to the home of Danner and there is a factory store in Portland where they actually do the work. One Saturday I had to do some errands in Portland so I thought that I would inquire.

And inquire I did. The stern looking cobbler looked the boots over and said, I recommend a full rebuild. The plastic heel forms were no longer attached to the boot. He also said that there is no way of knowing whether the previous repair had punctured the Gore-Tex sock that make these boots waterproof. I don’t feel like they are compromised but the package offering below the full rebuild did not address the heel and so I conceded.

The cost to recraft these boots was $280. The step down was $240 so it didn’t make a lot of sense to scrimp. I suppose that if I didn’t need the heel structure repaired, I could have gotten away with just a new sole to remove the cupping. Otherwise, I would say the boots are in fantastic shape.

This was a hard pill to swallow. If it weren’t for the fact that now these boots cost $450 dollars to replace and it was extremely unlikely I would wear them again with my toe rubbing I would have said that the financial cost was not worth it. Based on replacement costs of most of their boots, I would say that there are very few models that are worth recrafting. In other words, I would have been money ahead to buy a new pair of boots, just not these.

My understanding of this process is that the boot is entirely reconstructed. The plastic bits at the toe and the heel are replaced with a new sock. There is a new tread put on and probably a new sole core, although I do not know. They do offer options of tread pattern that the boot originally was not sold with, a bit of customization. The brass lace rivets are replaced because over time the pressure of the laces cause sharp edges to form causing laces to break faster over time.

What exactly remains of the old boot? I think just the leather which has been re-dyed. They include new laces and new insole platforms. With all that, they should look like new because they basically are. If it makes the bitter pill any easier to swallow, there is free shipping to and from, that saves time and mileage expense.

One other thing I was offered was 25% coupon at the factory store. I am definitely thinking about replacing my hikers, I don’t like them so that discount is probably worth $50 if I can find a pair of Danner hikers I like. That is still to be determined.

End Your Programming Routine: One of the reasons I justified this purchase originally was that they were an investment. That being said, how many people actually have their shoes repaired? I was going to give them an inaugural run on the sporting clays course but God thought I needed to stay in bed sick instead. So, I haven’t worn them yet. I may have to just wear them around town just to make sure that this fixed the problem. Let’s assume that is the case, I will report back otherwise.